Since September, Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans in attacks.
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UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, called on Israel for a full investigation into the killing of a Palestinian teen by Israeli forces during an unprecedented raid into al-Fawwar refugee camp last week that left dozens others injured by Israeli fire. “And we’ve said repeatedly such moves are not consistent with Israel’s stated desire to achieve a two-state solution”, deputy State Department spokesman Marc Toner said Tuesday during a daily briefing with reporters in response to a question.
Since the start of the year, Israel has seized dozens of weapons, shuttered arms-making factories and arrested weapons dealers in a clampdown in the West Bank meant to quell a spate of Palestinian violence.
Among Jewish Israelis, 53 percent support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel has always been building settlements in the occupied lands of the West Bank despite opposition from the United Nations.
Israeli authorities have granted preliminary permission for the planning of new Israeli homes in the city of Hebron, a flashpoint between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Governor of Hebron said the move showed that the Israeli government was partnering with the “settlers”, calling it “one of the most unsafe decisions that has been made in regards to Hebron”.
Egyptian President Abel Fattah a-Sisi announced Sunday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that Russia is ready to host direct negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinians say that continued construction on occupied lands is a sign of bad faith by Israel.
Despite the continued deadlock, a new Israeli-Palestinian poll released Monday showed that a narrow majority on both sides still favor a peace settlement that would establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Hermann says there’s still some basis for optimism “with the right leadership”.
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The Palestinian think tank and the Israel Democracy Institute, a leading research center in Jerusalem, surveyed 1,184 Israelis and 1,270 Palestinians, revealing mistrust and fear of the other on both sides, along with some hope for flexibility.
