A recent speech by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas – in which the Palestinian leader declared that “there will be no peace” unless several contentious Palestinian demands were fully met, and several Israeli red lines were definitively crossed – has triggered concerns that the current Palestinian leadership may be...

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Efforts to achieve reconciliation between the two largest Palestinian factions, which had been accelerating in recent days, may again be at risk of faltering. Hamas had made a series of goodwill gestures toward its Fatah rivals in recent days, and Fatah officials had announced that they would be traveling to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip for reconciliation talks....

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Last week’s strange episode in the Palestinian embassy in the Prague, in which the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic was killed by an explosion inside the building, escalated over the weekend into a potential scandal as reports emerged that Palestinians may be using the country as a transit point...

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Palestinian media outlet Ma’an reported yesterday that Hamas is close to creating a single Palestinian government with its rival Fatah faction, laying the groundwork for upcoming West Bank and Gaza Strip elections that would see a unified leadership elected to govern both territories. Hamas has officially notified Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of the...

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Agence France-Presse last Friday conveyed statements from Palestinian leaders rejecting U.S. bridging proposals, presented by Secretary of State John Kerry during several recent trips to the region, designed to balance Israeli security requirements with Palestinian demands for autonomy in the context of final status negotiations. After meeting Kerry in Ramallah, the Palestinian...

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The Wall Street Journal this week noted that few programs funded by the European Union are marked by as much controversy as “EU assistance to the Palestinian Authority,” with the bloc having provided more than five and a half billion Euros to the Palestinians since the peace process began in the...

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Speaking at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that the Obama administration is seeking to reassure Jerusalem not just regarding Iran but also regarding “threats to Israel’s security [in]… the final status negotiations process” between Israelis and Palestinians. But neither peace nor prosperity are possible without...

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The Palestinian leadership today rejected a proposal presented by Secretary of State John Kerry designed to boost peace talks between them and their Israeli counterparts. “The Palestinian side rejected them because they would only lead to prolonging and maintaining the occupation,” the official said. Abbas was not immediately available after the Ramallah talks...

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The Associated Press (AP) late on Wednesday provided an overview of a security plan that Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to present to Jerusalem this week in an effort to boost U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian talks. The proposal will mark the first time that Kerry, who was to arrive in Israel late Wednesday,...

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Reuters late Wednesday conveyed reports that the Palestinian delegation charged with negotiating opposite Israel had resigned and cited for its resignation Israeli construction within communities beyond the Jewish state’s 1948 armistice lines. The move comes despite the cancellation of previously announced massive building plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu....

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