Palestinian damage control over alleged leaked documents seems to be working. Turkey releases its own Gaza flotilla report. The PA says it's going to sue Al Jazeera. Palestinians say a settler killed a Palestinian protester. A PA office in Gaza and an Al Jazeera studio in the West Bank are ransacked. Israeli soldiers are convicted, but will not be jailed, for shooting a bound Palestinian prisoner. Palestinians call for UN investigations into Israeli excavations in Jerusalem. Ari Shavit says at least a de facto two-state solution is necessary. Gideon Levy says Israel will never get a better deal than it seems to have been offered in 2008. Both Jews and Arabs have historically hidden weapons in inappropriate places during conflict. Palestinians accuse settlers of torching a vehicle. Larry Derfner calls the present Israeli leadership intransigent. British author Ian McEwan explains why he will not boycott Israel. Jewish American lobbyists are skeptical about reported Palestinian offers, but JJ Goldberg says leaks show Israel has a partner if it wants it. Daoud Kuttab says leaks ultimately strengthen the Palestinian, not the Israeli, position. Philip Wilcox says real Palestinian sovereignty requires the removal of the many settlements.

Jeffrey Goldberg and Hussein Ibish look at practical steps that could be taken to improve the atmosphere for peace. Leaked documents suggest the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships may have taken different public and private positions, and PBS looks at the background. Aaron David Miller says everything important in the documents has been in the public record since at least 2000. Hamas says it no longer recognizes Pres. Abbas’ right to negotiate with Israel. PLO officials say US credibility is at stake in a possible UN vote on settlements. Ireland upgrades the PLO mission and Israel expresses concerns about European recognition of Palestine. Carlo Strenger says Israel needs peace. The demolition of Palestinian homes in “Area C” tripled in 2010. Palestinians insist Israeli excavations under holy sites are dangerous. Israel arrests 13 Palestinians in Jerusalem accused of murdering two people and other crimes. Abbas expresses condolences to Pres. Peres on the death of his wife. Nathan Jeffay says DM Barak left the Labor Party to preserve his career. Rami Khouri says Israel’s positions are unreasonable. Ghassan Khatib says peace should be based on international legitimacy, and not referenda.

Aaron David Miller, Daoud Kuttab and Yossi Alpher debate the wisdom of raising the settlement issue at the UN. Palestinians and Edmund Sanders say leaked memos show nothing new. The LA Times says Israel is consistently making its problems worse. Protesters rally in favor of Pres. Abbas. Peru becomes the latest country to recognize Palestine. Hamas urges Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East to protest. Turkey's president says Israel's flotilla report has no credibility, and relations between two countries remain strained. Israeli leaders say Israeli companies doing business with Palestinian companies that participate in the settlement goods boycott should also be boycotted. Ha'aretz says Israel has a peace partner. Occupation authorities say digging under the walls of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan is completed. Hamas leaders ban two “anti-Islamic” books. Gershon Baskin asks what PM Netanyahu really wants. The Jerusalem Post and the Guardian both say a two-state solution is still viable. Aluf Benn says Israel has a partner for peace, if it wants it, in Abbas. Uri Avnery says the creation of a Palestinian state is gaining international momentum.

US diplomacy on Israeli-Palestinian peace appears stalled. An Israeli panel finds the Gaza flotilla attack to have been lawful. Egypt links Palestinian extremists based in Gaza to the bombing of a church in Alexandria. Al Jazeera releases documents purporting to show Palestinian concessions to Israel during negotiations several years ago. Intolerance is reportedly increasing in Israel. Aaron David Miller says the Obama administration must proceed cautiously. Mohammed Khatib and Jonathan Pollak say Palestinian nonviolent protests will continue despite an Israeli crackdown. FM Lieberman proposes an interim plan. A Palestinian village in "Area C" of the West Bank is cut off from the outside world. A Palestinian reporter may be tried for mocking Pres. Abbas. Akiva Eldar and Jonathan Freedland both say the leaks prove Israel has had a peace partner all along. The US says it cannot vouch for the leaks' veracity, and UN officials say they create an "inaccurate impression" of the Palestinian leadership. The Guardian purports to explain how and why the papers were released. The Washington Institute releases maps of possible land swaps. Robert Grenier says the leaks may show the peace process is over.

Hanan Ashrawi And Ian Williams both say the US should support a Security Council resolution condemning settlement activity, but the US says it is unhelpful and faces the prospect of vetoing language with which it basically agrees. PM Fayyad's strategy confounds both Israelis and Palestinians. The FBI has been investigating AIPAC for espionage for many years. Israel expresses concern about instability in Lebanon. The French FM is accosted in Gaza. Elliott Abrams says Pres. Obama needs to seriously reconsider his whole Middle East approach. The Palestinian flag is raised that the PLO mission in Washington. Hussein Agha and Robert Malley catalog the difficulties facing the peace process. Israeli soldiers kill an armed Palestinian militant. The OIC hosts Israeli-Palestinian sports talks. UK officials consider PM Netanyahu "untrustworthy." Eitan Haber says a Palestinian state is coming soon. Racism and hatred is a reportedly spreading quickly among Israeli students. US officials Dennis Ross and David Hale are in Israel to discuss security concerns. The PA pledges to stop court marshaling civilians. A senior Israeli military figure is being investigated for massive land theft.

