“What I discovered was that the decision to capture East Jerusalem, and certainly to annex it, was not motivated by an existential need (in contrast to the Six-Day War, which was launched to remove an existential threat to Israel) or by a salient security need (in contrast to the decision to invade the West Bank). The IDF was sent into the Old City primarily for emotional reasons, and because of a personal need to settle accounts with history felt by a few Israeli leaders in 1967, deriving from the role they had played in the 1948 War of Independence.”
--Uzi Benziman, who was Haaretz’s Jerusalem correspondent during the Six Day War of ’67, revisits the dramatic decision that changed the face of the Middle East.*

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You Must Be Kidding: 
“Hahaha, you’re mistaken, Muslims have murdered over 11 million Muslims since 1948.”
--Response by the page manager of the official Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Arabic-language Facebook page to a commenter who wrote, “If you hadn’t occupied and abused the Palestinian people, perhaps you would be the chosen people, as you claim.”**

You Must Be Kidding #1: 
"Netanyahu didn't really like the idea, but the President waited and the embarrassing thing is that my phone got stuck. I got a bit cheeky, insisted, turned the phone off and on. He was super patient, waited until I got the camera working. We took the picture and, let me tell you, for me—and I think also for him—it was a historical moment."
--Likud MK Oren Hazan told the Israeli media about the controversy-sparking selfie he grabbed with US President Donald Trump.*

56.
-- Percentage of Jewish Israelis who said they considered the Trump administration more pro-Israel than pro-Palestinian, significantly down from 79% on January 11.*