Vox Sentences: White House relations with Israel somehow manage to get even worse

1. Against it before he was for it — before he was against it — before he was for it, again

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is interviewed by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on March 19, 2015 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty Images)

• Remember when, right before the Israeli elections, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recanted his support for a Palestinian state? Psych!

  [Vox / Zack Beauchamp]

• In an interview with NBC News' Andrea Mitchell, Netanyahu stated, "I don't want a one-state solution … I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution."

  [NBC News / Andrea Mitchell]

• He also walked back pre-election comments warning about Arab voters turning out "in droves," saying he was "very proud of the fact that Israel is the one country in a very broad radius in which Arabs have free and fair elections."

  [NYT / Jodi Rudoren and Michael Shear]

• The White House was not buying it; press secretary Josh Earnest stated that the Israeli government had "said that they are no longer committed" to a two-state solution, and that this would influence the US's decision on whether to keep defending Israel at the UN.

  [FT / John Reed and Geoff Dyer]

• Specifically, "several administration officials said that the Obama administration may now agree to passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution embodying principles of a two-state solution that would be based on the pre-1967 lines between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip and mutually agreed swaps."

  [NYT / Helen Cooper and Michael Shear]

• That's a significant reversal. The US has previously been skeptical of attempts to define the parameters of a deal at the UN, voting against a similar resolution last year.

  [AP / Edith Lederer]

• Another administration official tells Politico's Michael Crowley, "We are signaling that if the Israeli government’s position is no longer to pursue a Palestinian state, we’re going to have to broaden the spectrum of options we pursue going forward."

  [Politico / Michael Crowley]

• Some Palestinian leaders see the election as a positive development, as they believe it will further isolate Israel internationally, strengthening the Palestinian hand at the UN and the International Criminal Court

  [NYT / Diaa Hadid]

• But a UN resolution won't force IDF troops out of the West Bank and Gaza; only a deal with Israel can do that, ultimately.

  [Vox / Zack Beauchamp]

2. The day after in Tunisia

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid holds a press conference about the Bardo Museum attack at al-Kasba palace in Tunis, Tunisia on March 19, 2015. (Ilyes Gaidi /Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

• ISIS has claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack at a museum in Tunisia.

  [AP / Jamey Keaten and Paul Schemm]

• But Tunisian officials said they couldn't establish a connection between the two gunmen who died in the attack and any terrorist group, so it's unclear how involved ISIS really was.

  [NYT / David Kirkpatrick]

• The official death toll has risen from 19 to 21, including 18 foreign tourists, a police officer, a museum employee, and one other unidentified Tunisian.

  [WSJ / Tamer El-Ghobashy and Radhouane Addala]

• The Tunisian government has arrested 9 people for involvement in the attack and deployed the military to major cities in response.

  [Washington Post / Erin Cunningham and William Branigin]

• Attacking tourists is a common terrorist tactic, as they "spread terror internationally" and "also have a negative effect on the economy of the local government."

  [Washington Post / Adam Taylor]

• The Twitter hashtag #IWillComeToTunisia, meant to support the country's effort to keep its tourism industry afloat, took off following the attack.

  [Fox News / Grace Cutler]

3. The Everything Drone

This robot will come to your home and throw cookies at you. (Amazon)

• The FAA has issued a "experimental airworthiness certificate" to Amazon so it can test unmanned drones it intends to use for deliveries.

  [FAA]

• CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the drone plan in a 60 Minutes segment in December 2013.

  [CBS News / Charlie Rose]

• But the videos premiered there had to be filmed outside of the US due to FAA restrictions on the commercial use of drones.

  [The Verge / Ben Popper]

• Last month, the agency proposed new rules that would legalize drone usage, subject to a few reasonable restrictions.

  [The Verge / Ben Popper]

• While it develops its drone program, Amazon is already experimenting with the same-day deliveries it's meant to enable; if you live in New York and some parts of Miami and Baltimore you can, through the Prime Now program, get select items delivered in less than an hour for $8 per order.

  [WSJ / Greg Bensinger]

4. Misc.

• Even Scott Walker's March Madness bracket is more conservative than Jeb Bush's.

  [NYT / The Upshot staff]

• The Defense Department doesn't know what happened to $500 million in weapons, ammo, aircraft, and other military equipment it gave to Yemen.

  [Washington Post / Craig Whitlock]

• Europe is set to experience a total solar eclipse tomorrow — and Germany has spent months preparing its solar energy system.

  [Slate / Tim McDonnell]

• The New York Times sent a reporter to find hard drugs at Wesleyan. She somehow failed.

  [NYT / Tatiana Schlossberg]

5. Verbatim

• "When Larry King wants to tweet, he doesn't log onto the Internet. He pops open the flip phone stored in the shirt pocket between his suspender straps and calls the number for a voicemail set up specifically for this purpose."

  [Washington Post / Ellen McCarthy]

• "Warning: Both participants in this dialogue are figments of the author’s imagination."

  [NYT / Timothy Williamson]

• "I am delighted by this fascinating and elegant system and would very much like to see it tried somewhere very far away from me."

  [Slate Star Codex / Scott Alexander]

• "You’ve gotten good reviews, except Frank Bruni wants you to bare your soul." "He wants me to bare my genitals."

  [The Daily Beast / Eleanor Clift and Barney Frank]

• "I know we’re shooting fish in a barrel with both sides of a coach gun. But get a load of all those fish!"

  [Slate / Daniel Engber]

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