An Israeli soldier is released after murdering an unarmed Palestinian man in his bed In Hebron by mistake, while attempting to murder a Hamas operative neighbor. Israeli human rights groups claim they are being persecuted by new laws. Israel drops an investigation into the shooting of a Palestinian motorist. Palestinians, with the help of the Arab states, prepare to submit a Security Council resolution on settlements and hope the US will not veto it. Gaza extremists fire at Israeli civilians. The PLO hoists the Palestinian flag at the mission in Washington DC for the first time. Gaza children risk their lives searching for scrap in no man’s lands. Palestinians seek more Arab support on Jerusalem. Leaked cables suggest the US sought more intelligence on Israeli and Palestinian officials. Israel insists a Palestinian protester died from medical malpractice, not teargas inhalation. Israel establishes a homeland security ministry. Israeli teens protest against growing racism. At least half of the pledged aid to Palestine in 2010 was not delivered. The PA promises to stop court-martialing civilians. Israeli tanks attack northern Gaza. Naomi Shepherd says Israel needs a real opposition parties. Israel investigates Arab funding of left-wing Israeli NGOs. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid says Arab leaders have forgotten the concept of stepping down from power. Jonathan Power says the settler movement is out of control.

Israel has a mixed blessing in the GOP midterm successes. Palestinians issue a report questioning the history of the Western Wall. Israel refuses to allow Palestinians to use a road they have built in Area C. Italian officials call for easing restrictions in Gaza. Occupation forces seize parts of Nablus. Islamists claim the PA is discriminating against them. A Gaza boy recalls being used as a human shield by Israeli troops. Israeli plans for a train line deep into occupied territory spurs Palestinian concerns. US efforts to restart peace talks stumble. DM Barak says the Israeli cabinet may have to change. Israel will allow limited exports from Gaza. Activists try to reenergize the Israeli left. AB Yehoshua says Zionism is not an ideology. Settler schools agitate against any settlement freeze. Israeli scholars say Jews are now a minority between the river and the sea. Two new books look at the refugee issue. Khaled Diab says the EU should pressure Israel on peace. The Forward says the proposed settlement freeze deal is bad for both Israel and the US. George Hishmeh says it's high time for the UN to include Palestine as a member state.

Pres. Medvedev visits the West Bank, reaffirms Russian commitment to Palestinian statehood, and demands an end to Israeli settlement activity. An Israeli citizen has been arrested in connection with the Srebrenica massacre.The Arab League praises Palestinian diplomatic efforts for more recognition. A Palestinian man is killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. PM Fayyad says Palestinian tax revenues must increase to offset dependence on foreign aid. The Middle East Quartet will meet in Munich in February. The Israeli military is digging in for future conflicts. Aluf Benn says Israel cannot stop Palestinian independence. Recognition of Palestine by Spain and Caribbean islands may be in the offing. The Palestinian flag is raised at the PLO Mission in Washington for the first time. Hammas announces a rebuilding program in Gaza. A strike by Israeli Foreign Ministry workers is severely hampering Israel's diplomacy. Pres. Abbas urges the Quartet to pressure Israel. PM Netanyahu will attend the AIPAC conference in Washington in May. Arab states have formally submitted a draft resolution on settlements to the UN Security Council. Daniel Levy says the Labor Party and its political traditions are finally dead. Hussein Ibish says the Hariri assassination Tribunal report may give Hezbollah a similar experience Israel had with the Goldstone Report.

DM Barak shakes up Israeli politics by leaving the Labor Party but stays in the government, and visit soldiers in Nablus. Upheavals in Tunisia spur Palestinian officials to issue reassurances about the Palestinian economy. Russia confirms its commitment to an independent Palestinian state. Israeli authorities approve 122 new settler housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians are expected to submit a Security Council resolution condemning settlements this week. A Hamas operative dies in a tunnel collapse. Uriel Reichman says if Israel does not come up with a peace strategy of it own, the US or UN will act alone. Carlo Strenger says the Israeli right has caused the country’s international isolation. PM Netanyahu says he is determined to go forward with peace talks. Israeli women are harassed by the Israeli authorities for consistent outreach to the Palestinians. John Ging leaves his position as head of UNRWA. Tony Karon says Russian immigrants have pushed Israeli politics to the aggressive nationalist right.

Hamas tries to stop other militant groups from attacking Israel from Gaza. Jackson Diehl says the Middle East is poised on the brink of war. Guyana becomes the seventh South American state to recognize Palestine in recent weeks, and speculation grows about other regions following suit. Special Envoy Mitchell meets with Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas leaders deny that their policies are misogynistic. The Karni Crossing to Gaza is again closed. PM Erdogan says Israel must replace FM Lieberman. Fatah warns Hamas against increasing tensions in the West Bank. PM Netanyahu promises unauthorized settlement outpost homes of slain Israeli soldiers will not be demolished. The Israeli military is confiscating settlers' weapons. Pres. Obama is reportedly forming a Middle East task force. Conspiracy theories about Mossad proliferate in the Arab world. Israel demolishes homes and classrooms in the West Bank. Israeli firms involved in the first planned Palestinian city in the West Bank pledge not to use settlement products. Elliot Jager says Hamas-Fatah reconciliation is unlikely. Ziad Asali and Hussein Ibish say Arabs need to end hypocrisy in confronting terrorism. Michael Felsen says time is running out for a two-state solution.