Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a year-end meeting of Israel’s ambassadors and chiefs of missions in Europe on Tuesday, warning that there are serious efforts underway at the UN and several world capitals to deliver harsh diplomatic blows to Israel before the inauguration on 20 January of incoming US President Donald Trump. The largest looming threat comes from a planned international summit in Paris on 15 July, where the Palestinians are hoping to secure backing for a UN Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian State.

IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria was convicted on Wednesday of manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian terrorist who was already wounded and subdued during an incident last March in Hebron. In the moments leading up to the verdict, clashes erupted outside the Kiriya military court in Tel Aviv between supporters of Azaria and police, giving evidence of the strong emotions the trial has prompted among the Israeli public.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah lamented on Tuesday that the massive amounts of foreign aid money that have been flooding into the PA’s budget for years has slowed considerably in recent months, forcing it to make difficult cuts. Around 55% of the PA budget is allocated to salaries for its 156,000 employees and another unknown but estimated to be considerable portion goes to paying salaries to the families of terrorists who have committed acts of violence against Israel, with salaries being increased according to the severity of the violence committed.

International hi-tech giant Intel announced on Tuesday the launch of a new series of seventh generation processors, which are products of its Israeli franchise. “Today, many of Intel’s core products are being developed through Intel Israel’s development branch, specifically the sixth generation processors that were announced last year and the seventh generation that was just announced today,” Ran Sanderovitz, vice president and general manager of Intel Israel’s development centers, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

The Iranian National Oil Company announced on Tuesday that it had published a list of 29 European and Asian companies authorized to bid on hydro-carbon exploration, development and transport projects in the Islamic Republic. Several preliminary deals have already been finalized.

The Obama administration’s record toward Israel underscores a counterintuitive reality: it is possible for the two countries to have close military and intelligence ties as well as tense strategic and political relations at the same time.