“President Obama, in contrast with his predecessors, has completely shielded Israel from critical UN resolutions,” writes Lara Friedman. “Supporters of an Israeli-Palestinian peace, however, have reason to hope that Mr. Obama, having achieved nothing by shielding Israel, is now ready to embrace constructive Security Council action related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touted Israel’s right to defend itself after her Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders called Israel’s response against Hamas “disproportionate.”

The legal division of the Israeli army closed on Sunday an investigation into the killing of a Palestinian teenager last summer by a senior Israeli commander, in a decision Israeli rights group B’Tselem has termed “an integral part” of the Israeli army’s “whitewash mechanism” of its own crimes.

“The demolition of homes belonging to the families of terrorists, as an act of deterrence in response to actions that endanger the State of Israel’s security, is an extremely drastic measure that violates human rights,” write Tal Mimran and Nadiv Mordechay. “In addition to questions surrounding its legality, it is difficult to prove that it is indeed effective at achieving the goal it was set to promote.”

“Despite the labelling guidelines, there remains a large discrepancy between the rhetoric of the EU and its actions,” said Nur Arafeh, a policy fellow at al-Shabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network. 

Responding to a petition against the freezing of building plans for Palestinians in southern Jerusalem, a lawyer representing the state informed the court on Thursday that a secret high-level Israeli political decision was the reason.

“Though the case of granting money to the Jewish community of Hebron is particularly striking, we should see the funding of the Hebron settlement as only one example in the context of hundreds of millions of dollars backing the full range of West Bank settlements,” writes Maya Haber.

Zionist Union no. 2 MK Tzipi Livni has said she opposes her faction joining the Likud-led coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Over the past few years, the Likud has abandoned its image as a liberal, center-right party, becoming more radical and identifying with the extreme Israeli rightt,” writes Mazal Mualem.

49 percent of Israeli Jews said that they would not live in the same building as Arab families, compared to 42 percent who said they would be willing.