NEWS: A Palestinian prisoner in Israeli detention ends a hunger strike claimed to have lasted for 103 days. Israeli police are looking into whether settlers used forged land documents in an effort to prevent their court-ordered eviction. Israeli field commanders are reportedly undergoing training in international law. The UN expresses grave concern over the fate of Palestinian refugees in Syria. PLO official Ashrawi urges the EU to reconsider upgrading its relations with Israel. Egypt's ambassador to the PA says entry regulations for Palestinians to his country have not changed. PA and Hamas officials will reportedly meet in Cairo to explore ways of alleviating the Gaza fuel crisis. Israel's municipal authorities in Jerusalem have asked the military to take responsibility for Palestinians living east of the separation barrier. FM Lieberman says any transfer of weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah would be grounds for war. Gangs in southern Sinai are reportedly smuggling stolen fuel into Gaza and Israel. COMMENTARY: Budour Hassan says Palestinians are not neutral in the Syrian uprising. David Harris says Israel can't afford a Romney presidency. Yossi Verter says the real reason Kadima leader Mofaz left the Netanyahu coalition is fear that it is preparing a war with Iran. Orly Azoulay says PM Netanyahu is “playing with fire” by counting on a Romney victory in the US presidential election. Gershon Baskin says the Israeli right, including Netanyahu, are pretending the Palestinian problem has disappeared. Tal Harris says official Israeli government recognition of the university in the Ariel settlement undermines prospects for a two-state solution, and Ron Mandelbaum says it fails both in terms of due process and substance. The National says Egypt's unofficial easing of visa restrictions for Palestinians might be limited to the seven people who already reportedly took advantage of the procedure. Elisheva Goldberg and Hannah Gross say New York's MTA is using a double standard regarding Middle East-related ads.

NEWS: Efforts by PM Netanyahu to fracture the opposition Kadima party appear to have failed. Egypt is now reportedly allowing Palestinians to enter the country without advance permits, but Egyptian airport officials say they've received no such instructions. The Arab League endorses Palestinian plans to renew recognition efforts at the UN but does not set a date. Palestinian filmmakers try to depict life under occupation. Israel is concerned that Syrian nerve gas or rockets may end up in the hands of Hezbollah. A second group of Gaza families is allowed to visit relatives in Israeli jails. Israeli settlers reportedly seize large tracts of land, and Israel orders the demolition of eight Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank. Hamas leaders vow not to try to separate Gaza from the West Bank. Sacha Baron Cohen settles a slander suit with a Palestinian grocer he had depicted as a terrorist in “Bruno.” The PA fiscal crisis appears to be boosting support for Hamas. The EU is planning to upgrade its relations with Israel. In a “goodwill gesture” Israel transfers an advance to the PA on its tax revenues.COMMENTARY:Jodi Rudoren writes about attending a film festival in Jerusalem. Amira Hass recounts details of a raid on a Palestinian home by Israeli soldiers. Khaled Diab recalls Egyptian-Israeli relations immediately following the 1952 coup. Jeff Barak says Netanyahu has damaged his reelection prospects. Leonard Fein says the Levy Committee report threatens Israel's legitimacy. Michael Felsen says a recent short story about the dynamics at the checkpoint examines the common humanity of Israelis and Palestinians. Nathan Brown says Egypt isn't going to change its policies towards Israel and Palestine now, but eventually probably will. Jillian Kestler-D'Amours says Israel is literally walling itself in on all sides. Shaul Arieli says in expanding its occupation, Israel is ignoring the simple mathematics of demographics.

NEWS: The potential downfall of the Syrian regime is making Israel rethink its regional strategies. The PA expresses concern about Palestinians caught up in violence in Syria. Israel is concerned about Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons. Romney's visit to Israel is overshadowed by unrest in Syria. Israel releases a senior Hamas politician. Hamas says Pres. Morsy has promised to help lift the blockade of Gaza. Fatah says reconciliation talks with Hamas are on hold until the Palestinian election commission is allowed to resume work in Gaza. Israel says it will seek retribution “near and far” for the Bulgaria terrorist attack, which it blames on Iran. Experts say this is more likely to be in the form of covert action. Thousands of Palestinians are going to Jerusalem to pray on the first day of Ramadan. The American Jewish Committee breaks with mainstream Jewish consensus by siding with some key findings of the Levy Committee Report. Israeli settlers use summer camps to teach Jewish Israeli children to become settlers. Palestinian athletes are preparing to participate in the upcoming Olympics. Palestinian officials deny that American officials threatened a broad cutoff of aid if Palestinians resume efforts for greater recognition at the UN. COMMENTARY: Adam Gonn says PM Netanyahu is unfazed by the collapse of his super-coalition. Amos Harel says Israel is sure of Iranian responsibility for the Bulgaria attack. Carlo Strenger says “Zionism 2012” no longer believes in democracy, Jewish majorities or any of the ideas of old-fashioned Zionism. Rina Bassit says Israel is increasingly concerned about terrorism emanating from Africa. Nir Baram says the Israeli left needs to be much more straightforward about what's wrong with the occupation. Hannah Weisfeld says if the Levy Committee Report's findings are accepted by the Israeli government, the settlers will be short-term winners but Israel will be a long-term loser.

