Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement Thursday evening declaring that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed “in principle” to meet in Moscow, although no date has yet been set for a summit. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added that “Intensive contacts on this matter are continuing” and implied that further announcements will be made soon.

The highly anticipated municipal elections set to be held in the Palestinian Authority administered cities in the West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on 8 October have been suspended by the PA High Court of Justice on the pretext that it would not include Palestinians living in eastern Jerusalem as well as various legal concerns. Officials of Hamas and the PA have blamed each other for the situation while there was a general sense of lamentation among Palestinian commentators that democracy in Palestinian society has suffered another failure, even as some hope still exists that the elections might still be held in the near future.

A delegation of high-ranking police officials from 7 US states arrived in Israel this week to participate in events commemorating the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US and joint counter-terrorism training exercises with their Israeli counterparts. They are the latest in a steady stream of American law-enforcement officers to come to Israel to take advantage of Israeli counter-terrorism experience, knowledge and technology.

Archeologists from the Jerusalem-based Temple Mount Sifting Project unveiled a set of decorated floor tiles from the Second Temple Period that they have restored to their original condition. “It enables us to get an idea of the Temple’s incredible splendor,” stated Dr. Gabriel Barkay, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The tiles will be displayed for public viewing this week at the 17th Annual City of David Archaeological Conference.