At least 20 Palestinians were killed on August 2 in the Palestinian Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus when Syrian security forces fired three mortar shells into the camp. President Mahmoud Abbas strongly condemned the killings, reiterating his call not to pull Palestinians into the Syrian conflict, particularly pointing fingers at PFLP-General Command leader Ahmad Jibril who the leadership says is arming Palestinians and bringing them into Syrian battles. PLO Executive Committee member Yasser Abed Rabbo held the Syrian government responsible the killings while dozens of surviving Palestinian families from the camp fled across the to Lebanon.

Witnesses in the camp said the mortars hit a busy street in the camp as residents were preparing for the Iftar meal to break their Ramadan fast.

In Jerusalem, however, the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said on August 3 that an estimated 320,000 Muslim worshipers headed to Al Aqsa mosque for Friday noon prayers on the third Friday of Ramadan. Checkpoints were backed up for hours, namely the Qalandiya checkpoint, with Palestinian residents of the West Bank cramming to cross over into Jerusalem after Israel eased its restrictions on Muslims on the occasion of Ramadan.

Palestinians this week were reeling from racist remarks against them made by US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who visited Israel last week. On July 29 and 30 Romney managed to insult the Palestinians twice – once by calling Jerusalem the capital of Israel and then again by suggesting that Israel’s economic success was the result of cultural superiority over the Palestinians.

During a fundraising event in Jerusalem, Romney told his wealthy Jewish audience, "As I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things," citing “a climate of innovation, the Jewish history of thriving in adversity, and the hand of providence".

"As you come here and you see the [gross domestic product] per capita, for instance, in Israel, which is about $21,000, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality."

Even his statistics were wrong. According to the World Bank, Israel's per-capita GDP was about $31,000 in 2011, while the West Bank and Gaza's was just over $1,500. Romney failed to mention the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, did not visit the West Bank or even mention the Palestinians by name. When he met with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, he insisted it was in west Jerusalem, not in Ramallah.

PLO leader Saeb Erekat condemned Romney's comments. "It is a racist statement, and this man doesn't realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation," he said.

"It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people. He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority." Even the White House said Romney should “clarify his statements,” especially since the United States does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Israel certainly does, and is trying to prove it in every way possible. On August 3, tenders were issued for 232 new housing units in three Jerusalem settlements including 180 units in the already gargantuan settlement of Givat Zeev. The others were slated for Bitar Ilit and Har Homa, built on lands confiscated from Beit Jala. Furthermore, according to the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahranoth, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allocated over NIS2 billion to Jewish settlements in the West Bank in 2012.

On August 1, moreover, Israeli sources revealed that the government is planning to give grants for building hotels in West Bank settlements near Jerusalem in order “to absorb some of the high demand for hotel rooms in the capital.” This would be the first time the green light was given for such a move. Two settlements are being slated for hotel construction in particular – the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement, just outside Jerusalem, and in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc to the south.

On August 2, a group of settlers from the Givat Ariel outpost entered the Palestinian village of Sinjil in the northern West Bank and scrawled "Palestinians should die," and "Stay away from our lands," on a wall in the village according to its mayor Ayoub Swaied.

He also said settlers left improvised explosives consisting of a box containing ethylene, benzene and sulfur underneath a car in the village.

On July 30, Israeli occupation soldiers manning the Zayyam checkpoint near Jerusalem killed a Palestinian worker and injured two others, one of them seriously. Apparently, the soldiers opened fire at a van as it approached the checkpoint, saying it did not heed army warnings to stop.

Hasan Badee Omar, 46, was hit several times in the chest and abdomen. He died from his injuries in hospital shortly after. Another worker, Ashraf Abdullah was hit in his shoulder and thigh while Khalid Imad Abdullah was shot in his right leg.

"We were 13 workers in a Ford Transit traveling to our working place in Jerusalem,” told Abdallah. “Before we arrived at Zayem checkpoint, the driver received a message from another driver him telling him that strict procedures were being applied and that he should go back. Our driver started to turn around but border guard officers opened fire at the car without asking him to stop," he said.

On August 1, Israeli authorities renewed the closure orders for Palestinian offices and institutions in Jerusalem, including Orient House, for the 11th year in a row. PLO leader Saeb Erekat called the closure renewal "an act of piracy," in a letter to foreign diplomats, adding that "such illegal Israeli measures are considered null and void by the international community." He called on this community to intervene to force the Israeli government to reopen the institutions which have been closed down since 2001.

Finally, on July 29, head of the Palestinian Water Authority Shaddad Attili said during a press conference that Israel allocates 70 times more water to each settler than to the average Palestinian in the West Bank. Atilli said Palestinians received 105 million cubic meters of water, less than the amount allocated in the 1995 Oslo Accords and around a quarter of the 400 million cubic meters needed according to international standards.