Sales of Israeli goods in West Bank down 50% due to boycott

Palestinian businesses are seeing a spike in activity as locals are increasingly searching for Palestinian alternatives to Israeli products.

Palestine

Did Bibi choose to preserve Hamas to avoid talks with Abbas?

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset member Israel Hasson, a former deputy head of Shin Bet, charges that Prime Minister Netanyahu has chosen to preserve Hamas as part of a strategy to keep Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas weak and unable to negotiate.

Palestine

Israel must end Gaza-West Bank separation policy

The failure of the current talks with Hamas emphasize the urgent need for Israel to end its ''separation policy'' of isolating Gaza from the West Bank.

Palestine

The new Gaza state

Hamas soon can pride itself on imposing an agreement on Israel, which actually opens the way for a future Gaza state — when in fact it only is obtaining what was reasonable to give the Gazans many years ago.

Palestine

Israel lost on all fronts of the Gaza war

Not only did Israel lose its deterrence edge against Hamas, it also severely exposed its frayed ties with the US and the international community and faces a more comprehensive European boycott of settlement products.

Palestine

Rafah crossing used as a bargaining chip in Gaza crisis

The economic and humanitarian interests of the people of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula are relegated to the political game that will determine whether the Rafah crossing is reopened or not.

Palestine

Stuck in the '90s: Israel’s peace camp is losing public interest

After weeks of rocket fire, the Israeli public, including many in the left, feel that the peace camp has no adequate proposals and can offer no updated paradigm for a diplomatic solution.

Palestine

Gaza cease-fire talks hit snag over sea, air ports

Egypt has proposed that discussions of sea and air ports for Gaza be postponed until September, a move that is unlikely to receive a warm response from Hamas.

Palestine

US missile shipment delay should teach Israel lesson

Now that the White House policy of scrutinizing arms shipments to Israel is out in the open, Israel might begin to understand the price it will pay for rejecting a diplomatic process with the Palestinians.

Palestine

Will US Middle East policy change after the Gaza war?

After the Gaza war, the challenge for the Obama administration will be to stabilize the region, prevent an intifada and create a basis for future progress.

Palestine

Jerusalem culture nights under fire

When Gaza war erupted, the organizers of the Jerusalem Season of Culture decided to cancel most of its events, and to create, in their stead, exceptional content that corresponds with the security situation and internal Israeli conflicts.

Palestine

Southern Israeli city of Sderot is tired of cease-fires

Fourteen years of rockets have bred hard feelings in the southern Israeli city of Sderot — which range from despair to utter despair — with residents actually hoping for a continuation of the battles, and frustration over the fact that the IDF did not conquer the Gaza Strip.

Palestine