State Department calls latest approval of new homes in Gilo and elsewhere as ‘systematically undermining prospects for two-state solution.’

Israeli military authorities have demolished at least 180 Palestinian homes since the start of 2016 alone, and over 1,100 in the past decade, according to B’Tselem and the UN.

It has long been an open secret that the settlement enterprise was launched under false pretenses, involving the expropriation of Palestinian land for ostensibly military purposes when the true intent was to build civilian settlements, which is a violation of international law. Now a secret document from 1970 has surfaced confirming this long-held assumption.

Peace Now: “The publication of tenders for 323 housing units a day after the home demolitions in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem is indicative of the government’s policy: on the one hand the government does not allow for Palestinian construction, and on the other hand it promotes massive construction for Israelis.”

“The trial of IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who is suspected of shooting a Palestinian assailant on the ground, must bring back to the spotlight other cases where IDF soldiers shot Palestinians who didn’t threaten their lives,” writes Shlomi Eldar.

Residents expelled by Israel to the besieged Gaza Strip 14 years ago say they have been estranged from their origins.

Prominent figures in Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem and other organizations report harassment of family members, and say the delegitimization campaign against them starts in the government.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon traded barbs with the Likud party Wednesday after claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to cede control over the Jordan Valley as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians. Netanyahu’s Likud party dismissed the allegation.

Lower Galilee Regional Council head Motti Dotan tells a radio station that Arabs’ ‘culture of cleanliness isn’t the same as ours.’

For past two years, Hamas has won the contest considered the best barometer of Palestinian public opinion — student elections at Ramallah’s Birzeit University, a historic stronghold for Fatah.

Fatah and Hamas, the two leading Palestinian factions, are to hold another round of reconciliation talks in the coming weeks in a bid to mend fences after nearly a decade of hostility, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday.