News roundup from Jerusalem

I had a longish break in the UK over Christmas and New Year, and had some catching up to do when I got back earlier this week. Here are some of the things I missed: The non-peace non-talks Since the US called time on Netanyahu's foot-dragging over a further settlement freeze last month, not a lot has obviously happened. But in this place nothing stands still. So settlement building is booming, there has been an increase in the number of rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel, and – in the absence of anyone else's Plan B – the Palestinians are pursuing their own. A resolution condemning settlement building is expected to go to the UN security council this month. The wording of the resolution is based on statements of US policy made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured left) – which should make it awkward for the Americans to veto. Further down the line could be a UN security council resolution recognising a Palestinian state – a step taken recently by Brazil and Argentina, with Uruguay to follow. Meanwhile, ultra-right foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman did come up with what he calls his Plan B : namely, forget a peace agreement any time soon, and blame the Palestinians. This was followed by respected Haaretz columnist Aluf Benn declaring "it's over" for Bibi. Some can now distinctly hear the drums of war , in Gaza, Lebanon or Iran. War is always more likely in a vacuum, which is what we seem to have now, despite Middle East envoy Tony Blair's insistence that the next few weeks could see the talks brought back from the dead. We shall see. The priapic ex-president Former president Moshe Katsav was found guilty on two counts of rape. Some have since called for him to be pardoned rather than face the "humiliation" of a jail sentence. Women's rights groups are not impressed by that argument. Cycle of crime Talking of convictions and jail terms, the Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack was sentenced to three months for a Tel Aviv bicycle protest against the blockade of Gaza three years ago. His conviction activated an earlier suspended sentence. I asked him this week if he would be taking a pile of books to jail to while away the time; he said prisoners were allowed only scriptures. No longer Pals There appears to be a serious rupture at the top of the Palestinian faction Fatah, with former security commander Mohammed Dahlan denying he planned to stage a coup against President Mahmoud Abbas. A dispute between the two has been rumbling for a while, and Abbas has now set up an inquiry into the coup claims. Many believe Abbas to be a lame duck president; inevitably people are jockeying for position in whatever, or whoever, follows. One for the birds The Saudi authorities arrested a vulture, which they claimed was a Mossad spy after they found a GPS transmitter and a tag from Tel Aviv university attached to the bird. Wildlife experts said the vulture was probably part of a migration study. This followed claims last month that the shark which attacked tourists in the Red Sea was also a Mossad plant. Have I fallen asleep and woken up on April 1st?