President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority embraced reconciliation with the Hamas movement, but much remains to be done, and the effect on a bid for Palestinian statehood remains unknown.

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Unity Deal Brings Risks for Abbas and Israel

JERUSALEM — Israel temporarily banished a dozen suspected Jewish extremists from the West Bank on Thursday as part of a crackdown ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a series of attacks on Palestinians and the military. An army statement said that the top military commander in the West Bank had signed “administrative removal orders” for 12 Jewish activists for periods ranging from three to nine months. The statement added that the group had been involved in “leading, directing and carrying out widespread violent and clandestine activities” against Palestinians and Israeli forces in the West Bank. Read full article > >

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Jewish militants banned from West Bank

Some 550 Palestinian prisoners are being released in the second half of a swap that freed one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas for more than five years.

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Israel Begins Second Part of Prisoner Swap

The rapidly closing window for campaigning puts new pressure on the candidates and their campaigns to respond quickly and aggressively to moments from the debate.

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The Caucus: Debate Reverberates Going Into Final Stretch

Converts to the urban sport of parkour, young Palestinians practice how to run for their lives in a Gaza cemetery.

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T Magazine: The Graveyard Shift

Understanding the exchange of a single Israeli prisoner for 1,027 Palestinians.

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Magazine Preview: Gilad Shalit and the Rising Price of an Israeli Life

UN cultural organisation Unesco votes for membership for the Palestinians, a move which jeopardises US funding – 20% of its budget.

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Palestinians win Unesco seat vote

At least five Palestinians at an Islamic Jihad training site in southern Gaza were killed, according to witnesses and the militant group, and militants responded with rocket fire.

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Israeli Drone Strike Kills Militants in Gaza

In deal with Palestinians to free Gilad Shalit.

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Israel Begins Prisoner Swap

DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK — During the fleeting moments Amoune Abed Rabou thought her son would be among the hundreds of Palestinian inmates Israel has agreed to release next week in exchange for an abducted soldier, she wept with joy. The jubilation was short-lived for the 73-year-old, one of many Palestinians in the West Bank who say the militant group Hamas, which negotiated the prisoner swap, favored its own at the expense of its rival, Fatah. The overwhelming majority of the 450 prisoners Israel has agreed to free next week are Hamas members, a Palestinian official familiar with the details of the swap said Friday. Abed Rabou’s son Issa, a Fatah prisoner, is not on the release list, she learned Wednesday. Read full article > >

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Ahead of prisoner swap, disappointment in West Bank

One result of the deal could be a more confrontational, Hamas-imbued Palestinian movement that could reshape regional relationships and pose a challenge to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

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Israel-Hamas Prisoner Swap May Reshape Regional Politics

The Palestinians gained initial approval for full membership in Unesco, the final approval of which could result in a withdrawal of aid to the United Nations by the United States.

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Palestinians Win Initial Vote on Unesco Bid

JERUSALEM – Israel on Sunday agreed to a proposal by international mediators to resume peace negotiations after the initiative was positively received by the Palestinians, but there were no signs that a dispute over Israeli settlement building that has blocked talks was any closer to being resolved. Read full article > >

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Israel welcomes peace talks plan

Sabah, a pro-government daily, published the names and photographs on Monday of more than 140 Israeli soldiers who it said took part in the raid on a Turkish flotilla to Gaza last year.

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Turkish Paper Names Israelis It Says Were in Flotilla Raid

JERUSALEM— With a Palestinian application for UN membership under consideration by the Security Council, a proposal by international mediators to renew peace negotiations has received guarded Israeli approval and a cool reception from the Palestinians. The Israeli government and Palestinian leadership are expected to respond to Friday’s proposal by the Quartet of Middle East mediators — the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia — in the coming days, but early signals suggest different approaches to the initiative. Read full article > >

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Plan for Mideast talks gets mixed reception