Violence has returned to Palestine with an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killing a “jihadi”, whilst an Israeli settler was killed by a Palestinian in the West Bank, with settlers attacking a Palestinian school bus and nearby villages in retaliation.
The Israeli military rhetoric may be focused on a threat from Iran, but in recent days the Israeli army has fired tank shells in response to shots fired in the Israeli-held Golan Heights and launched an airstrike in Gaza.
Many Israelis object to decades-old legislation that allows the country’s ultra-orthodox community to avoid military service. However, this may be about to change.
President Barack Obama’s visit to the Middle East presents an opportunity to move the dormant Palestinian-Israeli peace process forward.
An international fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements in Palestine commissioned by the UNHCR found that settlements constituted a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law and called on Israel to stop all expansions immediately and withdraw from settlements.