Israel Orders Airstrike Against Gaza Militant

-        The Israeli military carried out an airstrike Sunday against a Palestinian militant in Gaza responsible for firing rockets into Israel

-        The target was critically wounded and a bystander was hurt

-        The airstrike is a practice known as “targeted killing”

-        The target was a senior member of the Popular Resistance Committee

-        Popular Resistance Committee- made up of fighters who left other organizations like Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad

-        “Our resolute policy against terrorism may be summed up in a single principle: Whoever attacks us or plans to attack us will bear the consequences” – Prime Minister Netanyahu

-        Gaza militants have launched 33 rockets at Israel since the beginning of this year

-        The target was accused of firing rockets from the Egyptian territory into southern Israel

-        Israeli military officials say that Hamas appears to be having trouble controlling some of their smaller militant groups

Palestinian Leader Says He Can Accept Israeli Military in West Bank for 3 Years

-          President Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority) said he is willing to accept an Israeli military presence in the West Bank for a three-year transition period as part of a peace deal

-          Israel has said it can only depend on its own soldiers not international force

-          Palestinian officials have said they could not tolerate a single Israeli soldier but do acknowledge the requirement for a transition period

-          Palestine says that a transition period would not exceed three years during which  Israel will withdraw gradually, but willing to allow a third party to take Israel’s place (NATO was suggested) to soothe our concerns and Israel’s

-          Many Israeli leaders and outside analysts have questioned whether the Palestinian President is strong enough to deliver a peace deal

-          Mr. Abbas said creating a Palestinian state roughly along the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital would be an acceptable lasting and legitimate solution, he also said Hamas had signed an agreement with him supporting the negotiations process and is not a problem.

-          Under the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, Israel could earn recognition and diplomatic relations with 57 Arab and Muslim countries if it resolved the Palestinian conflict

Despite Decades of Enmity, Israel Quietly Aids Syrian Civilians

-          Medics arrived to a scene in Syria to find an 8-year old was critically wounded after seeing (and remembering) his 10-year brother being decapitated by a rocket explosion

-          The mother was told if she wanted her son to live she should take him to Israel

-          The mother believes the older sibling was shielding the younger brother when the  explosion occurred

-          The internal conflict between Israel and Syria have killed nearly 130,000 people

-          Syrians fear the President Assad’s forces more than the Israeli soldiers who helped the wounded patients and their relatives

-          Nearly 200 Syrians have been treated at the Israeli hospital since March 2013

-          More than230 have been taken to a Hospital in Galilee

-          The costs are dived three ways between Israel’s Military Defense, Ministry of Health, and the hospitals

-          Israel’s defense minister said Israel can no longer remain indifferent and has been providing food and winter clothing to Syrian villages across the border fence

-           One Syrian whose 5-year old grand-daughter received aid in Israel said, “When there is peace, I will raise an Israeli flag on the roof of my house.”

Movement Seen in Talks Over Syria, Despite Gap

-          The United Nations mediator said he did not foresee any movement from the current deadlock in the peace talks

-          The UN mediator was pleased about their willingness to talk to each other but admits there is still a large gap between them.

-          He believes the next round of talks will be more productive

-          The Syrian government did agree to negotiate the formation of a transitional government with full executive powers

-          Mr. Moallem originally believed at the beginning of the talks that the focus should be on ending what he called the terrorism practiced by the Syrian opposition

-          Each side accuses the other of actions in the conflict  which has left an estimated 130,000 people dead and millions displaced

-          While no resolutions were made for issues, there was also no prisoner exchange or aid supplies to be delivered arranged

-          Diplomats at the UN are quietly discussing  the possibility of a Security Council resolution to force the warring parties in Syria to allow humanitarian relief

-          This decision will force Russia to make an active decision on the issue

Tension Builds in Israeli Coalition at a Critical Juncture in Peace Talks

-          Naftali Bennett, the leader of the religious-nationalist Jewish Home party delivered accusations over the past few days of a suggestion by the prime minister’s office that some Jews in far-flung settlements might live under Palestinian sovereignty in a future peace deal

-          The prime minister’s office issued an ultimatum for Mr. Bennett to apologize or he could lose his cabinet seat

-          He did not apologize but stood by his statements saying he supported or criticized the prime minister as needed.

-          The coalitions partners have strong disagreements about establishing Palestine as a state and where the future of Jerusalem lies

-          Mr. Bennett will quit the coalition if East Jerusalem is Palestine’s capital (Part of John Kerry’s initiative) while two other partners will leave the government if Israel does not support the initiative.

-          The prime minister stated Israel does not have to agree with everything America presents them.

-          The prime minister is trying to show he has options, but his main problem was and is with the Likud

-          The Likud - Right-wing party

-           Mr. Bennet was once a top aid to the prime minister

-          The prime minister was forced to include the Jewish Home party because Mr. Bennett partnered with Mr. Lapid the centrist finance minister

-          Conflict escalated when the prime minister’s office floated the idea of Jewish Settlers’ becoming minority citizens in a future Palestinian state

-          Center-left politicians say this is a loss of a moral compass and continued saying “ Our forefathers and ancestors and our descendants will never forgive an Israeli leader who gives away our land and divides our capital