“Anyone who believes that securing the Iran nuclear agreement in Congress might have an effect on United States policy and its potential actions regarding the ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip needs to take a deep breath,” writes Mitchell Plitnick

“As the Fatah leadership prepares for its annual congress, its internal turmoil has become more pronounced,” writes Adam Rasgon.

“There is a possible way to mitigate the negative impact of a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood,” writes Gershom Baskin. “My advice, if it is decided to cancel the Oslo agreements, would be to not only to cancel them but to also declare unilateral peace.”

The PLO’s legislative body, which was due to convene next week for the first time in almost two decades, has pushed the meeting to end of year.

Construction of the palace, equipped with two helipads, comes as PA finds itself in financial difficulties.

General Assembly expected to pass resolution allowing flags of Palestine and the Holy See alongside full member states.

“Journalists keep saying that the fight over the Iran nuclear deal has bitterly divided the American Jewish community,” writes Peter Beinart. “I think that’s wrong. The fight over the Iran nuclear deal has shown that the American Jewish ‘community’ does not exist.”

Israel’s defense establishment knows who is responsible for the arson attack that killed three members of a Palestinian family two months ago, but has chosen to prevent legal recourse in order to protect the identity of their sources, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told a closed meeting of some 20 young Likud activists in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

“The pink stone mansions hidden among the modern urban geography of Bethlehem –surrounded by an eight-meter high concrete wall and penned in by Israeli settlements — contain a rich untold history of phenomenal global success:The city’s pioneering 19th century merchants,” writes Charlie Hoyle. “This golden commercial era, which brought huge wealth back to Bethlehem, seems almost unimaginable today.”

Israel’s “mapping procedure” – revealed by Israeli veterans group Breaking the Silence – reveals the profound control that it exerts on Palestinians living under its military rule.

The fight over land in the predominantly Christian Palestinian town of Beit Jala has been fought on the ground and in the Israeli courts for years, with Christian leaders at the head of Palestinian efforts.

Ten years ago, Israel removed its settlements and military installations from inside the Gaza Strip; a move that remains controversial in Israel to this day and continues to shape the lives of millions of people. The “Disengagement Plan”, as it was called, was the most dramatic step in Israel’s policy toward the Gaza Strip in the last few decades, and as such, gave rise to more than a few myths and misconceptions. These are the 10 most prominent myths, together with an account of reality.

Zionist Camp Knesset member Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin claims that the party has been repeatedly defeated since the era of Prime Minister Ehud Barak because it lost Yitzhak Rabin’s legacy of security, something she would like to bring back through diplomatic security as well as social security efforts.

Several recent cases of Israeli academics being singled out for discriminatory treatment by colleagues overseas have sparked concerns among university leaders in the country.