Date

News:
Pres. Abbas meets with Israeli Chief Negotiator Livni in London. (New York Times/Ha’aretz)
PM Netanyahu distances himself from Livni’s meeting with Abbas. (AP/Ha’aretz)
Pres. Obama reportedly hopes Netanyahu and Abbas will understand it is in their interests to renew talks. (Ha’aretz)
FM Lieberman says Israel must look beyond Abbas for peace partners. (Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)
Netanyahu blames PA incitement for reportedly high anti-Semitism rates in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. (Times of Israel)
Israel and the PLO eye political gains from Pope Francis’ visit to the Holy Land. (AFP)
Hamas says Abbas will announce the new Palestinian government next week. (Ha’aretz/AFP)
Hamas leader says the Gaza and West Bank governments will resign once a new government is agreed upon. (Ma’an)
Political arrests continue in the West Bank despite the Fatah-Hamas agreement. (Ma’an)
Jewish extremist settlers torch a private Palestinian field in Hebron. (Ma’an)
Israeli army reservists protest against “price tag” attacks in the occupied West Bank. (Ha’aretz/JTA/Times of Israel)
Israeli occupation forces arrest four Palestinians in Hebron and Bethlehem. (PNN)
Israel will elect a new president on June 10. (Jerusalem Post/Ynet/AFP)
Syrian opposition DM Mustafa resigns. (Reuters)
Pres. Assad extends his grip on central Syria. (Reuters)
The Chief of Syria’s Air Defense Ishaq dies in a battle near Damascus. (New York Times/Xinhua)
An Egyptian court jails more than 160 Muslim Brotherhood supporters for 15 years. (Reuters/AP/The National)
Libyan militias led by a former Gen. Haftar attack the parliament. (Washington Post/The National)
Libya’s army chief orders the deployment of Islamist-led militias to the capital. (AP)
Pres. Sleiman urges Hezbollah to leave Syria. (AP/Xinhua)

Commentary:
Michael Oren says Israel is not and will never be an “apartheid state.” (Los Angeles Times)
Saree Makdisi makes the case why the term “apartheid” fits Israel. (Los Angeles Times)
Benjamin Pogrund says the danger of Israel becoming an “apartheid state” is real and must be confronted. (Jewish Daily Forward)
Akiva Eldar says both Israel and the Palestinians should honor the Quartet's conditions .(Ha’aretz)
Abraham Foxman says “price tag” perpetrators should be vigorously investigated and prosecuted. (Ha’aretz)
Jeff Barak says many Knesset members are like “Hebrew neo-Nazis” in their disdain for minorities in Israel. (Jerusalem Post)
Sharif Nashashibi says Israel seeks to divide Palestinians along religious lines. (Al Arabiya)
Zeev Tzahor says the Fatah-Hamas agreement could increase the chances for peace. (Ynet)
John Whitbeck says Europe should try to do something useful for Israelis, Palestinians and peace. (Jordan Times)
Ha’aretz says Netanyahu prefers to “ride the fragments of hatred.” (Ha’aretz)
Hazem Balousha says a gifted Palestinian child artist from Gaza finds inspiration despite hardship. (Al-Monitor)
The Jordan Times says Hezbollah should not interfere in Maronite Patriarch Rai’s visit to the Holy Land. (Jordan Times)
Alasdair Soussi says the Syrian war is condemning its children to a desperate future. (The National)
Amer Al Sabaileh says the proliferation of terrorists and extremists in the Middle East poses a challenge to Jordan’s security. (Jordan Times)
Samir Sumaydee says a third premiership for PM Maliki would be disastrous for Iraq. (Asharq al-Awsat)
H.A. Hellyer says Arabs need to create new political ideologies. (Al Arabiya)
Mshari al-Zaydi says ruling Egypt is a “risky task.” (Asharq al-Awsat)
Rami Khouri says Iran’s role keeps on growing in the Middle East. (Daily Star)

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