What’s clear from Israel’s election is that the country has moved so far right, no one should expect any change in Israeli policy toward the occupation or Palestinian human rights, no matter who wins. And because Israeli policy is driving the U.S.’s deep partisan divide toward Israel, that will only deepen, James Zogby writes.

Sarah Doyel says that if you’re vegan, Israel looks like paradise. But make no mistake: Israel is using veganism as a calculated facade to gloss over the occupation of Palestine, and appropriate regional culture and traditions.

Israeli politicians and leaders of the settler movement are calling for annexation of the occupied West Bank after the body of an off-duty Israeli soldier was found on the side of the road early Thursday morning in the southern West Bank. 

Last week Israel said it was approving 700 Palestinian building permits in the West Bank in what is being viewed as a move to further extend its sovereignty in the occupied territory and perhaps prepare for annexation. Now, the PA is pushing back saying that they will start issuing building permits in areas controlled by Israel.

Wafa News: Ahmad Dawabshe celebrated his ninth birthday while undergoing his fourth year in laser treatment to recover from the effects of burns to his body. Ahmad was the only survivor of a July 31, 2015 arson attack by Israeli settlers on his family’s West Bank home that killed his father, Saad, 32, his mother, Riham, 27, and his infant 18-month-old brother, Ali.

Videos surfaced on Monday evening showing Israeli forces celebrating the detonation of a building in Sur Bahir, occupied East Jerusalem. It was one of 10 buildings destroyed in 24 hours. While the soldiers laughed and celebrated, homeowners like 52-year-old Jehad Sous watched his lifelong dream of owning a home for his family crumble to the ground.

Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem shocks the world — but the ‘NYTimes’ tries to excuse and whitewash the demolitions. James North calls the Times reporting “a masterpiece of deceit.”

It was the middle of the night, but the residents of the occupied East Jerusalem town of Sur Bahir were not asleep. They were waiting for, dreading, the arrival of Israeli forces to demolish their homes. At around 2:15am on Monday more than 1,000 Israeli soldiers and government workers descended upon the area, with force, and began the process of demolishing 11 buildings in the neighborhood. The demolitions could set a dangerous precedent.

Dozens of Palestinian homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood Sur Bahir are under threat of demolition by Israel. While home demolitions are a common occurrence in East Jerusalem, these homes in Sur Bahir lie in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. International and local officials fear that if Israeli carries out the demolitions, it could pave the way for the destruction of hundreds of homes in PA-controlled areas of the West Bank.

The US ambassador to Israel recently argued that Israel has the right to annex much of the West Bank. Jonathan Cook writes that Israeli officials have been preparing for this moment for more than half a century, since the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza were seized back in 1967.