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U.S. Says Palestinian Moves against Israel at ICC 'Counterproductive'

The White House said Thursday that efforts to have Israel charged with war crimes at the International Criminal Court were "counterproductive" and would be opposed by Washington.

The United States has "made clear that we oppose actions against Israel at the ICC as counterproductive," National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told AFP.

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Poll: Israeli, Palestinian Support for Two States Slipping

A joint Israeli-Palestinian poll published Thursday shows dwindling support on both sides for a Palestinian state alongside Israel as a solution to the conflict.

The survey, by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, shows 51 percent of Israeli respondents in favor of what is known as the two-state solution, down from 62 percent last June.

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Rebuilding of Thousands of Destroyed Gaza Homes Set to Begin

The rebuilding of thousands of homes destroyed in last summer's Gaza war is to begin in the coming days, almost a year after the conflict began, the Palestinian housing minister said Wednesday.

The July-August war in the besieged Gaza Strip destroyed or partially damaged tens of thousands of homes, leaving 100,000 Gazans homeless.

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'War Crimes' Likely by Both Sides in 2014 Gaza War, Says U.N. Report

Both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during last year's Gaza war, a widely anticipated United Nations report said Monday, decrying "unprecedented" devastation and human suffering.

The Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict announced it had received "credible allegations" that both sides had committed war crimes during the conflict, which killed more than 2,140 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.

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Palestinians to Submit First File to ICC next Week

The Palestinians will next week submit their first file to the International Criminal Court in their bid to open criminal proceedings against Israel, an official said on Thursday.

The move is part of an increased focus on diplomatic maneuvering and appeals to international bodies by the Palestinians, who have been frustrated by a lack of progress in ending the Israeli occupation and creating their own independent state.

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Final U.N. Shelter in Gaza Closes, Many Remain Homeless

The U.N. has closed the last remaining shelter for Palestinians displaced in last summer's war in Gaza, a spokesman said on Thursday, with families seeking temporary accommodation elsewhere.

The July-August conflict between Israel and Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, left 100,000 Gazans homeless and forced many to seek refuge in schools belonging to the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.

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Israel Eases Restrictions on Palestinians for Ramadan

Israel announced on Tuesday it was relaxing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians to and from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A spokeswoman for COGAT, the defense ministry unit which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank, said that for the first time, Palestinians will be able to travel by bus directly from West Bank cities to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem.

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Israel Probe Says Gaza War Actions 'Lawful', Palestinians Reject Findings

Israel on Sunday defended its conduct in the 2014 Gaza war as both "lawful" and "legitimate" in a detailed inter-ministerial report which was roundly rejected by the Palestinians. 

Nine months after the end of the conflict, which claimed the lives of nearly 2,200 Palestinians and 73 on the Israeli side, Israel revealed the findings of the investigation into the conduct of its forces and that of the Hamas militants it was fighting.

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NGO Accuses Israel of Systematic Abuse of Palestinian Kids

A West Bank-based children’s rights group on Wednesday alleged widespread abuse by Israeli security forces of Palestinian minors in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army swiftly denied the allegations, outlined in a report by a group called Military Court Watch (MCW). 

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Israel Frees Palestinian Speaker after Year Behind Bars

Israel released Tuesday the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, an AFP reporter said, after almost a year in prison following an army crackdown over the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers. 

Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was arrested on June 16, 2014 as Israel staged a massive manhunt for three teenagers who were snatched from a road in the southern West Bank by Palestinian militants linked to Hamas. 

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