How the Kerry initiative collapsed; settlement homes advance; Palestinian children suffer under occupation

What We’re Reading

US-Israel relations

Obama’s Detailed Plans for Mideast Peace Revealed - and How Everything Fell Apart,

Haaretz has obtained two previously unseen documents from the height of the Obama administration’s efforts to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which reveal how the talks fell apart in 2014.

US says ‘both sides will be forced to compromise’ for Mideast peace deal,

A State Department official said Tuesday that Israelis and Palestinians will “be forced to compromise” in order to achieve US President Donald Trump’s goal of brokering peace between the two sides.

Israeli settlements

Israeli ministers spar over settlement plan,

Kahlon’s associates said the plan to build in central West Bank cities like Ariel and Modi’in Illit had no economic benefits and would not solve the housing shortage in the center of the country.

Israel advances plans for 1,500 West Bank homes,

Civil Administration committee okays next step for building houses, including some outside settlement blocs and 102 at first new settlement in 25 years.

Israel's AG Stalls Establishment of New Settlement for Amona Evacuees,

Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit says a legal problem prevents the establishment of a new settlement for the evacuees from the illegal outpost of Amona, political sources told Haaretz Tuesday.

Amnesty International calls for ban of settlement goods,

Amnesty International launched a campaign Wednesday to press the international community to ban goods produced in Israeli West Bank settlements.

Settlements Do Not Serve Israel's Security Needs, Say Former Generals,

Senior former Israeli army officers say settlements in the West Bank do not serve Israel’s security interests and are a burden, according to a new study by Molad.

Occupation/Human rights

After 50 years, military violence is the norm for Palestinian children,

“Children under the age of 18 currently make up almost 50 percent of the Palestinians living in the occupied territories — and have grown up with systemic discrimination, settlement expansions, and war,” writes Jennifer Bing.

Life beyond the wall: Israel neglecting Palestinian residents of Jerusalem,

While technically part of Jerusalem, Kafr Aqab, at the northern most edge of the municipality, finds itself neglected and cut off from the city’s services, divided as it is by the separation wall, demarcating West Bank proper from Israel.

Palestinian politics

When will the Israeli Left accept the occupation started in '48, not '67?,

“Only when the Israeli Left accepts that the occupation began in 1948 — and remains an open wound for Palestinians — can Arabs and Jews truly refuse to be enemies,” writes Rami Younis.

Abbas Will Put Aside Settlement Halt for Peace Talks, Aide Says,

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will temporarily shelve his long-standing demand for Israel to freeze West Bank settlement construction in order to revive peace talks under the Trump administration, said Mohammad Mustafa, Abbas’s senior economic adviser and former deputy prime minister.

Saudi FM: Qatar must stop supporting Hamas, Brotherhood,

Qatar must end its support for the Palestinian group Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood before ties with other Arab Gulf states could be restored, said Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister.

Thousands attend funeral of Arab Israeli man shot during riot,

Thousands of people on Tuesday attended the funeral of Mohammed Taha, an Arab-Israeli protester who was shot dead by a private security guard during a riot in the city of Kafr Qassem in the early hours of the morning.

Gaza

Qatar crisis could damage Gaza reconstruction, NGO warns,

Gulf sanctions against Qatar could damage reconstruction in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, where the emirate has provided large financial backing, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council warned Tuesday.

New 'rules of the game' for Israeli-Hamas standoff Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/06/israel-qatar-expulsion-hamas-rapprochement-iran.html#ixzz4jQJjGGjO,

The expulsion from Qatar of Hamas leaders and the movement’s reconciliation with Iran has potentially changed the “rules of the game” between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli politics

Israel may deduct ‘martyr’ payments from PA funds,

Israeli lawmakers will vote on a Knesset version of the Taylor Force Act.