The Palestinian arena has of lately witnessed successive events, beginning with the resignation of the Palestinian government on Jan. 29, the start of consultations to form a new government, the leaks in late January that the US administration's Mideast peace plan would be announced soon, and the announcement by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Feb. 10 that international institutions have responded to a US request for a financial blockade on the PA.
In addition, the Israeli government carries on with its settlement projects after it approved in January the construction of 2,500 settlement units in the West Bank and Jerusalem settlements. Also in January, the Israeli army continued its incursions into West Bank cities on the pretext of pursuing Palestinian militants.