Date

News:

Israel approves the construction of 900 settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem. (AFP/Times of Israel)

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Erekat says the new Israeli government will be belligerent and work against peace. (AFP/PNN/JTA)

The PA is spearheading an effort to have Israel added to a UN list of human rights violators. (JTA)

The Israeli army will check for Hamas tunnels near the Gaza border kibbutz. (Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

Jewish settlers attack the car of a senior adviser to PM Hamdallah near Nablus. (Ma’an)

The heads of Israeli and Palestinian football will meet in Zurich in a bid to head off a Palestinian bid to expel Israel from the sport's governing body. (AFP)

Movie experts call on the Gaza Ministry of Culture to reopen the movie theaters that were closed down during the first intifada. (Al-Monitor)

PM Netanyahu clinches a deal to form a new government. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/JTA)

The Syrian army and Hezbollah advance in areas along the Lebanese border. (Reuters/The National)

Hundreds of members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood have returned from exile and are hoping to rebuild the movement. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia says all options are open including ground operations to stop mortar attacks on its border towns by Yemen's Houthis. (Reuters)

In a letter to the UNYemen urges ground intervention to save the country. (Reuters/AP)

Sec. Kerry says aid needs in Yemen are dire. (New York Times)

Saudi Arabia agrees to a temporary halt in Yemen attacks after talks with Kerry. (Washington Post)

Changes in Saudi Arabia's leadership make the conservative kingdom's strategic positions less predictable. (Reuters)

The mayor of Tehran Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf becomes a patron of the arts. (New York Times)

Commentary:

Nahum Barnea says the new Israeli government can only survive thanks to Netanyahu’s authority and fear of elections. (Ynet)

Akiva Eldar says the balance of power in the Knesset is clearly in favor of those supporting a two-state solution. (Al-Monitor)

Shmuel Rosner says Netanyahu and his partners haven't been magnanimous in victory. (New York Times)

Peter Beinart says violence doesn't erase the legitimacy of grievances – in Baltimore, Tel Aviv or the West Bank. (Ha’aretz)

Hussein Ibish says the stakes have never been higher for relations between the US and its Gulf allies. (NOW)

Joyce Karam asks if there will be a Syria for Iran bargain at the upcoming US-GCC summit. (Al Arabiya)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says the most important aspect of the war in Yemen is not its intensity, but the disintegration of domestic partisan and tribal alliances. (Al Arabiya)


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017