Israeli leaders expressed condolences to the French over the Paris terrorist attacks but quickly stressed Sunday that Israel and the West face the same foe in radical Islam and that Israel is on the front line. Palestinians say Israel’s attempt to link their liberation struggle and the Paris attacks is cynical and misleading, and seeks to shield Israel from the condemnation it deserves for 48 years of military occupation.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Friday expressed his solidarity and sympathy with France in a statement after a series of attacks left over 120 dead in Paris. Abbas said he stood by the French government and citizens in the face of “terrorism,” adding that the international community was responsible for confronting “terrorist actions.”

“Netanyahu recognizes the absence of any international agenda for a peace process, much less any real pressure to get back onto the long and winding road toward a sustainable solution,” writes FMEP Vice President Mitchell Plitnick. “As a result, he is pressing forward with the agenda of the Israeli right, which has long been clearly articulated by its leaders.”

“Overall, Jewish settlement in the West Bank doesn’t create a dominating presence there – not in terms of population in comparison to the Palestinian population (Jews comprise only 13.5 percent of the West Bank’s population), nor in terms of the amount of land held by Jewish settlements (4 percent of the West Bank),” writes Shaul Arieli.

“To the Israeli ear the allegation sounds far-fetched. Israelis find it hard to believe that our soldiers and commanders could lie, until it’s proven otherwise by security footage or photos,” writes Amira Hass.

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli security forces after a gun battle in the Qalandiya refugee camp just before dawn on Monday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces demolished Saturday the homes of four Palestinians who killed three Israelis in two shooting attacks in the West Bank.

“The prime minister’s proposal to revoke the residency status of 100,000 East Jerusalemites sends an unequivocal message to all Arabs living under Israeli rule: your rights are rooted in our good will alone, and conditionally so. The silence of Israel’s ‘democratic’ camp is deafening,” writes Yehudit Oppenheimer.

“You claim to support peace, but your words imply that Palestinian lives are less valuable to you than Israeli lives. I implore you: please do better,” Leanne Gale writes in an open letter to Hillary Clinton.

“Despite the fact that every fifth Israeli citizen is an Arab, media coverage of the most significant minority in the State of Israel is for the most part sparse and one dimensional,” writes Edan Ring.

Dismissed Fatah leader Mohamed Dahlan yesterday called for reconciliation with Fatah and Hamas in order to achieve Palestinian unity.