When government officials visit Israel and seek the truth about West Bank settlements, they go to one source: Peace Now’s Settlement Watch.

Last week, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson did just that. While on an official visit to Israel and the Occupied Territories, Johnson met with Peace Now for a briefing on settlements. Lior Amihai, head of Settlement Watch, explained the extent to which settlements damage prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses PM Netanyahu's threats to take the country to new elections and their relation to his demand to dismantle a new broadcasting authority; why the broadcasting authority issue is the focus of political tensions; why Netanyahu launched this bombshell while on his way to China; and where the security factor regarding Syria and Lebanon fits in.

Israel’s new Entry Law is actually much worse than we originally thought.

It turns out that its final language is even more draconian than the text published in the media when the law was adopted. The new language uses a much broader definition of who would be subject to denial of entry into Israel. It seems that right before it was brought to a final vote someone changed the language of the bill to include anyone who acts “for the sake of” an organization that calls for boycotts (rather than people who “represent” such organizations).  

Peace Now reports:

Last night, Channel 2 News reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu intends to argue to American officials that the new settlement for the Amona outpost evacuees should not be considered as such. Yet based on its proposed location, the new settlement, often referred to as “Geulat Zion,” cannot be considered as anything but a new settlement. Geulat Zion is located approximately 2.5 kilometers east of Shilo, on an empty hilltop, and beyond the settlement’s jurisdiction.