When Secretary of State John Kerry announced the resumption of U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, he was explicit that success would rely on both sides not leaking details of the negotiations to journalists and diplomats. Kerry went even further and told reporters that “no one should consider any reports, articles, or...

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There are pockets of the diplomatic world where characterizing Hamas as a moderate, pragmatic organization has become something of a cottage industry. Very occasionally, the Iran-backed group has banned particularly controversial policies and, thereby, provided material for that cottage industry. The last time Hamas executed someone for a criminal offense...

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Reconciliation between the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions has traditionally been treated as a prerequisite to the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and Fatah controls Palestinian portions of the West Bank, and all are territories that the Palestinians reserve for a single Palestinian state....

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The Arab Spring has seen governments overthrown, mass movements formed and dissolved, and geopolitical calculations upended for groups and countries spanning Iran-backed terror groups all the way to NATO countries. It’s also seen a kind of dropping of pretenses for Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned TV station that has often been...

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Two Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinians in recent days, renewing criticism of Palestinian leaders accused of inciting violence and failing to prepare the Palestinian public for co-existence with the Jewish state and rattling U.S.-backed peace negotiations: In a statement concerning both attacks, the United States said such incidents “undermine efforts to establish...

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The Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) yesterday published key figures evaluating the latest business cycle. The report – outlined by [sub] CentralBanking.com – described an “enormous” drop in prospects for a robust West Bank economy. The PMA blamed Israel for the situation, but also noted that Syrian-driven instability and a “political...

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Palestinian media is reporting that a massive government strike which occurred yesterday may escalate and expand in the coming weeks. Yesterday 95% of Palestinian government workers launched a one-day strike, after their union chief called on them to do so. The union is promising that next week it’ll be a...

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Officials linked to the Palestinian Fatah faction declared yesterday that Friday will be the “first day of popular resistance” against Israel, and have called for attacks against Jewish Israelis and the Jewish state: A statement released by the Brigades, which is Fatah’s military wing, called on all units and sleeper...

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Hamas has lost international backers and seen its domestic popularity slide. It is facing the prospect of economic suffocation, as the Egyptians move to shut down the lucrative smuggling tunnels between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsua down by Egypt. Its rival Palestinian Fatah faction has taken to...

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Nine months ago the New York Times reported that Hamas was gaining popularity. Some of that popularity was the result of Hamas boasting that it had emerged victorious from Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense, which Jerusalem launched after several weeks in which Hamas had steadily escalated the amount and sophistication...

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