“Netanyahu’s proposal to revoke citizenship from tens of thousands of Arab citizens is yet another calculated move meant to absolve Israel of responsibility for the fate of its native population,” writes Marzuq Al-Halabi.

Residents of the Israeli-Arab town Umm al-Fahm fear that Israel will swap them for West Bank settlement blocs.

“The mistakes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made over the past two weeks in dealing with a crisis over the Temple Mount, and the mistakes he apparently has planned for the city, show that he’s still unwilling to see the city’s Palestinians,” writes Gershom Gorenberg.

China’s UN ambassador urged the international community on Monday to support Chinese President Xi Jinping’s new four-point proposal to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establish an independent Palestinian state.

Where days before thousands of Palestinians had prayed in the streets around Jerusalem’s Old City in protests aimed at ‘defending’ al-Aqsa, last night Israeli flags flew and Israel’s deputy defense minister gave a speech calling for Israel to impose its “full authority” on the Temple Mount so that the temple could be rebuilt.

Almost one week after dozens of extremist Israeli settlers raided and occupieda Palestinian home in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron, an Israeli settler declared on Monday that he and his family will be officially moving into the home, despite an ongoing legal battle between the Palestinian homeowners and Israelis.

Five homes in the Shaarei Tikva settlement in the northern West Bank were reportedly built on land allocated to the Palestinians under the Oslo agreements.

The Jerusalem District Court on Monday issued a landmark ruling that upholds a set of real estate deals struck between officials from the Greek Orthodox Church and an Israeli right-wing group for two hotels near Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The new framework will reportedly enable the PA to restore electricity supplies and allow Gazan banks to trade in foreign currency again. But in return, Hamas must publicly renege on its agreement with Abbas’s rival in Fatah Mohammad Dahlan, and dismantle its governing structures in Gaza, which, according to the PA, contravenes previous agreements between the group and the PA.

“The Gaza Strip and Hamas are attracting attention from both sides as the Gulf crisis grows, but they might have to choose between longtime supporter Qatar on one side and the UAE, Egypt and Mohammed Dahlan on the other,” writes Ahmad Melhem.

“By now it is obvious that the ‘ultimate deal‘ between Israelis and Palestinians, which President Donald Trump promised in his first days in office, was little more than an optical illusion,” writes Ben Caspit.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Monday she will not back the Israel Anti-Boycott Act “in its current form” until it is revised to make clear that it does not penalize any efforts by individuals to boycott the Middle Eastern nation.

For most of the 2 million people in this overcrowded strip of land – largely cut off from the outside world – the beach and sea are the only affordable form of recreation. The only option now is to swim and even fish in filthy water.