The international community could actually take a lesson out of the Iran example. [...] Even Iran’s allies such as Russia and China joined hands with the U.S. and Britain to build a global pressure regime which eventually worked in forcing Tehran to compromise. What was one of the most contentious global issues till a few years ago was settled amicably in a rare case of the triumph of public diplomacy. 

A surprise awaits beyond a black door adorned with a silver lotus flower at the end of a tangle of alleyways in Gaza's chaotic Old City. Through it and behind imposing stone walls sits a small, Levantine-style palace, some 430 years old and recently painstakingly restored. It is among the rare vestiges of Gaza City's architectural heritage, battered by war, time, population pressure and simple indifference.

At the fourth annual Palestine Marathon, running, politics and community intersected, resulting in a mishmash of intention and intensity. Serious marathoners mingled with local kids in jeans and T-shirts [...] The race, which is put on by the non-profit global running community Right to Movement and dedicated to “telling a different story of Palestine” 

Hundreds of baby vests and T-shirts have been placed on a beach in Dublin this week, with each one representing a child who died during the 50-day conflict between Gaza and Israel last year. The installation was made by a group of artists who wanted to remember the children killed in the war last summer.

The Israeli government believes it is locked in an epic struggle to save Israel from the growing movement calling for an international boycott. Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Israel must “rebrand” itself to avoid pariah status. Ordinary Israelis are therefore being conscripted into an army of spin doctors in a campaign termed “hasbara”.

The Foreign Ministry took a stab at the international media's coverage of Gaza in a satirical, animated video posted on the Internet on Sunday. Ahead of a UN Human Rights Council report due to be published this week on last summer's war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the ministry issued the clip intended to urge the world to become more aware of the realities of oppression and terrorism in the coastal Palestinian territory. 

The president of the Qatari National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Mohammad al-Amadi, announced the launch of a number of new projects for the Gaza Strip on Saturday.  According to official figures from Gaza, 16,000 homes were completely destroyed during last summer's war and another approximately 90,000 were partially destroyed.

A trawler left Sweden on its way to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip 5,000 nautical miles away. The Marianne of Gothenburg departed on Sunday evening and is the first ship in the Freedom Flotilla III to leave for Gaza, according to the website of the Ship to Gaza Sweden campaign.