The legal team of former President Moshe Katzav, who was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment after having been convicted of rape, announced today that there will be no appeal of the parole board’s decision to reject Katzav’s request for clemency.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will reportedly present France’s initiative to implement a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, during his visit today with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and Ramallah.

Israel has already expressed its opposition to the initiative, arguing that the initiative incentivizes the Palestinian Authority to not engage in bilateral discussions with Israel. Earlier this year, France announced its intentions to unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood in the event of the initiative’s failure.

Mustafa Badreddine, a top Hezbollah commander, was assassinated Thursday night in an explosion near the Damascus airport, the Lebanese-based terror organization announced on Friday.

Hezbollah did not say who was responsible for Badreddine’s killing, though media outlets with ties to the organization blamed Israel.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Badreddine was responsible for Hezbollah’s forces fighting in Syria, where the terror group has thousands of fighters backing the Syrian government in the country’s ongoing civil war.

Israel has reportedly assassinated multiple Hezbollah operatives in Syria, including the notorious terrorist Samir Kuntar in a December missile strike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly confirmed last month that Israel has carried out “dozens of strikes” against Hezbollah in Syria.

According to intial reports, an officer in the IDF was severly injured by an explosive device near the Hizma checkpoint north of Jerusalem. The officer is currently being treated at the site by emergency medical personel.

The IDF spokeperson unit has announced  that due to security concerns on Memorial Day and independenmce Day, a blockade will be enacted on Judea and Samaria as of Wednesday, May 11 at 10 a.m.

Additionaly, crossing points around the Gaza strip will be closed.  The blockade is set to be be lifted and crossing point will open on Thursday night.

During the blockade the movement of humanitarian and medical personnel will be permited for emergency purposes only.