(TWEAKING ATCA) S. 2132: Introduced 7/16 by Lankford (R-OK), Grassley (R-IA) and Duckworth (D-IL), “A bill to promote security and provide justice for United States victims of international terrorism.” For details of the original version of the bill, see the 7/19 edition and the 9/20 edition of the Round-Up. On 10/17, the Senate Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment to S. 2132 offered by Coons (D-DE) and Grassley (R-IA) – (I detailed the amendment in a Twitter thread on 9/26. Video of the hearing is here. Lankford’s press release crowing over the Committee’s passage of the bill is here.

“Less than 48 hours after clashes between security forces and settlers near the northern West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, a group of 10 settlers threw rocks and bottles of paint at Border Police in the same area on Monday evening. One soldier was reportedly hit by a rock but did not require medical treatment, and the army dispersed the rioters using stun grenades, according to Hebrew media reports.”

“The Kan public broadcaster reported Tuesday that less than 48 hours before Sunday morning clashes in which a soldier was struck by a rock, the Yitzhar secretariat issued a notice to residents saying the community was freezing its communications with the army over the latter’s refusal to cancel an order temporarily evicting one of the local residents from the settlement.”

“The rioters from the West Bank settlements and outposts should be grateful. Their numbers would not have grown, nor would their power have increased had the army, the police and the Israeli Civil Administration in the territories not for decades handled them with kid gloves, helping them take over another plot of land, to assault and drive out one more Palestinian and one more flock of goats from grazing land and to burn one more olive grove.”

“Cry for Zion, an Israel-based organization started in 2014, is recruiting Christians worldwide in its campaign to push Israel to fully control the site, which is administered by a Muslim religious trust, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf.”

“The heads of local municipalities in the center and north are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tackle a real threat to citizens living close to the West Bank security barrier after multiple gaps in the fence were found.”

“The premier made the announcement two days before his final deadline to present a coalition. Rivlin stated in response that he intends to tap the prime minister’s rival and Kahol Lavan leader Benny Gantz. He is expected to formally announce his decision within 72 hours, by Thursday evening. Gantz, a former Israeli army chief of staff, will have 28 days to try to form a coalition. If the Gantz-led coalition talks also fail, any lawmaker backed by a majority of at least 61 Knesset members would be the next one to have a go at forming a coalition.”

Anshel Pfeffer writes, “the most likely outcome right now is that Gantz exhausts the 28 days he will be granted, and the next 21 days, in which any candidate backed by 61 lawmakers can form a government, will run out as well. And then Israel will be heading to a third election in less than 12 months. It’s clear that Netanyahu is now aiming for that. His rhetoric in recent weeks, including in Monday’s video, has been to blame Gantz both of irresponsibly forcing Israel to face the Iranian threat without a functioning government, and of entertaining the possibility of cooperating with the ‘Israel-hating’ Joint List. These are outlandish claims and also the main messages for the next election campaign. A third election cycle works well for Netanyahu. It means he gets at least another six months to serve as prime minister and then another crack at winning a majority.”

Naomi Chazan writes, “The current violent cycle in Israel constitutes yet another sign of the retreat of its democratic vigor. Reversing this pattern — easily accomplished by a government truly mindful that it is meant to serve all citizens and groups equally — is both overdue and essential. The end of the holidays may hopefully usher in such a new and more equitable ruling coalition which will put this issue at the top of its agenda.”

“The casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who founded and finances the newspaper at a significant loss, is known in Israel as Netanyahu’s patron. In the United States, he has become one of the biggest donors to the Republican party, and to its representative in the White House — Donald Trump. During Trump’s campaign for the presidency, the Las Vegas Journal-Review, owned by the Adelsons, was the first major newspaper to endorse him for president. Israel Hayom, however, deployed its journalist troops even before its American sister publication.”

“Rosh Haayin, east of Tel Aviv on the border of the West Bank, is a hung city in a hung country where a postelection political crisis is dragging on.”

“The Palestinian government is continuing its effort to disengage economically from Israel. Palestinian Minister of National Economy Khaled al-Asaily has asked Egypt to support finalizing Palestinian participation in the Agadir Agreement on free trade among Arab states…The Agadir Agreement, signed in February 2004 and implemented in 2007, provides for the accession of any Arab country and aims to develop economic activity, support employment, increase production and improve living standards of its members.”

A Palestinian official close to Abbas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “The Saudi-Palestinian talks tackled on the one hand the political aspect including coordination of joint stances in line with developments in the region and Palestinian preparations for the elections, and on the other hand the financial aspect related to increasing Saudi support for the PA that is undergoing a financial crisis. The visit resulted in agreement on forming a joint economic committee and a Saudi-Palestinian business council.”

“A reporter asked Warren during a campaign event if she would ‘make aid to Israel conditional on freezing settlements.’ Warren replied, ‘Right now, Netanyahu says he is going to take Israel in a direction of increasing settlements; that does not move us toward a two-state solution. It is the official policy of the United States of America to support a two-state solution, and if Israel is moving in the opposite direction, then everything is on the table’.”

“During a question-and-answer session at the South Side campus, a freshman and activist with the Jewish anti-occupation group IfNotNow asked if the candidate would make aid to Israel contingent upon ending the occupation.  ‘I think that the aid is leverage to guide Israel in the right direction,’ Buttigieg said. ‘If, for example, there is follow-through on these threats of annexation, I’m committed to ensuring that the US is not footing the bill for that.’ He suggested that pressuring Israel to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution was in its long-term interest of remaining a Jewish democracy.”