“The Peace Now settlement watchdog pointed out that in removing Palestinian travelers from E1, where Israel is seeking to entrench settler presence, the Defense Ministry is enabling the advancing of the West Bank security barrier’s construction around Ma’ale Adumim and E1, which has long been stalled. The left-wing group said in a statement that ‘the planned road would allow Israel to cut the West Bank in half… and shut down the possibility of developing a viable Palestinian state. The only roads Israel paved for Palestinians in its 52 years of control over the territories were designed to allow Israel to build settlements or barriers that block existing Palestinian routes. There is no desire here to improve Palestinian transportation, only to expand the settlements,’ Peace Now said.”

“Such a move to build this road should be understood in context of yesterday’s comments by Netanyahu that he had given the directive to promote major plans for building in E1. Today, the the two plans in question in E1 were deposited. It should also be taken in context of recent government actions to promote settlement construction in Givat Hamatos and Har Homa to sever the Bethlehem-Jerusalem continuum, and the early promotion of a plan to turn the decommissioned Atarot Airport into a new Jerusalem settlement that would work toward severing the Ramallah-Jerusalem continuum.”

“A Jerusalem municipality committee has put a hold on dozens of building plans for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, saying those submitting the plans have not proven their ownership of the land. Leading the opposition to the building plans is city council member and right-wing activist Yonatan Yosef, who was appointed in some cases to examine applicants’ land ownership rights. Yosef does not deny that he is placing obstacles in the path of those requesting building permits. He says that he is doing so to prevent corruption and land theft.”

“A month after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East plan, Israelis went to the polls for a third time in a year. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to declare victory, not much has shifted the deadlock from the previous two rounds, and no party is able to form a government yet. For Diana Buttu, Palestinian human rights lawyer, analyst, and former advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization, the contents of the ‘Trump-Netanyahu plan,’ as she calls it, are cause for alarm.”

“In coordination with the major Arab countries, the Palestinian leadership should outline a detailed timetable and framework for a regional vision of peace that integrates Israel into the region’s political, economic, and security infrastructure. This element of the joint Palestinian-Arab response should provide a narrative illustrating the direct benefits of peace to Israel and the region. Such a response would likely find support among Israelis who seek to preserve Israel’s Jewish and democratic character. It would also likely find support in Europe and among Democrats in the United States. A Democratic U.S. president, if one is elected later this year, could put the Trump plan aside, lay out a new proposal for bridging the gap between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and provide a more evenhanded U.S. policy to resolve the conflict. In contrast, Trump’s reelection would probably doom any chance for Palestinian-Israeli peace, particularly if the next Israeli government is controlled by the right-wing Likud Party and its more extreme partners among the religious parties. In such a scenario, the PA would have no choice but to embark on a gradual process of dissolution, leading eventually to an irreversible, de facto one-state reality.”

“’The EU is still trapped by its focus on the two-state paradigm,’ says Miguel Rodriguez Vidosa, a Mashreq officer at EuroMed Rights, a network of NGOs working on human rights in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The parameters of this paradigm, he notes, effectively ‘subordinates respect for international norms and human rights to direct negotiations, peace process, and bilateralism between the two parties.’ The attachment to the two-state idea has disconnected Europe’s policy from the new political realities that are countering this goal. Since 2009, Israel has been governed by three consecutive right-wing coalitions led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made the prevention of a Palestinian state a cornerstone of his policy.”

“On that day, our pair had the largest number of hits, 42 in all. My locator wasn’t supposed to shoot, but I gave him a break, because we were getting close to the end of our stint, and he didn’t have knees. In the end you want to leave with the feeling that you did something, that you weren’t a sniper during exercises only. So, after I had a few hits, I suggested to him that we switch. He got around 28 knees there, I’d say.”

“Miral Abu Amsha died last Friday evening. The director of An-Najah University Hospital, in Nablus, Dr. Kamal Hijazi, sent a WhatsApp message on Sunday: ‘It breaks our hearts to let you know that Miral passed away on Friday evening. She waited for nearly two months to be transferred to a higher level of care. Makassed [in East Jerusalem] and two hospitals in Jordan wouldn’t accept her. What a sad ending for a beautiful child who endured needless suffering due to politics.'”

“Blue & White Chairman Benny Gantz agreed on Sunday to a set of prerequisites published by Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman for joining a center-left coalition government. Liberman made it clear he would not back down from his election promises regarding conversion to Judaism and opening businesses on the Sabbath, which significantly diminishes chances he will enter negotiation talks with the religious parties. This move is likely to make the establishment of a government more difficult for Gantz and will narrow down the possibilities available to him even further.”

“Sources in Yisrael Beiteinu described the planned meeting as a ‘decisive’ one, after which Lieberman and the party’s MKs will decide whether to recommend to the president that Gantz be the one to form the next government. Kahol Lavan confirmed Sunday night that party representatives were in contact with Yisrael Beiteinu and the Joint List over efforts to form a minority government with their support.”

“Gantz revealed that a man tried to assault him Saturday evening as he arrived at a speaking engagement, and that Netanyahu supporters have been threatening him online. One post called for Gantz to be murdered just like former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish ultra-nationalist in 1995. Another portrayed him and his fellow party leaders in Arab headdress, similar to images that circulated of Rabin before he was killed.”

“It was not immediately clear if the defense minister was proposing a closure that would prevent Palestinians from entering Israel from the West Bank or a harsher lockdown that would also bar Palestinians from traveling within the territory. Asked to clarify the matter, Bennett’s office said, ‘Tomorrow different scenarios will be presented during the meeting.’ An unrelated closure of the West Bank began at 12:01 a.m. Sunday — not because of the virus but due to this week’s Purim holiday — and was scheduled to remain in place until at least Wednesday night. Under this closure, Palestinians are not permitted to enter Israel through the crossings surrounding the West Bank, though they can travel within the territory. In addition, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was completely closed off last week, with all entrances and egresses to the area shut down, in light of an outbreak of the virus there.”

LIVE UPDATES: “39 Israelis have so far tested positive for coronavirus, known as COVID-19; thousands have been placed in isolation; 38-year-old Israeli man from East Jerusalem’s condition worsens”

“We may be forced to close the bridges in the coming days,” Shtayyeh said, noting that any such move would be done in coordination with Israel and Jordan. “We hopefully will not need to do that.”

“Sunday’s standstill hurt the government’s credibility as it insisted that public health, not politics, was the sole consideration when it came to fighting the outbreak of the disease. Another sign that political considerations had begun to play a role in the restrictions was the fact that the large number of Israelis returning from the AIPAC convention in Washington D.C. were not being required to self-quarantine, even after the finding that three people at the conference – which was attended by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and a long list of senators and congressmen – had been diagnosed with the virus.”

“’There’s a feeling of paralysis,’ Katan said, adding that the closure is taking place during a period when tourism was growing. ‘Closing the city this month when we have organized a big event like the Bethlehem marathon, which has now been cancelled, is a very tough blow to everybody. I went around the city yesterday and there were still some tourists, but very few. The city is almost dead. Without tourism there’s nothing to do in Bethlehem.’ On Friday morning residents told Haaretz that checkpoints to and from Israel had been shut. One resident, who asked not to be identified, said it’s not clear how the decision will be implemented. ‘There are foreign citizens and people who have Israeli citizenship. What will they do with them if they reach the checkpoints? The fear is that this is more of a decision by a defense minister who wants to prove his existence than a decision that will have a real impact on preventing the spread of corona.’”

“This is the first time in its 20-year history that the organization, which provides free 10-day trips to Israel for young Jewish adults, has terminated trips.”

“In the past two days, Israeli authorities have coordinated the departure of dozens of foreign tourist groups from the Palestinian territories to Ben-Gurion Airport and back to their home countries, in collaboration with the relevant foreign embassies and representative offices. The Defense Ministry’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said the decision came after tourists were involved in several cases of coronavirus contraction and disease in the Palestinian territories, which affected locals as well.”

“Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh announced at a March 4 press conference in Moscow that Hamas presented four proposals for internal Palestinian reconciliation: forming a national unity government, holding comprehensive Palestinian elections, holding a Palestinian National Council meeting outside of Ramallah so that all Palestinian factions can participate and holding a meeting for the factions’ secretaries-general. Haniyeh said that any of the proposals could achieve internal reconciliation and that Hamas will agree to any option Fatah chooses. He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the proposals and expressed Moscow’s readiness to host the Palestinian factions’ meeting.”

” the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) moved to dismiss a meritless lawsuit filed against it by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and several individuals. Human rights attorneys say the lawsuit targets USCPR’s support of Palestinian rights and is intended to chill them from engaging in constitutionally protected advocacy. ‘The fact that we’re under attack is no surprise: human rights defenders around the world are under attack from repressive regimes and their allies. This lawsuit is part of this global, right-wing assault on civil society and movements seeking to build a better future for all,’ said Ramah Kudaimi, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Deputy Director. ‘We will not be intimidated, and our work dedicated to the rights of the Palestinian people—work that is grounded in the principles of equal rights, justice, and freedom for all—will continue.’ Attorneys say the lawsuit makes outlandish claims, casting collective activism and expressions of solidarity as unlawful. Plaintiffs base their far-fetched accusations of conspiracy and material support for terrorism on USCPR’s support for Palestinian rights, including for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law. Their claims also rely on USCPR’s criticism of Israel’s unlawful use of force against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza who are demanding their internationally recognized right of return to their homes, as well as its participation in the Stop the JNF Campaign aimed at exposing and challenging the JNF’s role in dispossessing Palestinians of their land.”

“An Israeli delegation traveled to the United States this week for talks on coordinating a joint US-Israeli campaign against the International Criminal Court, Israeli television reported Friday…Steinitz, who was accompanied by Deputy National Security Adviser Reuven Azar, reportedly met with officials at the White House, State Department and Congress. An Israeli official said some of the meetings were with Democratic lawmakers, as Israel wants bipartisan backing against the court.”

“Cruz laid out his strategy in a closed-door meeting with American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) activists on Capitol Hill earlier this week, the aide said. In the meeting, Cruz said he expected Russia and China to support the proposed UN Security Council resolution because they also worry the court could target their citizens. Cruz also told the group that he expected British and French diplomats to be open to the effort out of concerns about the court’s legitimacy.”