There was another step backwards in the elusive quest for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians today as construction began on new Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem. Bulldozers razed the Shepherd's Hotel in a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood to make way for a new apartment complex for Jewish Israelis.
A Human Rights Council report is very damning of Israeli actions. Among other things, it offers evidence that six of the deceased were victims of summary executions by the Israeli commandos. But will there be any accountability for these apparent crimes?
The Israeli government just released an update to its internal review of the Israeli Defense Force's conduct during Operation Cast Lead.
It seems that once again, UN run summer camps for Gaza children are being targeted by extremists:
There is pretty vigorous debate about what to do next on the flotilla incident. That the incident needs to be investigated is not in doubt. The question is: who or what will do the investigating?
Ugh. It seems that a group of some 20 masked gunmen stormed a UN-administered summer camp in Gaza and vandalized the place. They tied up the guard and left a note threatening the United Nations in Gaza.
A couple of recent developments seem to belie the notion that the UN is somehow intractibly anti-Israel. First, we had the staunchly pro-Israel (and Jewish) chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee argue that Obama's policy of engagement at the UN served both American and Israeli interests.