The young, dark-haired woman behind the glass stamped the American passport in front of her. “Welcome to Israel,” she said cheerily. The line in front of me receded quickly as passport after passport was stamped, and traveler after traveler admitted entry. I made my way to the desk and slid my passport under the glass. Sumia Ibrahim writes from Palestine. Read more about Palestine is illegal 

11:00am, Thursday, 19 June. The tahdiya (or “lull”) between Hamas and Israel started just hours ago at 6:00 this morning. At Sofa Crossing, in the south eastern Gaza Strip, it looks like business as usual for the Gazan drivers who are patiently waiting to collect their cargo so they can start distributing across the Gaza Strip. Read more about Drivers at Sofa crossing wait in hope 

USH GHRAB, West Bank (IPS) - East of Beit Sahour in Ush Ghrab, the tree line stops and the bronze, rocky desert begins. In a flat clearing on this hilltop, a small, abandoned military post is being slowly transformed from an assorted collection of cement-grey barracks into a virtual oasis for the region’s children, families and tourists. Read more about Beit Sahour reclaims military base site 

Based on the reactions of Palestinians across all levels of society to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, the possibility of sustaining the truce appears doubtful. On the streets of Gaza City, interviews with a number of residents revealed a mixture of pessimism and optimism. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from occupied Gaza. Read more about Gaza ceasefire between success and failure 

CAIRO (IPS) - An Egyptian proposal for a “calming” of hostilities, or tahdia, between Israel and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas officially came into effect Thursday. The deal follows several months of three-way talks between Israeli officials, Palestinian delegations and Egyptian mediators. Read more about New ceasefire could ease the burden 

JERUSALEM (IRIN) - The European Commission (EC) on 16 June announced a 24 million euro donation to humanitarian programs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. About half of the money would go to the West Bank and half to the Gaza Strip, a senior EC official said, noting that even though only about a third of the population lives in the coastal enclave, the humanitarian situation there was more severe. Read more about Palestinians increasingly donor-dependent 

JERUSALEM (IRIN) - Lower incomes and the increasing cost of food have contributed to higher food insecurity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, without a change in the political situation the only solution remains emergency humanitarian aid, a new UN report has said. Israel has said restrictions on movement and the wall are needed for security purposes and efforts are being made to make life easier for Palestinians. Read more about Politics mostly responsible for Palestinian food insecurity - UN 

GAZA CITY (IPS) - The girl, about 16, is wandering about Jabaliya refugee camp, picking up anything she thinks can burn. She cannot find enough bits of wood, so she gathers plastic bags, old notebooks and even a pair of broken plastic sandals. “I want to heat some water,” she said. “I want a bath.” Read more about Anything for a bath, anything for fuel 

CAIRO (IPS) - In the last two months, popular and parliamentary opposition to the sale of Egyptian natural gas to Israel has mounted. As a result, in a rare nod to public opinion, the government recently announced it was “revising” the terms of the sale agreement. “The government was finally embarrassed into partially addressing our concerns,” Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat, former MP and spokesman for the recently founded Popular Campaign against Gas Exports told IPS. Read more about Egypt bends on Israel gas deal