“The United States has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep alive the prospect of a Palestinian state as he considers West Bank annexation, a senior official said Thursday…David Schenker, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, said that Netanyahu was facing domestic pressure as some of his supporters ‘want annexation but aren’t particularly enamored of the vision for peace that calls for a Palestinian state as well. So we’re calling on the Israelis not to do anything that would preclude the implementation of the vision,’ Schenker said at the German Marshall Fund of the United States…He added he was unsure if Netanyahu would ultimately go ahead with annexation as he assesses the impact it would have. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t see anything, but I think that the prime minister would like to do something,’ Schenker said.” Also See – “US urges Netanyahu to keep alive chance of Palestinian state” (Arutz Sheva)

“…the assumption in Israel is that the ICC will accept Bensouda’s position and authorize investigations, in which case the court will pursue two types of charges: against Israeli soldiers and officers for alleged war crimes in Gaza and Judea and Samaria; and against allegedly illegal construction in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem. In Israel, officials are preparing to counter the ICC’s ruling with both overt and covert tools. Upon the establishment of the national unity government, Minister Zeev Elkin was put in charge of the ICC issue. Elkin is spearheading an inter-ministerial task force that for years now has been orchestrating Israeli activity to counter the ICC. The task force consists of representatives from the Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry, the National Security Council, the Strategic Affairs Ministry, the defense establishment and others. In recent months, in light of the expectation that the ICC will seek to investigate Israel, the task force has been laying the groundwork for the new situation. Israeli officials describe these actions as both defensive and offensive in nature, and will be set in motion if and when the ICC decides to launch investigations.”

“But the real wonder, of almost miraculous proportions, is happening on the hills to the east of the farm, north of Jericho. A dream is assuming material form here: The Palestinians are building a new village for themselves, for their own farmers and the Bedouin shepherds in the area, on the hills that overlook Einot Kedem from the east. Meanwhile, Omer Atidiah, with settlers from Mevo’ot Yericho and other nearby communities, are doing everything they can to stop and sabotage the construction work in order to prevent the Palestinians from building a village – God help us! – on their own land, in territory that is supposedly under their control. Yet, wonder of wonders, it looks as though this time the settlers’ violent hand will not win the day and the village will indeed come into being.”

“The window for the International Criminal Court’s pre-trial chamber to issue a jurisdictional ruling with regard to the ICC’s ability to hear war crimes suits regarding the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem could close Friday and not be reopened until August 13. There is no set date by which the ICC must rule on the matter, but speculation has been high that the court could issue a ruling this month in an attempt to avert any pending Israeli annexation plans.”

“July 1 proved to be a very ordinary day in our reality. Other ordinary days will follow, in a path paved by Israeli bulldozers, backed by Israeli courts, trampling over Palestinian homes and rights and dignity. The talk of de jure annexation might focus global attention, but that attention may fade if weeks pass and Israel decides that its preferred method of further oppressing Palestinians is by means of long-lasting de facto annexation, without adding to it a dash of de jure. For one way or another, it is the government of Israel that controls everyone and everything between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.”

“But some evangelical Christians in America are hoping to make it an animating issue for evangelical voters in this fall’s presidential election. That’s especially true for Mike Evans, the evangelical writer who founded a museum celebrating Christian supporters of Israel, the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem. His ‘Jerusalem Prayer Team’ Facebook page has more than 73 million followers. ‘This year, Israel is going to be the number one thing they take into the voting booth, and I’ll tell you why,’ Evans told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency this week. ‘The one thing that unites all evangelicals concerning Israel is Genesis 12:3: ‘I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee.’ So I’ve got 73 million evangelicals on my Jerusalem Prayer Team Facebook site alone, and I know them. … The only thing they believe they can do to get God to bless them is to bless the land of Israel’.”

“The Democratic Party’s policy platform for the 2020 fall elections will include a statement of strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, including the continuation of U.S. military aid to Israel and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The platform language on that issue, which is being finalized this week, represents a victory for former Vice President Joe Biden and his supporters in the party over the party’s more left-wing flank, which has sought to adopt a more critical approach towards Israel…The Democratic Party platform will also include opposition to BDS, the boycott, disinvestment and sanctions movement against Israel, as well as attempts to delegitimize Israel.”

“Last month, over 120 Palestinians in the United States published a list of principles aimed at candidates seeking office in 2020…Mondoweiss asked Ghada Elnajjar, a Palestinian-American community activist, political organizer, and one of the statement’s signatories about the demands, some questions about these principles and the upcoming election.”

“An influential American commentator has sent shock waves through the Jewish establishment and Washington policy-making circles by breaking a long-standing taboo: He has endorsed the idea of a democratic entity of Jews and Palestinians living with equal rights between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, arguing that a two-state solution — Israel and Palestine — is no longer possible…Coming just four months before the U.S. presidential election, Beinart’s comments could re-frame the debate in progressive circles that may soon be wielding some influence in the White House. That debate has gained strength as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks about annexing large parts of the West Bank.”

Tlaib – “So absolutely, people need to stop saying that the BDS movement is somehow anti-Semitic — there are Jews who support the BDS movement. There are folks who truly believe in stopping racism of all forms, and they use the boycott as a form of speech….I specifically say the two-state is almost impossible now around the racist policies of Netanyahu — that [a] two-state would be impossible without actually hurting Israelis. If you think about some of the Israeli families [who] have been in those communities for almost five decades, is the solution to push them out and recreate that kind of hurt? I just don’t know how you uproot people yet again. That’s what happened to Palestinians. I also know from my lens that growing up in the United States, “separate but equal” doesn’t work.”

“As of late Thursday, it looked like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s second hearing in his bribery trial would take place on Sunday as scheduled. Yes, the government is talking about new coronavirus restrictions for Friday and a potential national lockdown any day…The Jerusalem Post checked this with a Blue and White spokeswoman leading into the expected lockdown, and she reaffirmed that the courts would remain open even if there was a lockdown.”