Date

News:

Palestine cast its first vote in the UN General Assembly. (AFP/Times of Israel)

Pres. Hollande calls on Israel to fully and completely halt settlement construction. (Xinhua/AFP)

Hollande also says Jerusalem should be the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. (VOA)

Israel's High Court orders the state to demolish settlement outpost homes built on private Palestinian property. (Jerusalem Post)

PM Netanyahu urges Pres. Abbas to address the Knesset in Jerusalem. (AFP/Times of Israel)

Heavy rainfall means Gaza's streets are now flooded with water and sewage. (Al Monitor)

A militant and four others are killed in an "accidental explosion" in Gaza. (Ma'an)

Israeli guards wound nine Palestinian prisoners in Ashkelon prison. (Ma'an)

Settlers torch two Palestinian cars and attack homes near Nablus. (Ma'an)

Palestinians set animal traps on their lands to deter settler attacks. (Ma'an)

Students at a Jerusalem yeshiva are suspected in a string of violent attacks against Palestinians and other Israelis. (Ha'aretz)

Palestinians and Israelis open a commercial dispute arbitration center in Jerusalem. (The Media Line)

Palestinian journalists say freedom of speech is under increasing pressure from the PA. (The Media Line)

David Makovsky of WINEP joins the State Department Israeli-Palestinian peace team. (JTA)

Divisions over Iran continue to strain US-Israel relations. (New York Times)

Sec. Kerry says Israel "has every right" to its own opinions about Iran and any agreement with it. (AP)

Kerry says nothing the United States is contemplating regarding Iran puts Israel at any risk. (Ha'aretz)

Netanyahu claims Iran already has enough low-grade enriched uranium for five nuclear bombs. (Jerusalem Post)

Two simultaneous bomb attacks at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut kill at least 23. (New York Times/AP)

Officials say footage shows a suicide bomber and a car bomb were involved in the explosions. (Reuters)

The Iranian cultural attaché to Lebanon is reported to be among the casualties. (Reuters/Xinhua)

Iran blames Israel for the attack on its Beirut embassy. (Times of Israel)

Syrian government forces claim to recapture a key strategic town near the Lebanese border. (AP)

Four people are killed in a mortar attack on Aleppo's municipal building. (Xinhua)

Iranian parliamentarians move to block concessions to the P5+1 on nuclear issues. (AP)

Libya's military seeks to regain control of the capital, Tripoli, from militias. (AP)


Commentary:

Yara Dowani describes the ordeal for Palestinians passing through the notorious Kalandia checkpoint. (Jerusalem Post)

J.J. Goldberg says Israel can learn from a year of relative calm with Gaza. (The Forward)

Jane Eisner looks at Ari Shavit's new book on Israel's past and future. (The Forward)

Aaron Magid says Likud is becoming a party committed to apartheid. (The Daily Star)

Barak Ravid says Israel may well come French support but it should remember it's not the US. (Ha'aretz)

Shimon Shiffer looks at the dramatic historical ebb and flow of French-Israeli relations. (YNet)

Avigdor Haselkorn says Netanyahu has panicked and miscalculated regarding Iran. (Jerusalem Post)

The Washington Post says the US and Israel need to agree on the terms of an Iran deal. (Washington Post)

Daniel Drezner says Israel's stance on Iranian nuclear negotiations is incomprehensible. (Foreign Policy)

Robert Satloff says the US and Israel are experiencing their deepest rift in living memory. (Politico)

Emily Landau says the P5+1 shouldn't underestimate its leverage over Iran during negotiations. (Ha'aretz)

Roger Cohen says the unfolding US withdrawal from global leadership is leaving a dangerous vacuum. (New York Times)

Hassan Barari says Israel may be the big loser if the US role in the Middle East decreases. (Jordan Times)

The Daily Star says the battle for Qalamoun, which is now engaged, may prove decisive for both Syria and Lebanon. (The Daily Star)

Faisal Al Yafai says a "deal with the devil" may be necessary to save Syria from an inferno. (The National)

Amberin Zaman says Turkey is backing away from its support of Islamist rebels in Syria. (Al Monitor)

Sherzad Shekhani looks at what the future may hold for Syria's Kurds. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Jeremy Bowen says Libyans are yearning for law and order. (BBC)

Harith Hasan says Iraq's 2014 election will be a referendum on PM al-Maliki. (Al Monitor)

Marian Houk looks at the ongoing controversy over the death of the late Pres. Arafat. (+972)


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