NEWS: PM Netanyahu appears secure in his position, despite the breakup of his larger cabinet. DM Barak says Israel will stop Syrian refugees at the border. Iranian state television calls charges that the country was involved in an attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria “ridiculous.” A former Israeli intelligence official says the attack was probably a delayed reaction to the assassination of Hezbollah's military commander. Israeli officials claim the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. Israel announces plans to revive the Jordan River. Pres. Morsy meets with Hamas leader Misha'al. Israel is seeking closer ties with the Dominican Republic. Jordan's King says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the defining issue in the Middle East. Israeli soldiers confiscate water storage tanks from Bedouins in the Jordan Valley. COMMENTARY: Ma'an interviews Nurit Peled-ElHanan about the depiction of Palestinians in Israeli schoolbooks. Douglas Bloomfield says Israel is facing choices that will affect its relationship with the United States and Jewish Americans. The Media Line interviews Ari Fleischer about the upcoming American presidential election, Israel and Jewish Americans. J.J. Goldberg says Israel can't ignore international opinion about the occupation. Moshe Dann argues that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard should be released. George Hishmeh asks if Pres. Obama is re-elected, will he do something about Israel's settlements. Matthew Levitt asks if Hezbollah was responsible for the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. Raja Shehadeh talks about what it's like to be a Palestinian visiting Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. The New Statesman says now is not the time to give up on a two-state solution. Benny Elon and Yossi Beilin say the Jewish right and left should work together for peace.

NEWS: Sec. Clinton says Israeli-Palestinian peace talks must resume, but this no longer seems to be a priority for American foreign policy. Palestinian journalists are angered by Israeli efforts to strip search them before attending a press conference with Clinton. Israel was reportedly hoping for guidance from Clinton regarding the new Egyptian government. PM Fayyad asks the US to help alleviate the PA financial crisis, as he meets with Clinton in Jerusalem. Israel is preventing Palestinian medical graduates from working in occupied East Jerusalem. Christians in Gaza stage a rare protest after what they claim are forced conversions to Islam. Hamas executes three Gaza residents for murder. PA police are launching a campaign against child labor in the West Bank. The Israeli military hires an architect to resume construction at an “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Settler leaders are expected to declare that a school in the settlement of Ariel is a “university.” Peace Now's Settlement Watch Director is again threatened by right-wing extremists. Israel claims it has thwarted more than 10 terrorist attacks emanating from the Sinai Peninsula. Israel's governing coalition may break up over the question of national service. Israel's “social justice” protest movement is divided over the question of the occupation. COMMENTARY: Christiane Amanpour interviews Fayyad. Aaron David Miller lists five reasons why the two-state solution "will never die." Bradley Burston says American politicians should understand that "pro-Israel" does not mean anti-peace. Mira Sucharov says BDS supporters need to decide what it is they are fighting for. David Newman says Israelis must understand the Palestinians are in the land to stay. Ethan Felson looks at the boycott vote recently taken by the US Presbyterian Church. Walid Khadduri says Palestinians must begin to develop their West Bank oilfields before Israel seizes them.

NEWS: Hamas is hoping for a new Gaza policy from Egypt. A Palestinian investigator falls off a third floor building while in police custody. Backtracking on a public promise, Israel is planning more subsidies for a controversial settlement. Some Palestinians from Gaza are allowed to visit relatives jailed in Israel for the first time in five years. PM Fayyad will meet Sec. Clinton in Jerusalem. Pres. Abbas asks the Arab League for a date to revive the Palestinian UN bid, and help in establishing an international inquiry into the death of the late Pres. Arafat. A Palestinian intelligence officer accuses “Palestinian figures” of being responsible for Arafat's death. Israel considers sanctions against OCHA for “illegal activities.” Abbas and Fayyad welcome a $100 million donation to the PA by Saudi Arabia. Settlers continue a pattern of uprooting trees in Palestinian villages. Jewish American leaders send a letter to PM Netanyahu saying recommendations in a recent report promote the delegitimization of Israel. Israel accuses Hezbollah and Iran of plotting terrorist attacks in Cyprus. Palestinian women are building businesses in the West Bank. COMMENTARY: Scott Wilson provides a narrative of how Pres. Obama “failed on forging Middle East peace.” Harriet Sherwood says the rise of ultra-Orthodox religious soldiers in Israel raises the prospect of mutiny. Mel Levine says Obama has fulfilled his pledge to defend Israel. Leonard Fein suggests that, rather than boycotts, opponents of Israeli policy should seek to end US tax deductions for funds for settlements. George Hale says gaining UNESCO recognition for heritage sites doesn't constitute a Palestinian strategy. Peter Beinart says J Street's Washington strategy meant that it couldn't support the Presbyterian Church boycott effort. Aaron David Miller looks at Clinton's visit to Israel.

