Both Michael Doran and Lara Friedman agree that the creation of a Palestinian State in the West Bank is unlikely to occur anytime soon, but they disagree about the reasons why. To Friedman, Washington should nevertheless actively pursue such an outcome, while to Doran the many past failures suggest that such efforts would be wasted. More importantly, Doran contends that, under current circumstances, the creation of such a state would be deleterious not only to Israel but also to the Palestinians, to Jordan, and to American interests.

Sunday was the first day of Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-awaited trial on three corruption-related charges. At issue, writes Shmuel Rosner, are not so much the facts of the case but the legality of Netanyahu’s actions. For his own part, Netanyahu has accused the Israeli justice system itself overstepping its bounds, and many Israelis support such a claim, as Rosner writes: