NEWS:
The Arab League welcomes [1] Sec. Kerry's proposals for restarting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, raising prospects for resumed talks [2]. (New York Times/AP)
Some Israeli officials [3] reportedly say they are open to a formula for talks based on the 1967 borders [4], but PM Netanyahu's office denies [5] this. (YNet/Jerusalem Post/Reuters)
Kerry extends his trip for more consultations, but there is no planned meeting with Netanyahu [6] yet. (AFP)
Kerry says he believes he is "getting closer" [7] to facilitating resumed negotiations [8]. (AFP/Washington Post)
Pres. Abbas consults with Palestinian leaders [9] after the Arab League announcement about resuming negotiations with Israel. (Reuters)
Netanyahu formally asks [10] the EU to reconsider its ban on further cooperation with Israel's occupation [11], but Palestinians praise it [12]. (AP/Xinhua)
Pres. Peres asks the EU [13] to delay implementing and reconsider [14] the new guidelines about noncooperation with Israel's occupation, and suggests they could be an impediment to new peace talks [15]. (AFP/AP/Ha'aretz)
The new EU measures are likely to increase Israel's growing international isolation [16]. (AFP)
Some Israeli analysts think the EU measures will make it harder for Netanyahu to control right-wing [17] elements in his government. (Times of Israel)
The UK reportedly wanted much tougher guidelines [18] that would have applied to every Israeli in the occupied Palestinian territories. (Ha'aretz)
The US refuses to criticize [19] the EU decision. (Jerusalem Post)
Western officials reportedly say Palestinians are seeking to build an airport in Ramallah [20]. (YNet)
Israel may be preparing to dismantle several checkpoints [21] in the occupied West Bank and other "goodwill gestures." [22] (Jerusalem Post/AFP)
Hamas rejects [23] a suggested Fatah "deadline" for a national unity government of August 14. (Ma'an)
Gaza's hospitals [24] are the latest to be hit by the financial and supplies crisis in the Strip. (Al Monitor)
Hamas asks Egypt to provide alternatives [25] now that most Gaza smuggling tunnels have been closed down. (Ahram Online)
Palestinians launch a "morality campaign" [26] urging people to voluntarily pay for electricity. (The Media Line)
IKEA is considering opening a branch in Ramallah [27]. (The Guardian)
Militants kill three [28] Egyptian policeman in the Sinai Peninsula. (AP)
Some Israelis are taking advantage of cheap land near the Egyptian border [29], but at some risk. (Christian Science Monitor)
Protesting Palestinian refugees shut down an UNRWA office [30] at a refugee camp in Lebanon. (Ma'an)
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, in a rare rebuke [31], calls on Israeli officials to cooperate in a terrorism lawsuit against the Bank of China. (JTA)
A student exchange program in central Pennsylvania is trying to assist a stigmatized Palestinian student [32] enroll in a local high school. (Patriot News)
COMMENTARY:
Abdullah Iskandar [33] says the whole Arab world is wondering what, exactly, Kerry has in mind. (Al Hayat)
Gershon Baskin [34] says both parties need to take advantage of the opportunity Kerry is providing. (Jerusalem Post)
Marty Peretz [35] says Kerry's "heroic efforts" are pretty much all that is left of Pres. Obama's Middle East policies, and Palestinians should accept whatever Israel offers them. (Daily Beast)
Neve Gordon [36] says Israel's response to the new EU guidelines shows it has no intention of ending the occupation. (Ha'aretz)
Gideon Levy [37] says Israel should thank the EU for making it confront its fundamental realities. (Ha'aretz)
John Whitbeck [38] says the EU has a major role to play in brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace. (Al Jazeera)
Carlo Strenger [39] says the Israeli right seems incapable of understanding the implications of the EU guidelines. (Ha'aretz)
Rachel Shabi [40] says the EU decision has hit Israel like a bucket of cold water to the face. (The Guardian)
The National [41] says the guidelines mark a new phase in Israeli-EU relations. (The National)
Chemi Shalev [42] says the Israeli right now faces a choice between Kerry's proposals and more measures like the EU guidelines. (Ha'aretz)
Cnaan Liphshiz [43] wonders how effective the EU guidelines will actually be. (JTA)
Jan Sokolovsy and Ari Briggs [44] say the right response to the EU is for Israel to curtail cooperation with the PA. (Jerusalem Post)
Ephraim Sneh [45] says the EU guidelines show there's an economic price, as well as isolation, for the occupation. (YNet)
Ha'aretz [46] says Netanyahu is in denial and is leading Israel to the brink of an abyss. (Ha'aretz)
The Israeli NGO B'Tselem [47] says law enforcement against settlers in the occupied West Bank is "enslaved" to the occupation project. (B'Tselem)
Rashad Hussain [48] says Ramadan is a good time to combat anti-Semitism among Muslims. (JTA)
Roy Isacowitz [49] says Israel doesn't have to look exactly like the former South Africa in order to actually be practicing apartheid. (Ha'aretz)
Robert Danin [50] proposes a formula for ending Gaza's isolation. (Council on Foreign Relations)
Maysoon Zayid [51] looks at the growing interest in skating among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)
Asmaa al Ghoul [52] looks at the campaign of hatred and incitement against Palestinians in some of the Egyptian media. (Al Monitor)
Hassan Tahsin [53] says Sinai security and Egyptian-Palestinian relations, especially with Hamas, were stained by former Pres. Morsi's legacy. (Al Arabiya)
Hazem Saghieh [54] asks if the Muslim Brotherhood is at all capable of self-criticism. (Al Hayat)
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