“‘We are not against the Jews. We are Muslims. A Muslim who says ‘I’m against a Jew or against the Torah’ is a heretic.’ The person who said these words is not a Muslim cleric, it’s Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority. It’s part of a speech he delivered in front of the members of the United Nations Security Council last week. It’s a courageous, far-reaching statement, which has never been heard from a Palestinian leader, not even from Yasser Arafat, who signed the Oslo Accords.”

“The joint U.S.-Israel committee tasked with mapping the areas to which Israel will extend its sovereignty under the Trump peace plan is ready to start working.A senior official in the U.S. administration confirmed to Israel Hayom that U.S. President Donald Trump has appointed to the committee U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Friedman’s senior adviser Aryeh Lightstone, and Scott Leith, director of Israeli and Palestinian affairs at the National Security Council. The appointments were announced a day after Israel announced its own appointments to the committee: Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, and Ronen Peretz, director of the Prime Minister’s Office.” Also see: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Friedman to Lead Joint Committee on Settlement Annexation

“The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Sunday slammed the US-Israeli team which started drawing maps for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, a statement revealed. According to the statement which was reported by Anadolu Agency, the PA minister of foreign affairs and expatriates announced that the formation of this team is: ‘Persistent on the aggression against Palestinian rights.’ In addition, the statement disclosed: ‘This proves that the US administration underestimates all the international resolutions and stances which rejected the ‘Deal of the Century’.’”

“The Palestinian prime minister lashed out Sunday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Mideast conflict, saying it would be ‘buried very soon.’ Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mohammad Shtayyeh said the U.S. plan was ‘no more than a memo of understanding between [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Trump.’”

“Officials in Jerusalem are concerned that some European countries are preparing to recognize a Palestinian state in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, Ynet reported on Sunday. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn is behind the initiative, the officials said, according to the report, adding that he was to host an event on Sunday to also gain the support of his counterparts from Portugal, Finland, Spain, Belgium, France, Malta, Sweden and Slovenia. European foreign ministers are planning to meet on Monday for their regular monthly meeting. The officials also said that the worry is that even if no agreement is reached among the countries, some of them will publicly voice their opposition to the Trump plan and call for greater involvement of the European Union in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Also see: In Wake of Trump Peace Plan, EU Countries Pushing for Recognition of State of Palestine

“Three weeks after publication of the deal of the century on Jan. 28, the world understands that it is all about empty concepts — Palestinian state, territorial exchange and Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. Many Israelis understand that Israel would have been better off if this deal had never seen the light of day. Even the economic aspects of the deal are revealed as a hopeless, if glittering, vision.”

“A Palestinian mayor was forced to resign Saturday after facing public criticism for participating in a conference with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv. Hamdallah Hamdallah, mayor of the West Bank town of Anabta, was one of some 20 Palestinian Authority officials to attend Friday’s gathering to express support for the two-state solution and opposition to the peace plan unveiled last month by US President Donald Trump’s administration. The Israeli officials at the conference, titled ‘yes to peace, no to annexation,’ were mainly left-wing ex-politicians and Arab Israeli public figures.”

“Over the last week, pedestrians and drivers in Tel Aviv caught a glimpse of an especially disturbing billboard that had been posted across the city. The billboard, erected by the far-right group, Israeli Victory Project, showed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh blindfolded and on their knees on a backdrop of destruction. The caption read: ‘Peace is only made with defeated enemies.’ By Sunday morning, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai had ordered the billboards taken down, saying the images “incited the kind of violence reminiscent of ISIS and the Nazis.” But what was actually disturbing about the billboard was not the incitement. Israel does not need cheerleaders when it comes to the violence it metes out against the Palestinian people. What is particularly nauseating is the way in which the billboard lays out for all to see the darkest, sickest aspects of Israel’s collective gaze vis-à-vis our neighbors.” Also see: Israel: ‘Peace is only made with vanquished enemies’

“Amazon has been accused of bias for offering free shipping to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and not to Palestinian villages. The online retail giant began selling its international products in Israel late last year and offers free shipping on orders of $49 or more. But the address has to be listed as Israel. Residents of Palestinian communities who list their addresses as being in the ‘Palestinian Territories’ pay shipping and handling fees of as much as $24, the Financial Times reported.”

