Notations on Our World: On the "Virtual Ground" with #Israel & #Palestine

As our team has "hit the ground" running on Daily Outsider 2.x, the journey continues.    One of our current projects is the on-going challenging times in Israel right now.     The Israeli Prime Minister has been spreaheading new tough security measures to stem the violence--although he did come out earlier and said he is willing to meet with Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas to try and calm the situation.   Our assessment is that such moves at best will be temporary as the broad challenges facing both societies continues.

Our team released a report on +i24news EN with a very disturbing poll noting that over 50% of Israeli's have no faith in the Two State Solution.    As the "iron fist" in Israel continues to be ever so evident, it is of interest to note that there is yet to be a arrest in the fire bombing of the home of the Palestinian Family as the Defense Minister said recently, "....we know who they are..." as one sense of the reality was released by @Peace Now:   

The Failure of Bibi's "Conflict Management"

No Israeli can stay indifferent to the tragedy and pain caused by the terror attacks of the last few weeks. But especially during these difficult days we must remember the roots of the deterioration we are experiencing today. For over 6 years the Netanyahu governments have been doing everything in their power to prevent the possibility for compromise and reconciliation - going up to the Temple Mount, continuing settlement expansion, retroactively legalizing illegal outposts, ignoring hilltop youth who take the law into their own hands, and turning their back to moderate Palestinians - and now all of this explode in our faces. The only way to prevent further deterioration is through separating into two states. Only a political process that will lead to the end of our control over millions of Palestinians will end the bloody conflict between the two peoples and allow Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and quiet. There is simply no other solution.  This Saturday Peace Now will be holding a demonstration in Tel Aviv to protest the government policies and call for a different way - that of compromise, end of occupation and two states. 19:30, Kaplan Street, Tel Aviv. Click here to see the event on Facebook.

At the Heart of the Conflict

Over the past months Peace Now led several tours to East Jerusalem in order to help stakeholders, activists and the general public understand the reasons behind the current deterioration. The tours focused on the main points of contention, with a particular emphasis on the situation in Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and settlers' takeover in Batan Al-Hawa in Silwan. Click here for an article in The Independent based on a tour with Peace Now's Settlement Watch to learn more about the current situation in Silwan. Peace Now continues to work in order to prevent a drastic change in the area by bringing the issue to stakeholders' attention and creating public pressure around it. The Opposition leader, MK Herzog, underscored that the intifadah has begun and also called for an "iron hand".     What was perceptive was this on @Al-Monitor  that underscored how times have changed: DAOUD KUTTAB for Al-Monitor Social media is playing a vital role in the current Palestinian protests.