Quarterly Updates for (16 Nov 2016 — 15 Feb 2017)

On 2/7, Israel’s amb. to Ireland, Zeev Boker, sent a message to Jerusalem warning that Dublin planned to recognize Palestinian statehood. Irish recognition had been on the table for a long time, according to an official in Jerusalem, and the Knesset’s approval of the so-called Regulations Bill on 2/6 mobilized the Irish govt. Irish FM Charles Flanagan then denied (2/9) the rumors: “I am actively keeping under consideration, on a continuous basis, the question of whether recognition by Ireland in the near future of a State of Palestine might be a helpful step in relation to the Middle East peace process.”