“An Israeli police officer who wounded a nine-year-old Palestinian boy in clashes in East Jerusalem over the weekend admitted to having used his weapon, but claimed he only fired a single sponge-tipped bullet at a wall to calibrate his sights.”

“The police said Sunday that its internal investigations unit is probing the serious injury of a nine-year-old boy, who was apparently wounded by a sponge-tipped bullet during a police operation the previous day in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. ‘During a police operation, riot-dispersal means were used and a nine-year old minor was hurt,’ the police said in a statement. ‘The incident has been transferred to the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department. We are sorry for the injury to the minor and wish him a speedy recovery.”

“The only way to end this intolerable practice of shooting children – who clearly didn’t endanger the lives of the people who shot them – is to prosecute the responsible parties. As long as police make do with empty media statements about an ‘inquiry,’ while the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, asked about a child who was shot, merely says it’s “aware of the allegation,” children will continue to be shot without let or hindrance. There’s nobody to make it clear to soldiers and police officers that when they shoot children, they are committing a crime.”

“Germany and Hungary on Friday backed Israel’s position at the International Criminal Court, which is currently weighing whether to open an investigation into possible war crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank. Like the Czech Republic on Thursday, Berlin submitted a request to become an amicus curiae — a “friend of the court” who is not a party to the case but wants to offer its views. Hungary also submitted an application, diplomatic officials told The Times of Israel, citing the same rational.” Also see: Israel hopes ICC members will help stave off Palestinian investigation

“…Both Jacobs and Antman expressed deep frustration at the confusion – and the overall limitations that the Masa restrictions placed on them. Antman expressed skepticism that the roadblocks to interacting with Palestinians in the West Bank were being put in place strictly due to safety concerns. ‘I think it’s fair to ask if there would be all of this back-and-forth and all of these questions about safety if we were going to go to [the Jewish settlements in] Gush Etzion or to Efrat,’ said Antman. ‘Are the security concerns really so different regarding what area in Area C you were traveling to? What exactly is Masa hoping we will not see or experience?’ He added that the travel limitations tied to their scholarships has ‘discouraged classmates from engaging in programs and opportunities in A, B and C, and that has been a frustration for all of us.’”

“Since 2016 Israel has been revoking entry permits of people whose surnames are identical to those of Palestinian assailants. It’s called deterrence.”

“…Ramadan Dabash, a Palestinian civil engineer and community activist, has gone further than most in trying to bridge that divide. In 2018, he became the first Arab to run for Jerusalem’s city council. But he won little support from his own community or anyone else, drawing only 3,000 votes out of about 250,000 cast. Still, even as he says Israeli rule is discriminatory, Dabash continues to assert that the eastern part of the city would benefit from being more fully integrated under Jerusalem’s government. ‘We live under two occupations, Israel and the Palestinian Authority,’ he said. ‘One kind of hell is a little better than the other kind of hell.’ But Mahmoud Muna, the owner of a popular bookshop in East Jerusalem, said he doubts Israeli efforts to improve services in his part of the city would significantly change the quality of life. ‘It is the political reality that needs to be changed to improve people’s lives,’ he said, adding, ‘There is not integration but penetration.’”

“At a moment in which the United States and Israel are ripping up the basis for a meaningful two-state solution, members of the international community, particularly European states, should take a moment to reflect on where they stand. Rather than join the battle against accountability mechanisms, governments should treat the UN database as a tangible effort to preserve the territorial footprint of a future Palestinian state. They should also see it as an opportunity to strengthen domestic, mandatory due diligence, and develop stronger regulatory frameworks that prevent business practices in Israeli settlements. Failing to stand up for the international community’s collective beliefs will only embolden the Israeli settler movement and those who profit from it. Such failure will also deepen a one-state reality of open-ended occupation and inequality, and erode the relevance of the international rules-based order.”