NEWS: Palestinian citizens of Israel face new quandaries over the prospect of mandatory national service. Israel's richest rabbis are demonstrating business acumen. New medical reports about the health of the late Pres. Arafat portray him as having been relatively healthy until a sudden decline immediately before his death. Arafat's sister calls on the PA not to perform any tests on his body. A Palestinian medical committee claims Arafat was poisoned, but says it can't confirm the use of polonium. Israel condemns UNESCO's decision to establish a chair at the Islamic University of Gaza. Israeli forces kill a man trying to illegally enter the country through the Egyptian border. 30 Palestinians are injured in a fireworks explosion near Ramallah. The head of British intelligence claims Iran is two years away from developing a nuclear weapon. Israeli immigration police are granted the power to deport foreign activists in the occupied Palestinian territories. A German neo-Nazi claims he was involved in the 1972 attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. A Jerusalem city counselor says Israeli authorities are disguising the true scope of Palestinian home demolitions. A young Palestinian singer is becoming an unlikely star in Israel. COMMENTARY: Nir Eisikovits says former PM Olmert is well-positioned for a return to public life and to lead a push for peace with the Palestinians. Sima Kadmon says PM Netanyahu would be the big loser if Olmert were to return to Israeli politics. Amira Hass says that while right-wing attacks on Palestinians continue, Israeli authorities are only arresting left-wing activists. Hirsh Goodman asks what the settler movement will do if the rest of Israeli society agrees that there is no occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories. Giles Fraser critiques a Church of England volunteer program in the occupied Palestinian territories. J.J. Goldberg points out the dangers to Israel of the Levy Committee's recommendations. Matt Duss looks at rhetoric about Israel and the Palestinians among American evangelical Christian groups. Aaron David Miller asks if the US really matters anymore in Egypt and Israel.

NEWS: Israel bombs Gaza, killing one Palestinian militant. Former PM Olmert says he's not interested in rejoining political life. Palestinian officials say they're still deciding what to do about the late Pres. Arafat's body, and Arafat's nephew says he believes he was poisoned with polonium by Israel. Israel deploys its latest rocket interceptor. The US House of Representatives holds a hearing on corruption in the PA. Pres. Abbas will reportedly meet Pres. Morsy next week. Israel protests what it says is UNESCO support for a Hamas-affiliated university implicated in violence. Israel's blockade is taking a toll on mental health in Gaza. New advertisements in New York commuter train stations depict growing Israeli control over Palestinian lands. Palestinian authorities continue their crackdown against journalists. Israel's growing naval profile might antagonize Turkey. The PA says it has received only $466 million out of $1.2 billion pledged by donors. COMMENTARY: Trudy Rubin says Israel should be wary of the recommendations. Jonathan Rosen says there is no chance PM Netanyahu will endorse the recommendations of the Levy Committee. Barak Ravid asks if Olmert is going to return to Israeli politics. Ely Karmon says Al Jazeera's conspiracy theory about polonium poisoning of Arafat seems more aimed at the current PA leadership than Israel. Douglas Bloomfield says Mitt Romney's positions on Israel and the Palestinians seem to be available to the highest bidder. Michael Herzog proposes a transition process for Syria. Sophia Jones says Palestinian women are trying to find new business opportunities. Raphael Magarik contrasts Israel's Levy and Sasson reports.

NEWS: Human rights groups say there has been another spike in Israeli settler violence. Israel releases a hunger-striking Palestinian detainee. Pres. Abbas is going to Saudi Arabia to seek increased aid for the PA. The residents of occupied East Jerusalem are suffering serious water shortages. Pres. Peres says settlements are a threat to Israel's future. The head of the European Commission says a two-state solution is the only way to achieve peace. Hamas is increasingly pinning its hopes on Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe denies observer status to the Palestinian Authority. UNSG Ban says the peace process is “at a dangerous standstill.” Souad Mekhennet describes the interaction of Jews and Arabs in Israeli hospitals. COMMENTARY: The New York Times says the Levy Committee report is “a potentially disastrous blow” to peace. Bloomberg says PM Netanyahu should reject its recommendations. Hussein Ibish says it raises impossible quandaries about the occupation for Israel. Bradley Burston looks at the dangers of Israel saying there is no occupation in the occupied territories. Eric Yoffie says it's a good thing the report was issued after the divestment vote of the Presbyterian Church. Michael Sfard says the report's ideas would soon enough collide with a very different reality. Boaz Okon agrees the report cannot change reality. The National says Israel should be looking for ways to make peace, not issuing ridiculous reports denying the occupation. Stuart Reigeluth says the EU should condition trade with Israel on progress towards peace. Yossi Melman says Israel considered but decided not to assassinate the late Pres. Arafat in the period leading up to his death. Jon Haber derides claims that the boycott movement against Israel is growing or that it can “win by losing." Aaron David Miller dissects the errors that led to the failure of the 2000 Camp David summit.