According to some Israeli pundits, the attacks on NGOs are symptoms of a deepening Putinisation. Israeli politicians have made no secret of their admiration for Putin, a tough, ruthless leader whose resolve – and preference for military solutions – stands in sharp contrast to the caution and indecision of Barack Obama. Putin is also, in Israeli eyes, refreshingly indifferent to human rights.

Senior IDF officers disagree with right-wing politicians, who call for strong measures against Palestinians.

“I don’t think that the situation is helped by additional settlement construction and building,” Kerry told a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee at a hearing on the State Department’s annual budget request.

Israeli authorities have demolished a newly built school for a Bedouin community near Jerusalem, saying it had been illegally constructed. The move comes with the UN and the European Union raising concern over a sharp increase in demolitions by Israel in recent weeks.

Human Rights organizations “Hamoked — Defence of the Individual” and B’Tselem on Wednesday published a report that draws on affidavits and statements from 116 Palestinians who spent time in the Shin Bet’s (Israel Security Agency) Shikma interrogation facility.

“As a former Israeli ambassador, I never expected just how badly the country’s situation would deteriorate,” writes Ilan Baruch.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday called Israeli construction in East Jerusalem “genuinely shocking” during a discussion at the British Parliament, even as he insisted that he was a “great friend of Israel” and defined Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

If a Palestinian state fails to emerge, stuck in a political dead-end with Israel, then international decision-makers will find it difficult to convince their constituents of the need to continue financing the PA.

“Every time the Strip reaches the brink, a group of military experts, former generals and Knesset members offer all kinds of diplomatic solutions for dealing with Gaza. But “dealing” only proves that Israel still controls Gaza — and that is a significant part of the obstacle to any solution,” writes Mairav Zonszein.