NEWS:
Pres. Abbas and PM Fayyad [1] both come under intense pressure [2] for Fayyad not to resign [3]. (Reuters/Xinhua/Ha'aretz)
US officials say they do not believe Fayyad will be leaving [4] office. (AFP)
Pres. Obama tells UNSG Ban he sees a "window of opportunity" [5] to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. (JTA)
Human Rights Watch [6] condemns Hamas for killing accused collaborators [7] with Israel. (AP/Reuters)
Israel offers to deport [8] a long-standing Palestinian hunger striking prisoner, Samer Issawi, to a third country. (AP)
A 60-year-old Palestinian judge, Ahmad al-Zir, is beaten unconscious by settlers [9] near Ramallah. (Ma'an)
The Israeli government is planning to cut state funding to an extremist settlement seminary [10] over violence against Palestinians and Israeli troops. (AFP)
A Palestinian man is wounded by occupation forces [11] in a confrontation near Hebron. (Xinhua)
Israel is trying a Palestinian-American child [12] accused of stone-throwing in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
Israel will open the Kerem Shalom crossing for four hours [13] today to allow food and gas into the Gaza Strip. (Ma'an)
The Israeli military says it believes that Hamas is significantly increasing its efforts to capture more Israeli soldiers [14]. (YNet)
The UK is helping Palestinian businesses [15] reach more international markets. (PNN)
Palestinians are bracing for another dry summer [16] under Israeli occupation water policies. (Ha'aretz)
Israel is finding the situation along the border between Syria and the occupied Golan Heightsincreasingly alarming [17], and is beefing up its defenses [18]. (Reuters/The National)
40,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are now in Lebanon [19], and some are on hunger strike. (The Daily Star)
Bedouin tribesmen in Sinai briefly abduct a Hungarian [20] member of the multinational observer force, and then release him. (AP)
Jordanian MPs call for the release [21] of the perpetrator of the massacre of Israeli schoolgirls. (Jerusalem Post)
Tensions reportedly reemerge between the Israeli and American offices of the American Jewish Committee [22]. (The Forward)
COMMENTARY:
Ben Caspit [23] purports to tell the inside story of the recent conversations between Obama and PM Netanyahu. (Al Monitor)
Hazem Balousha [24] says Qatar's sponsorship of Hamas is greatly hindering Palestinian reconciliation. (Al Monitor)
Nabeel Shaath [25] says Palestinians are deeply upset by Canadian FM Baird's visit to occupied East Jerusalem. (Globe and Mail)
Ha'aretz [26] says if the new Israeli government persists with its policies it will bear a heavy responsibility for any failure of new US peace initiatives. (Ha'aretz)
The Guardian [27] says the biggest obstacles to peace are the power asymmetry, and the nature of the status quo, between Israel and the Palestinians. (The Guardian)
Yossi Sarid [28] says those who condemn stone-throwing by Palestinian protesters are probably against any form of resistance to occupation. (Ha'aretz)
Lior Akerman [29] questions the nature of the Israeli-Turkish rapprochement. (Jerusalem Post)
Hillel Halkin [30] says Israel should not have apologized to Turkey. (The Forward)
Ibrahim Kalin [31] asks what's next after Israel's apology in further mending relations with Turkey. (The Daily Star)
Randa Takieddine [32] says Lebanon should not hesitate to follow Israel's lead in exploiting offshore natural gas deposits. (Al Hayat)
The Economist [33] says racism in football in Israel is a huge problem, but some are trying to challenge it. (The Economist)