November 23, 2010:
Israel has begun building a security fence along its 240 kilometer southwestern border with Egypt. This is mainly to help keep out over 10,000 economic refugees (mainly from Africa) trying to get into Israel each year. The fence will also make it more difficult for smugglers and terrorists.
A recent Palestinian opinion poll showed that more Gazans (56 percent) dislike Hamas than do those living on the West Bank (53 percent). Some 60 percent of Palestinians support efforts to negotiate a two-state (Israeli and Palestinian) peace deal, but only if it eventually leads to one state (covering all of Israel and the Palestinian territories), dominated by Palestinians. Currently, a single state would contrail 5.5 million Jews and 4.5 million Arabs. But the higher Arab birth rate would soon (a few generations) give Arabs a majority. Most Palestinians have little confidence in the major Palestinian political parties (Hamas and Fatah.) The survey also revealed that the largely Sunni Palestinians don't like Hamas partly because the religious hardliners in Hamas try to impose lifestyle rules on everyone. But Hamas is also criticized for taking aid from Shia Iran.
The U.S. sponsored peace talks between Israel and Fatah (Hamas refuses to participate) continue to plod along, with both sides striving to extract as much money from the Americans as possible. There will be no peace, at least according to all the "Israel must be destroyed" propaganda constantly broadcast over Palestinian media (controlled largely by Fatah and Hamas).
November 19, 2010: In response to ten rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel over the last two days, Israeli aircraft struck four targets in Gaza.
November 18, 2010: An Israeli air strike in Gaza killed two men the Israelis said were planning to kidnap Israelis.
November 11, 2010: Egypt arrested 25 suspected members of an Islamic terrorist organization, and are seeking seven more who they believe are trying to escape to Gaza. All of these terrorists were believed to be seeking to attack peacekeepers and Israeli tourists in the Sinai. In response to this, Israel has warned all Israelis visiting the Sinai, to get out of the area as quickly as possible.
November 10, 2010: In the West Bank, Israeli police arrested a Hamas official and accused him of terrorist activities. Both Israel and Fatah are seeking to shut down Hamas operations in the West Bank. This includes prosecuting donors and those who help move Hamas cash from Gaza to the West Bank.