Matt Duss, the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and a writer for a number of progressive publications, said it was good that AIPAC recognized that it had a problem with progressives. “But they need to understand it’s not a perception problem but a reality problem,” Duss said. “It is great to talk about LGBT rights, social welfare and other progressive issues. Israel is a great society in many respects. But you cannot use those things to paper over the fact that Israel continues the occupation, continues to expand settlements and continues to control the lives of millions of Palestinians to whom it owes no accountability. The question is whether AIPAC is really willing to grapple with these issues. And I see no evidence of that yet.”

Last week when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress in hopes of blocking a possible nuclear deal with Iran he did not mention the Palestinians once. To officials in the West Bank, this omission showed Netanyahu would rather the occupation stay invisible.

Hamas on Monday scrambled to deny a Times of Israel report that it had offered Israel a temporary ceasefire.

Knesset Channel survey gives Likud 21, Zionist Union 24; Yesh Atid jumps to third-strongest with 14, Arab list gets 13.

“A group of ex-generals is warning Israelis that another Netanyahu-Bennett government will mean being stuck with the Palestinians forever. But no matter what happens, Israelis and Palestinians will always be stuck with each other,” writes Mariav Zonszein.

“The prime minister’s gravest allegation against those working against his re-election is that they are trying to raise voter participation among Arab citizens of Israel. ‘Israel Hayom,’ meanwhile, has decided that Arab voters’ opinions just don’t count,” writes Oren Persico.

The tide may be turning against Netanyahu, but it is turning in many directions and the Israeli public just can’t agree on a suitable alternative.

“The decision by Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint List of predominantly Arab parties, to refuse a vote-sharing deal with the leftist Zionist Meretz Party might discredit his commitment to rebuild the bridges between Jews and Arabs,” writes Shlomi Eldar.

“Palestinian officials view Israel’s recent military maneuvers in the West Bank and its prediction of an uprising as attempts to escalate the security situation,” writes Ahmad Melhem.