Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, addressing United Nations members on Monday, called Israel's West Bank settlements a "time bomb that could destroy everything accomplished on the road to peace, at any moment". On Wednesday, defying President Obama's "unhelpful" warning, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee announced its plan to build 625 new housing units in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

On Sunday, Haaretz's Gideon Levy wrote about the role of internal socio-political institutions that "victimise" the "self" and to "demonise" the "other", using the context of the 2008/9 Gaza War in which two soldiers unlawfully sent a 11-year-old child to check for explosives. Levy claims history has witnessed many aggressors who presented themselves as "victims" but it has never seen such an occupier still complaining of being a victim, in this case, the victim of the United Nations' Goldstone Report on the Gaza War:

Possibly the best analysis came from a member of the Knesset, Yoel Hasson, of the Kadima Party:: "Prime minister A, Netanyahu, is talking about a permanent agreement and two states, prime minister B, Lieberman, is talking about an intermediate agreement and population exchanges, and prime minister C, (Shas chairman Eli) Yishai, doesn't believe in an agreement. It appears that Netanyahu is representing his opinion alone. This is proof of Netanyahu's weakness; he can't promote his position among his ministers and collation partners. This is a government without a leader, path or direction.

In the end the Palestinian president would be foolish to end the talks. In so doing, he would leave Israel free to proceed with unchecked settlement construction while postponing Palestinian statehood indefinitely. He would also place himself at greater domestic political risk, since the end of negotiations would empower Palestinian militants. If he stays in the talks, Mr. Abbas can oblige Mr. Netanyahu to spell out his specific terms for Palestinian statehood, something he has yet to do. If they resemble those offered by previous Israeli governments, it might be possible to move relatively quickly toward an accord on borders and security.