In an op-ed for The Boston Globe Ephraim Sneh outlines the Mideast challenges facing the next U.S. President (1). Another op-ed by Ian Black in the UK’s Guardian addresses the same set of challenges and suggests an Arab peace initiative as vital to keeping Israeli-Palestinian negotiations afloat (2). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemn settler violence against Palestinians during the olive harvest (4) (8) . Tzipi Livni receives a two-week extension to continue building a coalition government (7).