“Authorities have given approval to move forward with a controversial plan to place a train station in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City and whisk tourists from Ben-Gurion Airport to the Western Wall, Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s office said Monday. In a statement, Smotrich’s office said the plan, initiated by his predecessor Israel Katz, had been hindered over the past year, without elaborating. However, following a directive from Smotrich, the National Planning and Building Council approved a new route for the train, the Transportation Ministry said. It did not specify the details of the altered route.”

“…For decades, the Israeli government has used archaeology to, in the words of scholar Nadia Abu El-Haj, ‘create the fact of an ancient Israelite/Jewish nation and nation state,’ shoring up the narrative of Jewish historical ties to the land while ignoring or glossing over other peoples who have inhabited the same space – and erasing Palestinian claims to and presence on the land. Moreover, archaeological excavation in occupied territory is largely illegal under international law. Further, while biblical archaeology, the aim of which is to prove the validity of the Bible through tangible evidence, has been around for two centuries, the recent rise of Christian Zionism as a political force in the US and the movement’s cosy relationship with the Israeli government has made it all the more influential and pervasive.”

“Israeli fighter jets struck Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip early Sunday morning in response to two rockets fired from Gaza at southern Israeli communities on Saturday, according to the Israeli military. The army confirmed that two rockets were fired from the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave, landing in open terrain and causing no damage. According to an Israel Defense Forces statement, a military compound used by Hamas was hit. ‘This strike will impede the Hamas terror organization’s future abilities,’ said the statement. Consequently, Israel announced it was suspending the easing of the sanctions on Gaza, including the expansion of its fishing zone.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently told the heads of Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip that it would be challenging to launch a wide-scale operation in the Hamas-controlled enclave two weeks before the national elections. Netanyahu convened the officials at the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday for a private meeting to discuss the situation on the southern border. The tensions along the Israel-Gaza border have risen in recent weeks due to the continuing rocket and explosive balloon attacks.”

“Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi on Monday morning told Arutz Sheva that the only solution to the Gaza terror is to conduct a widescale operation in the area. In an interview, Davidi referred to a meeting held Sunday in which leaders of the Gaza border communities met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.”

“Israel’s move to tighten the blockade on the Gaza Strip, including reimposing restrictions on Palestinian fishing, will ‘increase tensions’, a spokesman for Hamas, the group that governs the enclave, has said…His remarks came hours after Israel announced it would cancel a slight easing of the siege on Gaza, saying the move was in response to the launch of two rockets from the strip. No injuries were reported and no Palestinian factions in Gaza claimed responsibility. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said it launched a series of air raids targeting Hamas sites in Gaza. Palestinian sources said Israeli aircraft targeted a Hamas site in central Gaza overnight. There were no reports of casualties.The decision to cancel the slight easing of the enclave’s airtight land, sea and air blockade, which has been in place for more than a decade, also included the scrapping of the restoration of 500 commercial permits and the delivery of cement, according to COGAT, an Israeli military unit that is responsible for civilian matters in the occupied territories.”

“Hundreds of Jordanians participated in a march in the downtown of the capital Amman on Friday, protesting against U.S. President Donald Trump’s U.S. Middle East peace plan commonly known as the ‘Deal of the Century.’ The protesters demanded the Jordanian Government show action against the Jordanian-Israeli Gas deal as well, calling for an end to the ‘deal of shame.’ The protests expressed that terminating the Gas deal will be the first real step for the Jordanian government towards the rejection of the Middle East peace plan which was announced by Trump last January.”

“Relating to Israel’s relationships with other Muslim nations in the Middle East and Africa, Netanyahu said that he has ‘been developing context with the Arab and Muslim countries and I can tell you this, there are scarcely one, two, three Muslim or Arab countries around the world that we don’t have intimate ties.’ Netanyahu noted that following a recent meeting with the president of Sudan, that ‘the first Israeli airplane passed yesterday over the skies of Sudan’ en route to South America. ‘I am just telling you what is above the surface,’ said Netanyahu, comparing Israel’s relations with Muslims countries to an iceberg, in which most of the contacts are taking place under the radar.”

