“Other than a visit to Jerusalem, Kushner and Berkowitz will visit the UAE. The U.S. delegation is likely to visit Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman as well.”

“Dermer predicted that more Israel-Arab agreements will be announced soon. ‘There are several countries where there are possibilities’, Dermer said, ‘I don’t want to say this specific country or not, but there are several countries and we hope that we see another breakthrough very, very, soon – in the weeks, and months ahead’.”

“Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani on Sunday rejected any normalization of relations with Israel. ‘We refuse any normalisation with the Zionist entity because this emboldens it to go further in breaching the rights of the Palestinian people,’ El Otmani told his Islamist PJD party.”

“White House senior adviser Jared Kushner on Sunday said the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize diplomatic relations increases the chances the US will sell advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to Abu Dhabi.”

“The United States has sold the F-35 to allies including Turkey, South Korea, Japan, and Israel, but sales to the Gulf require a deeper review due to US policy for Israel to maintain a military advantage in the Middle East.”

“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington is committed to preserving Israel’s military edge in the Middle East…The agreement with the UAE did not include approval by Israel for any arms deal, Netanyahu said, adding that such a deal was perhaps being considered but that his opposition to such a deal had not changed. In any case, said the prime minister, Pompeo had made it clear to him that the U.S. was committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge.”

“The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States said his country’s move to normalize relations with Israel had ‘closed the gate on annexation and created new dynamics in the peace process.’ In an op-ed published Friday on the Israeli website Ynet, Yousef Al Otaiba described the rapprochement as serving both Palestinian and Israeli interests and welcomed Israelis to visit his country.”

“‘I think the parties had a reason to choose the word ‘suspend,” he told Israel Hayom, adding that annexation ‘is not a question of ‘if’ but of ‘when”.”The approach taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, working closely with President Trump and the White House, in my opinion, the most supportive White House for Israel ever, allows Israel to progress systematically with the UAE, and hopefully other Arab neighbors without giving up on what I see as Israel’s just claims,” declared Greenblatt. ‘There is hope for progress with other Arab neighbors following Netanyahu’s right move to sign a peace agreement with the UAE. ‘It is possible to act on [Judea and Samaria] at a later date,’  added Greenblatt, calling on those who opposed the sovereignty decision – including the right-wing circles in Israel, which came out strongly against the Trump plan and thus contributed to the delay in the implementation of annexation – to “reconsider their approach’.”

“For some reason, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hastily deleted a tweet where he wrote that Israel and the United Arab Emirates are both “advanced democracies.” According to Noa Landau’s excellent analysis in Haaretz last week, the agreement with the UAE is another step toward the end of the age of liberal democracy.”

“Hosts Diana Buttu and Omar Baddar break down what the recent normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel means and specifically how it impacts Palestinians.”

“The head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Southern Command was visiting Qatar this week in a bid to secure a ceasefire agreement with the Hamas terror group, the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Monday. According to the London-based Arabic-language daily, Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi led a delegation to Doha that included a number of other senior officials from the military, the Shin Bet security service, the Mossad and the National Security Council.”

“The military attacked underground facilities and military posts belonging to Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip on the night between Sunday and Monday,  according to an army statement.”

“Israeli warplanes carried out more air raids on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip early on Monday, according to the Israeli army. The Israeli army has carried out attacks on Gaza almost daily since August 6, along with tightening a blockade under which it has banned the entry of fuel for Gaza’s sole power plant, plunging the Palestinian territory into darkness. Monday’s attacks targeted a Hamas tunnel and some military points, the Israeli army said in a statement, and were carried out in retaliation for the launching of incendiary balloons from Gaza that Israel blames on Hamas, the group that rules the Gaza Strip.”

“At only 11 years old, he raps about war and the difficulties of growing up in Gaza. Abdel-Rahman Al-Shantti is also known as MCA Abdul and has a growing global online audience. He’s struck up friendships with rappers and DJs around the world and has even received airplay in Ireland.”

“Israeli authorities have significantly accelerated the number of home demolitions in East Jerusalem this year, despite the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis. Around 89 residential units have been demolished since the beginning of 2020, compared with 109 through all of last year. In the first three weeks of August alone, 24 homes were demolished, according to Ir Amim, a nonprofit that focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem. Ir Amim reported that in 58 of the cases, East Jerusalem residents demolished the buildings themselves. Residents can be charged large fees for the demolition work, leading many to take it upon themselves once the decision is made.”

Also See – “Israel on Track for Record Number of East Jerusalem Home Demolitions” (Haaretz) 

“The Shai (West Bank) Police have opened an investigation following the uprooting of over 300 olive trees and 20 fig trees and vines in the plot of a Palestinian farmer in the area of al-Tawamin in the South Hebron Hills. The farmer, Abu Mahmoud Barakat from the town of Yatta, told Haaretz that he estimates the damage caused to him – which includes the destruction of the irrigation system at the site – to be about 200,000 shekels ($59,000).”

“The Knesset Finance Committee gave its approval to legislation that would extend the deadline for passing a state budget on Monday, setting the stage for the proposal to be put before the Knesset for a second and then final vote in the hopes of preventing the country from going to its fourth election in less than two years.   The bill proposed by lawmaker Zvi Hauser is meant to avert dissolving the Knesset and a new election being called when the deadline for passing a budget passes at the end of Monday.”

Also See -“Netanyahu Says He Will Accept Compromise to Avoid Election” (Haaretz)

“Hundreds of anti-government protesters held a march in Jerusalem on Saturday night, despite police orders banning the movement of demonstrators. The protesters marched from the capital’s Chords Bridge to the Prime Minister’s Residence, despite police refusing to grant permission for the march. Police attempted to stop the procession, leading to light scuffles and at seven arrests, but then relented and allow the marchers to proceed to the main protest area near the Prime Minister’s Residence, the Ynet news site reported.”

“According to a report by the McClatchy News Service, Pompeo’s speech was reviewed by four teams of lawyers. ‘His lawyer, the State Department lawyers, RNC lawyers, White House lawyers have all worked on his appearance to make sure it is completely lawful and appropriate, including screening and approving all of his remarks,’ a source told the wire service. ‘They have all signed off on this.’ The report also said the speech was concerning to Israeli officials, who expressed worry that it could exacerbate an already growing divide on Israel in the United States.”

“On Friday, Minnesota Democratic Representative Betty McCollum introduced the Israeli Annexation Non-Recognition Act in the US Congress. The bill prohibits US recognition of or funding for Israel’s potential annexation of additional Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.”

“Top aides to presidential candidate Joe Biden have apologised to Arab and Muslim Democrats over an attack on Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour by the campaign, in an effort to quell anger over the controversy. In a private call with dozens of prominent activists on Sunday, Ashley Allison, national coalitions director for the Biden campaign, said she was “sorry” for the comments that a campaign spokesman made against Sarsour.”

“The Israeli firm NSO Group Technologies, whose software is used to hack into cellphones, has in the past few years sold its Pegasus spyware for hundreds of millions of dollars to the United Arab Emirates and other Persian Gulf States, where it has been used to monitor anti-regime activists, with the encouragement and the official mediation of the Israeli government…The company works only with state authorities, but it doesn’t distinguish between democracies and dictatorships, as in the Gulf; despite its claims, it does little to supervise how its technology is used. Israel put NSO in touch with Arab states in the region, and Israeli representatives even took part in marketing meetings between intelligence officials in the Arab states and NSO executives. Some of the meetings were held in Israel. NSO has a dedicated team that works with Gulf states, and all of its members have foreign passports. It’s the company’s most profitable division, with annual revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars. “