News: The US resumes aid to the PA, releasing $200 million, but Congress is continuing to block almost the same amount, and Israel is likely to soon release withheld Palestinian tax revenues. Israeli reports suggest authorities are planning up to 50,000 new settler housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Pres. Sarkozy reportedly tells Pres. Obama he thinks PM Netanyahu is “a liar.” Palestinians seeking legal action against occupation forces face impossibly steep court fees. DM Barak dismisses the idea of an Israeli attack against Iran. Israeli authorities arrest settlers after razing an unauthorized outpost settlement. The home of a Peace Now official is vandalized in an apparent “price tag” attack for a second time. Despite the victory at UNESCO, the Palestinian UN initiative seems to be hitting a dead end. Some Americans are getting college credit for taking what are blatantly Israeli propaganda “college courses” at “Jerusalem U." Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin calls vigilante Israeli “price tag” violence “terrorism.”
Commentary: Roger Cohen says there is no alternative whatsoever to a two-state solution. Avinoam Bar-Yosef says Israel should release Marwan Barghouti if it really wants to make a peace agreement with Palestinians. Yagil Levy says religious extremists are trying to take over the Israeli military. Moshe Arens says the prisoner swap with Hamas was “a victory for terror.” Akiva Eldar says Israel is trying to turn Pres. Abbas into the late Pres. Arafat. Gershon Baskin says Israel is wrong not to wholeheartedly engage with Abbas and PM Fayyad, and the PLO is wrong not to negotiate with Israel immediately. Bradley Burston says supporters of Israel and the Palestinians must recognize each other's humanity. Debra DeLee explains why Americans for Peace Now filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on the Jerusalem passport case, and Ori Nir responds to the attacks on Peace Now in Israel.
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