“Upgrading relations with Israel will occur only when a peace agreement is signed and is in accordance with Palestinian conditions,”  Saudi Arabia’s new foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud noted on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in response to a question from Maariv about Israel-Saudi relations. The Jerusalem Post‘s sister publication also asked whether improvements to the relationship would include a non-aggression pact as well as open and formal relations with the Arab Gulf states.”

“As Jerusalem and Riyadh inch closer to ties, travel blogger Alex Lapshin jumped at the opportunity to be one of the first-ever Israelis to visit Saudi Arabia after it recently opened its gates to citizens of the country looking to explore investment opportunities there. According to Lapshin, the people of Saudi Arabia were ‘extremely friendly.’ He said the Saudis he met all knew he was from Israel, showed interest in the country, and were overjoyed by the newly developing relationship between the two countries.”

“‘There is scarcely one Muslim or Arab country around the world we don’t have deepening ties with,’ said Netanyahu.’Sometimes it comes out in the open. A year ago [my wife] Sara and I went on a very moving visit to Oman, and two weeks ago we had a very moving visit with the president of Sudan.’ Sudan hosted the Khartoum conference with the famous ‘Three No’s,’ and now we’re discussing rapid normalization. The first Israeli airplanes passed yesterday over the skies of Sudan. ‘We now have flights over Sudan direct to South America, and people can stop on the way in Chad, which also resumed relations with us recently,’ Netanyahu observed of that Muslim African nation.” Also see: PA Spokesman: Israelis have to live with us, not the Sudanese

“The heads of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said Sunday that last week’s visit by a delegation from the US Jewish umbrella group to Saudi Arabia represented a ‘big step forward’ in the kingdom’s warming ties with Israel. ‘We just came back from a very important trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was the first such trip we have had to the kingdom and we feel it was very productive. Very encouraging,’ said Conference of Presidents chairman Arthur Stark in a press conference in Jerusalem alongside  executive vice president Malcolm Hoenlein and CEO William Daroff.”

“Right-wing religious parties allied with Likud on Sunday again declared their loyalty to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, putting their signatures to a document pledging to back him for premier after next month’s national election. The letter was signed by Yamina, United Torah Judaism, and Shas. It was initiated by Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri, the head of Shas. ‘We’ll only support Netanyahu. We are convinced that the right-wing bloc will succeed in getting 61 seats in the elections and assembling a strong nationalist government for the people of Israel,’ the letter said.”

“Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said on Monday that the Arab political parties were an illegitimate coalition partner due to their anti-Zionist platforms. Speaking at the Conference of Presidents annual leadership mission, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein denied that there was any ethical problem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu serving as premier while under indictment and on trial.”

“The predominantly Arab Joint List Knesset party on Sunday launched a unique campaign in Yiddish, seeking to promote solidarity between Arab Israelis and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. It is one of several campaign messages that are directed at specific Jewish communities in Israel, with the stated goal of “breaking the walls separating all the state’s citizens” and perhaps winning some unlikely extra votes along the way. The Joint List put up the posters Sunday in ultra-Orthodox areas, including in the cities of Bnei Brak and Beit Shemesh. In Yiddish, the signs say: ‘Your vote against the enlistment decree.’”

“Sixteen days before the election, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday gave multiple interviews in which he repeated his vow that he would not invite the Joint List to join a coalition after the elections, asserting that he would not require the support of the predominately Arab political alliance.’I will not sit with the Joint List and I do not need their support,’ Gantz told Channel 12 news. ‘I heard [Avigdor] Liberman this morning say that he will sit with Labor and Meretz and he will sit with us. We have no agreements with Liberman. We had great negotiations with him before the previous Knesset was dissolved. We have achieved unprecedented achievements in understanding about religion and the state.’”