For today, links to five or more reports* from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Times of Israel, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from the Anadolu Agency and ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE and ASSANGE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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NEWER Israel approves plans for nearly 5,300 new homes in West Bank settlements, by Tia Goldenberg, Josef Federman and Kareem Chehayeb | AP JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has approved plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a monitoring group said today, the latest in a campaign to accelerate settlement expansion, aimed at cementing Israeli control over the territory and preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state. READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Israel sends delegation to negotiate hostage release deal with Hamas, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi,Mohammad Salem and Maayan Lubell | Reuters CAIRO / GAZA / JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Joe Biden today he has decided to send a delegation to resume stalled negotiations on a hostage release deal with Hamas, their administrations said. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Times of Israel.
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Israel weighs Hamas response to Gaza ceasefire proposal, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Mohammad Salem and Maayan Lubell | Reuters CAIRO / GAZA / JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this evening to discuss new Hamas positions on a possible ceasefire deal in Gaza, a source in Netanyahu’s office said, as fighting raged in the enclave. Before the cabinet meets, Netanyahu will have consultations with . . . READ MORE . .
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With the focus on Gaza, Israel expands Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Reported by Greg Myre and Steve Inskeep | NPR As Israel wages war in Gaza, it’s also working to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Several moves are being described as the biggest seizure of land for the settlers in more than 30 years. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM JULY 3 Life and death in Gaza’s ‘safe zone’ where food is scarce and Israel strikes without warning, by Wafaa Shurafa | AP KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike slammed into a residential building next to the main medical center in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, wounding at least seven people, hospital authorities and witnesses said Wednesday. Nasser Hospital is . . . READ MORE . . .
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U.S., Germany lead West in arming Israel war on Gaza, by Esra Tekin and Necva Taştan | Anadolu Agency ISTANBUL — Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, now stretching into its 10th month, has been marked by severe civilian casualties and widespread destruction, significantly fueled by Western arms. Germany, as the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the U.S., plays . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 29 90 minutes that shook the liberals awake, by Patrick Lawrence | Original to ScheerPost I have regretted for years the extent to which elections in this country have come to be determined not by ideas, courage and imagination, guiding principles, or the articulation of wise ways forward, but by affect. We are on notice as of Wednesday evening that . . . READ MORE . . .
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* Number is vague because often news services replace an earlier report with a later one, which is sometimes no longer available online.