This is fascinating. @CrisisGroup #fb

What happened to human rights?

Calibrating rhetoric with facts.

Beautiful.

And its new Saudi links.

Fascinating profile of the new president.

John Alderdice (@AlderdiceLord) on talking to Hamas.

Excellent reportage.

Article is less starry-eyed and more hard-headed than the title. "Many Israeli politicians claim that any pressure is counterproductive and negatively impacts peace efforts. Well, they would say that. But not only is it an obviously self-serving argument, it is also wrong."

A gallery of photographs from Bethlehem over the years.

"Maps are an excellent propaganda weapon against a (geo)political enemy. We trust cartography instinctively to ‘show us the right way’, and thus be truthful; but maps always reflect the mapmakers goals"

"Every nation is entitled to defend itself. But unless violence is part of a political strategy, it rarely creates real security."

The Economist looks at the numbers. Number of Israelis killed by fire from Gaza between January 1st 2012 and November 11th 2012: 1 Number of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israeli fire during the same period: 78

In that a well-known feminist is running for mayor.

Great discussion of the 1001 Nights.

Very short piece reminding us of the dismal quality of most US news coverage.

The Border Between Israel and Palestine - a short history.

Short answer: probably not. "...conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate, the world grows ever more tired of our endless fighting, and hope for a solution grows ever more dim."

Sir Michael speaks.

Indeed.

"The Boycott Law is a double-edged sword that threatens to harm Israel’s international standing, and to play into the hands of those criticizing the quality of the country’s democracy."  - says the Speaker of the Knesset.

Brilliant piece by Levy, who was on Cambridge University Students Union's executive committee with me many years ago.

"Indeed, nowhere else across the spectrum of major foreign-policy issues -- not Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, or China -- has the Obama administration invested so much effort for so little. What killed the process was not a change in the Palestinian position, but in the Israeli one... The Obama administration could just wash its hands of the whole…

After all, why bother to look at the facts if you already know the Truth?

"As his country begins the countdown to independence, legendary South Sudanese commander Gen. Joseph Lagu talks about days gone by, and of his people's secret ties with Israel."