On May 19th the 13th Palestinian government took the oath of office in a swearing-in ceremony in Ramallah. The new 24-minister government includes four women and several new ministers along with formerly resigned and later reinstated Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

In his speech, Fayyad said that although the government was formed under such difficult circumstances, reuniting the homeland "remains our priority." He also stressed that this was an interim caretaker government until a national unity government is formed or until presidential and parliamentarian elections are held on January 25, 2010. Fayyad also said one of the government's first order of business would be the reconstruction of Gaza.

Still, the new formation came amid a wave of unrest on the internal front, even within Fateh itself. The Fateh bloc in the Legislative Council refused to join in the formation, saying they were not consulted. Some said the move would only deepen the internal split and push the prospect of national unity even further away.

Of course Hamas will not endorse or even recognize the new government, saying it was "unconstitutional". On May 18, Hamas and Fateh along with several other Palestinian factions ended their fifth round of conciliation talks in Cairo with little progress. This latest round has been seen by many to have been the "make it or break it" chance to reach national agreement. Now, while Cairo says it will announce its own agreement on the work of the five committees and Fayyad and President Abbas both say they are still committed to seeking unity, hopes have been severely dashed. The two rival parties seem to be even further away from reconciling now than ever before.

As bad as the internal disputes were this week both between Fateh members themselves and between Hamas and Fateh, the Israeli government has reminded all Palestinians that the bigger battle is still very much on. During his May 18 meeting with US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained adamant not to endorse the idea of a two state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli problem. Netanyahu told Obama that he was willing to negotiate with the Palestinians on condition that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The Israeli premier also made no commitments to freezing settlement expansion, a clause in the roadmap, which Israel signed. He said he would not "build any new settlements" and would evacuate "illegal" outposts but would not hinder the expansion of already existing settlements for the sake of "natural growth."

This was almost immediately apparent in terms of Israeli policies on the ground. While the Israeli army evacuated the tiny settlement outpost of Moaz Esther in the West Bank on May 21, this was only after a May 18 call for tenders to build 20 new settlement units in the Jordan Valley.

Even US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had some hard words for Israel about settlement activity. On May 20, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Clinton called on Israel to all kinds of settlement activity, including "natural growth."

"We want to see a stop to settlement construction - additions, natural growth, any kind of settlement activity - that is what the president has called for," Clinton said.

For Palestinians, it is not only the West Bank settlements they want to see removed but also those in and around Jerusalem. Jewish settlers have been slowly evicting families from various neighborhoods in east Jerusalem especially, but not exclusively, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. On May 17, Israeli authorities handed the Hanoun and Ghawi families in this neighborhood eviction orders to be carried out no later than July. After the families are pushed out, their houses will be taken over by a settler organization called Nahalat Shimon International, which intends on demolishing the entire Palestinian neighborhood and building a 200-unit settlement in its place.

Jerusalem has always been a point of contention and will most likely remain so for years to come. During Israel's celebration of Jerusalem's annexation on May 21, throngs of settlers and right wing Israelis took to the streets in celebration of the so-called unification of Jerusalem. That day, Netanyahu also made a speech in which he reiterated Israel's commitment to Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of his country. "A city reunified so as never to be united," were his words exactly.

That day, a few Israeli rights organizations called for the protest of Jerusalem Day celebrations, namely the Association for Civil rights in Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. Newly appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Hatem Abdul Qader also called on Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem to join the protest, which took place at Damascus Gate at noon that day.

A day later, France made its position clear on the contended holy city through its Foreign Ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux on May 22. "In France's eyes, Jerusalem should, within the framework of a negotiated peace deal, become the capital of two states," he said.

"Actions such as the destruction of Palestinian homes or the transformation of Arab districts risk provoking an escalation in violence. They are unacceptable and contrary to international law," Desagneaux maintained.

Furthermore, on May 21, Israel unveiled a large-scale plan in the Old City under the pretext of "development and cultural promotion." Palestinians are calling it another scheme to further consolidate Israel's hold on the eastern sector and further prevent the realization of east Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.

According to Ir Imim, an Israeli advocacy group working in Jerusalem, the Israeli government has secret plans to surround the Old City with sites under its control to strengthen its hold on the divided city.

“The aim is to put in place in coordination with ultra-nationalist settler groups nine biblical parks, focusing almost exclusively on the ancient Jewish past of the city,” said Daniel Seidemann, a founder of Ir Amim.

According to Seidemann, the plan includes the demolition of Palestinian homes built without building permits and ignores the Muslim archaeological sites in the occupied sector of the city.

Israel also began another "project" in Jerusalem on May 18. It has begun to erect an iron wall along the Jerusalem-Hebron road starting from the Old City in order to "protect settlers" and to prevent Palestinians from "illegally entering" Jerusalem. The wall will be 285 meters long when it is completed.

Finally, the world, including Israel and the Palestinians, are waiting for the much anticipated speech of President Obama on June 4 in Cairo. While there has been much speculation indicating that Obama will outline his peace plan for the Palestinians and Israelis, a White House spokesperson said this is not the case. On May 22, Robert Gibbs said the President would not be announcing any US plan for peace in the Middle East.

"This will be a broader speech about our relationship with Muslims around the world," Gibbs said. He did admit that Obama would not be able to address the Muslim world without referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but insisted that this would not be the focus of his speech.