“Today Congress is on its way to adopting legislation that would, for the first time in the nearly 48 years since Israel took control over the West Bank, make it U.S. law to affirmatively support Israeli settlements,” writes Lara Friedman. “These measures are not about defending Israel at all – they are about shielding Israeli settlements from pressure, seeking to codify in U.S. law the view that there is no distinction between Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.”

Some Israelis may have forgotten last summer’s war in Gaza, but Ofer Shelah, an MK and security expert, hasn’t. He claims Operation Protective Edge was a failure that revealed ingrained political and military flaws.

The Jewish Home faction announced Tuesday that it is cutting off all negotiations with Likud over the formation of a coalition, since Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not yet answered Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett’s request to give him the Education Ministry, despite promising to do so within 48 hours, when they met Saturday evening.

“For a man whose guiding policy is cosmeticized inertia, with fear-mongering and Obama-baiting screening off a violent occupation, the non-government he’s got now is nothing less than perfect,” writes Bradley Burston.

It used to be that when Israel demolished Arab homes there would be a spontaneous strike and reactionary protest in some of the Arab cities. But there is a new political force leading Palestinian citizens of Israel, and this time, the protest is coming to Tel Aviv.

An 18-year-old Palestinian succumbed Tuesday to wounds sustained during clashes with Israeli forces late on Monday in al-Araqa village in western Jenin. Muhammad Yahiya is the third Palestinian to be killed by Israeli forces in recent days, after another teenager was killed in East Jerusalem for allegedly running at Israeli police “wielding a knife,” and a Palestinian man was shot dead in Hebron after he allegedly stabbed an Israeli soldier.

Gazans’ access to safe water and sewage disposal is increasingly tenuous after last summer’s war.

“No one doubts that Hamas still has a powerful grip over the Gaza Strip, but it faces an increasing crisis,” writes Fahmi Shurrab.

A new proposal for a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been put forth by Qatar and Turkey.

The Egyptian government yesterday expanded a buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip. This is the third phase of creating a buffer zone between Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.

“Although Egypt’s campaign to destroy the tunnels between Gaza and Sinai continues, Hamas, whose relations with other regional countries are even more strained, is working to restore ties with its neighbor,” writes Adnan Abu Amer.

Former US president Jimmy Carter is undertaking Saudi-backed mediation efforts between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, a Palestinian source said on Sunday.

“West Bank analysts and party representatives are attributing the victory of a Hamas-aligned group in student council elections last week to growing public frustration with Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA),” writes Dalia Hatuqa.

“Exiled Palestinian politician and former leader of Fatah in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, mediated the signing of an agreement for the construction of a controversial River Nile dam project between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan last month,” writes Jack Moore. “Analysts believe that the move demonstrates Dahlan’s continuing efforts to increase his international influence, potentially setting up a push for the Palestinian leadership in the future.”