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The attacks came just hours before President Obama travelled from Israel to the West Bank, where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Obama condemned the attacks, but called for Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table without preconditions.

The Gaza Kitchen weaves little-known stories of Gaza food and farming among Palestinian home-cooking recipes. It's an effort not just to document the flavors of modern and historic Gaza, but also to start a new conversation about the place and its people.

During a two-day tour, President Obama will deliver a speech to students and visit Ramallah in the West Bank. Obama isn't in the region with a great plan to restart peace talks, instead he's expected to simply try to connect with the Israeli people.

Plans by the Israeli government to build in E1 have been decried by Palestinian officials who claim that building a new settlement between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim would, "effectively cut the West Bank in two." Israeli officials have accused the Palestinians of exaggerating E1's importance, and pro-Israel groups have argued that alternative roads will still run through the area, connecting the northern and southern halves of the West Bank. A trip between Bethlehem and Ramallah that 10 years ago would take 15-20 minutes, will take upwards of 2.5 hours on the new roads.

Palestinians object to all Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But one in particular, the E-1, is a major source of friction. Israelis say it's merely the expansion of an existing settlement. But critics say the Israelis are building a ring around Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, cutting them off from the West Bank.

Forging peace between these two protagonists was long seen as the holy grail of American diplomacy. But as President Obama visits, expectations are low and the conflict feels much less urgent than it used to.

Scholar Rashid Khalidi has closely watched the role of the United States as mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a new book, Brokers of Deceit, he argues that U.S. involvement has made the goal of a lasting peace less attainable than ever. Host Rachel Martin talks with Khalidi about prospects for successful mediation.

Spencer Geissinger headed the Presidential Advance Team for former President George W. Bush. Geissinger served Bush during both terms, doing advance work in 98 countries. He shares anecdotes with host Rachel Martin of arranging the scheduling, security and publicity for Bush's foreign trips, with a view toward President Obama's upcoming visit to Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally put together a coalition that appears focused on domestic issues rather than security questions or negotiations with the Palestinians.

The photograph of a grieving father holding the body of his baby boy became the iconic photograph of Israel's military strikes in Gaza last November.