All eyes were on scenes of Cairo as jubilant Egyptians celebrated in the streets after successfully ousting President Hosni Mubarak on February 11. After 18 days of popular demonstrations and two presidential addresses to the nation, Mubarak finally ceded power to the Egyptian High Military Council. The announcement came through newly-appointed Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, who said on the evening of February 11 that Mubarak had stepped down.

Palestinians joined their Egyptian brethren in celebration that same night. Hundreds took to the streets of Ramallah and Gaza, handing out sweets and calling for the fall of other Arab regimes. The Palestinian Authority, which banned many demonstrators throughout the two and a half week revolution, kept a safe stance in regards to the new regional developments. “We respect the will of the Egyptian people,” said Fateh committee member Nabil Shaath. Only last week, on February 5 did a massive demonstration in Ramallah take place in solidarity with the Egyptian revolution and without the intervention of security forces.

The historical moment had world leaders scrambling to make sense of it and to offer the proper response. While US President Barack Obama came out several hours after Mubarak’s ouster with a carefully worded speech praising the desire for democracy in Egypt and its “hunger for change”, it was mere hours later that the US “reminded” Egypt of Israel.

"It is important that the next Egyptian government recognize the agreement with Israel," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said referring to the peace treaty that the two countries signed in 1979.

The US is already dispatching Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff to Jordan on February 13 for talks with King Abdullah and military leaders.

Mullen will then go to Israel, ostensibly to speak to its leaders about the new regional order after Mubarak, an order Israel is extremely nervous about. "We have a tough period ahead of us," former Israeli ambassador to Egypt Zvi Mazel said. "Iran and Turkey will consolidate positions against us. Forget about the former Egypt. Now it's a completely new reality, and it won't be easy."

For now, euphoria in Egypt and unease among other Arab regimes are the feelings of the day. In Gaza, where Hamas initially quelled demonstrations in support of Egypt, the de facto leadership there was now heaping praises on the Egyptian people and uprising.

“The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the beginning of the victory of the Egyptian revolution," Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said on February 11.”We call upon the new Egyptian leadership to take an immediate decision to lift the blockade of Gaza and open Rafah crossing permanently to allow people's free movement and in order for the reconstruction process of Gaza to begin," he said.

It remains to be seen what the “new Egypt” will mean both for the Egyptians themselves, for the region and for the Palestinians. Palestinians in Gaza are hoping any new government chosen by the people will be more committed to the Palestinian cause and to Gaza in particular, where the Mubarak regime was often seen as acquiescent to the dictates of the United States and Israel.

Egypt aside, Palestinians were still waging the same battles at home. On February 11, 24-year old Husam Ruweidi from the Jerusalem suburb of Kufr Aqab was stabbed to death in west Jerusalem by Israeli settlers. His friend, Murad Joulani was wounded in the attack, which saw a group of settler youths assaulting the two men, yelling “Death to the Arabs” before pulling out a knife and slashing Ruweidi from ear to jaw. He later died in hospital from his wounds.

On February 8, Hebron settlers greeted Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez by calling her an "anti-Semite", a "Jew hater" and a "villain". Settler leaders accused the European Union of supporting a Palestinian neighborhood in Hebron and sidelining the Jews’ rights to the city.

While Jiménez initially refused to meet with the settlers, she had a small meeting with Naom Arnon, spokesperson for Jewish settlements in Hebron, who told her not to “only support the Arabs.”

Also on February 11, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad helped rebuild houses torn down by Israeli authorities in the Khirbit Tana village near Nablus. This is the fourth time Israel demolishes the structures.

On February 10, relatives of Palestinian prisoners met with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay who also met with President Mahmoud Abbas on February 7. In a memorandum, the families urged the UN "to take necessary measures and actions to uphold the protection of human rights and set upon a monitoring system to ensure that the Israeli government abides by these human rights principles."

On February 7, the Israeli planning and construction committee announced its ratification of 13 new Jewish homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. In Gaza, on February 9, Israeli airplanes bombed several locations in the Strip, ostensibly targeting tunnels used to smuggle arms. Instead, one bomb hit a pharmaceutical warehouse and injured eight people, including children.

In what it calls a step towards “easing restrictions”, Israel informed the Palestinian Authority on February 10 that it would remove the Huwwara and Beit Fourik checkpoints near Nablus. The removal would allow unrestricted movement for Palestinians between Nablus and Ramallah.

In other news, on February 10, President Abbas said he expected the UN Security Council to hold a session next week to vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements. The United States is already hinting that it would not allow any resolution against Israel to pass.

"We have made very clear that we do not think the Security Council is the right place to engage on these issues," Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said before the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee.

"We have had some success, at least for the moment, in not having that arise there. And we will continue to employ the tools that we have to make sure that continues to not happen."

Finally, the Cabinet announced on February 8 that local elections would be held on July 9. While the Central Elections Committee said it would do its best to include Gaza “despite the difficulties” Hamas has made it clear it would not participate.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the West Bank government has "no right to call this election." He said his movement would not participate in any elections, even in the West Bank, until the two sides were reconciled.