Anyone who follows developments related to Palestine will have heard countless times the lazy assertion that “everybody knows” what a final outcome will look like. It is common refrain from a Middle East peace process industry that seeks to define the limits of permissible discussion about political outcomes. Anything that does not fit with Israel’s priority to remain a “Jewish” state is automatically deemed “not pragmatic” or “utopian” at best, or “extremist” and betraying a desire to “destroy Israel” at worst. Read more about Can Palestine be partitioned? Taking the discussion back to basics 

The Daily Star in Beirut reports on 12 June: James Wolfensohn, former World Bank president, has pulled out of the commencement due to honor him at the American University of Beirut following a petition from students and faculty members over his links to an Israeli think tank and businesses. Read more about Report on The Electronic Intifada boosted campaign to nix AUB speech by Wolfensohn 

The PLO “chief negotiator” Saeb Erekat has categorically denied a report in The Washington Post suggesting that the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership that he represents has dropped its insistence that Israel halt settlement construction in the occupied West Bank before resuming US-brokered negotiations with Israel. Read more about Saeb Erekat denies Washington Post claim Palestinians dropped settlement freeze demand