Date

News:

Sec. Kerry is back in the region pursuing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and more. (Reuters/AFP)

Pres. Abbas is reportedly under pressure to accept the new US security proposal. (Xinhua)

Palestinians confirm they will complete the established negotiation timeframe despite frustrations. (Xinhua)

Palestinian sources reportedly say Kerry is dooming the peace talks by siding with Israel. (Ha'aretz)

The EU's Court of Auditors says aid to the PA needs to an "overhaul" and some major changes. (AFP)

The PA says it is still sending Palestinian patients for treatment overseas despite heavy costs. (Ma’an)

The UN condemns Israel's destruction of 30 Palestinian properties in the occupied territories. (AFP)

Israel's chief negotiator Livni says settlement construction outside the large blocs harm Israel's security. (Ha'aretz)

Israel slams a Dutch water company for cutting ties to Israel over settlement activity. (AP/Xinhua)

The Dutch move is only part of a growing trend in Europe to isolate settlements and occupation. (The Media Line)

British NGOs complain about UK participation in the development of a new Israeli drone. (The Guardian)

Palestinians draw parallels between their own fight for independence and Mandela's anti-apartheid struggle. (The Guardian)

The PLO criticizes the President of Guatemala for visiting Israeli institutions in occupied East Jerusalem. (PNN)

10 years after a bloody siege, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is undergoing a facelift. (New York Times/AP)

blood collection crew in Israel's parliament refuses a donation from an Ethiopian-born MK. (Reuters/AFP)

Jerusalem experiences its heaviest snows in many years. (Xinhua/Washington Post/Ha'aretz)

International news organizations call on Syrian factions to stop kidnapping journalists. (New York Times/AP)

The UK joins the US in halting all nonlethal aid to northern Syria. (AP)

Extremist rebels reportedly storm a suburb of Damascus killing many people. (Xinhua)

Detained at sea, many Syrian refugees now find themselves stranded in an Egyptian limbo. (Christian Science Monitor)

Israeli artists take a new approach to depicting Pres. Assad. (Christian Science Monitor)

A key White House adviser says the growth of extremism in Syria may actually be a key to ending the conflict. (Foreign Policy)

Sec. Hagel's visit to a huge US military base in Qatar reveals much. (New York Times)

Bickering continues between political and military and paramilitary leaders in Iran. (New York Times)

Egyptian riot police use water cannons and tear gas against protesters. (Reuters)

More Egyptian judges recuse themselves in trials of Muslim Brotherhood leaders. (AP)

Tunisia says it plans to hold elections before the end of 2014. (Asharq Al Awsat)

The UAE will host a GCC defense think tank for the study of common security threats. (The National)

Commentary:

Elias Groll thinks the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer a top US priority. (Foreign Policy)

Gershon Baskin says he suspects more progress is being made in peace talks and most people think. (Jerusalem Post)

Brent Budowsky says he's not optimistic but Kerry is waging a valiant one-man battle for "common interests and common sense." (The Hill)

Emily Hauser sees many flaws in the recent Israel-PA-Jordan water agreement. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Nathan Jeffay asks if imprisoned Fatah leader Barghouti could prove the "Mandela of the Palestinians." (The Forward)

Chemi Shalev says Israel is inching closer to an international South Africa-style boycott regime. (Ha'aretz)

Israel's new opposition leader Herzog calls PM Netanyahu "an enigma." (AP)

Israel Harel says pro-Israel loyalists should support Netanyahu. (Ha'aretz)

George Hishmeh says Israeli leaders avoided Mandela's funeral fearing "a trial and oral whiplashing." (Gulf News)

Ari Shavit says, after missing its top leaders avoided Mandela's funeral, Israel must restore its international moral credibility. (Ha'aretz)

Osama Al Sharif says Mandela's Middle East legacy may be realized when Israel is ready for peace in Palestine. (Arab News)

Chaim Levinson points out that in the occupied West Bank home construction rules are changed depending on whether the owners are Arabs or Jews. (Ha'aretz)

Monika Halkort looks at the rebuilding of the Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. (Open Democracy)

Andy Bachman says censorship at campus Hillel organizations goes against Jewish traditions. (The Forward)

David Ignatius says Pres. Obama's realistic, pragmatic foreign policy recalls the days of Kissinger and Baker. (Washington Post)

Nicola Nasser says, with friends like Kerry, the Palestinians need no enemies. (Arab News)

El Hassan bin Talal says between violence, kidnappings and a harsh winter facing refugees, the brutality of the Syrian conflict is laid bare. (Jordan Times)

The National says aid for Syrian refugees will be a test of Iran's intentions. (The National)

Rym Ghazal looks at life in the Zaatari refugee camp on the Jordan and Syria borders. (The National)

Yaron Friedman says, despite shared interests, there is little chance of Israeli-Saudi normalization. (YNet)

Jacky Hugi agrees there will be no formal, or even informal, Israeli-Saudi alliance against Iran. (Al Monitor)

Francis Matthews says Gulf states are extremely concerned at the drift in American policies. (Gulf News)

Joseph Kechichian looks of the evolving structure of the GCC. (Gulf News)

Mustafa Akyol says the Erdogan-Gulen rift should make Turkey stronger. (New York Times)


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