NEWS:
Palestinian officials claim they have a US letter of assurance [1] that backs a Palestinian state and identifies Israeli settlement as illegal. (Xinhua)
The Egyptian envoy to Palestine accuses Hamas of incitement [2]. (Al Monitor)
Egypt detains five Hamas members [3] in connection with a mass shooting of Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. (Times of Israel)
Sec. Hagel says there are no plans to cut military aid [4] to Egypt. (AFP)
Pres. Abbas has formed a committee to reach out [5] to all sectors of Israeli civil society. (Xinhua)
Yesh Atid leader Lapid forbids his MKs [6] from attending a Ramallah meeting with Abbas. (Ha'aretz)
A new Israeli government map would seem to endorse partition [7] along the 1967 lines. (JTA)
Israelis take a stoical view [8] of the chaos in neighboring countries. (New York Times)
Israelis are preparing for the consequences [9] of a possible American strike on Syria. (New York Times)
Israel's former military intelligence chief says the US must choose the "best worst" [10] option in Syria. (Ha'aretz)
Most Israelis [11] don't think Syria will retaliate [12] against them for an American strike, but they are preparing anyway [13]. (Xinhua)
Israel approves a limited draft [14] of military reservists. (Xinhua)
Israel pledges to hold Pres.Assad responsible [15] if Hezbollah acts against Israel. (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli soldiers are disciplined for dancing [16] while on patrol in the occupied Palestinian territories. (AP)
Israel arrests a Gaza man [17] who was preparing to travel to a US-sponsored West Bank cultural event. (AP)
Some Palestinian schools in occupied East Jerusalem are switching to an Israeli curriculum [18]. (Ma'an)
Israel backtracks [19] on confiscating a Palestinian family's East Jerusalem hotel. (Ha'aretz)
A new Emergency Treatment Room [20] of the Red Crescent Society Hospital in Jerusalem Is opened. (PNN)
Palestinian children [21] are common all-but-invisible laborers in Israeli settlements. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)
Two more UC campuses are exonerated of fostering [22] an anti-Semitic climate. (Los Angeles Times)
COMMENTARY:
Lee Hamilton [23] says Israeli-Palestinian peace is still essential. (Politico)
Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman [24] say Netanyahu must rein in extremists and his cabinet for peace talks to survive. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)
Akiva Eldar [25] asks if there will be a place for Jews in a future Palestinian state. (Al Monitor)
Douglas Bloomfield [26] says the US should rely more on public diplomacy, not threats, to keep Israel and the Palestinians at the negotiating table. (Jerusalem Post)
David Ignatius [27] says US credibility is now on the line in Syria. (Washington Post)
Ari Shavit [28] says the United States has no choice but to attack Syria. (Ha'aretz)
Eyad Abu Shakra [29] says a US military strike will happen, but it's intentions are not yet clear. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Michael Young [30] says US actions in Syria are likely to be limited. (The Daily Star)
Elias Harfoush [31] says there seems to be a new Pres. Obama, thanks to Pres. Assad. (Al Hayat)
Manuel Almeida [32] says Syria finds itself trapped between a warning and a game changer. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Gershon Baskin [33] says increased security cooperation is essential to prevent further bloody confrontations in the occupied West Bank. (Jerusalem Post)
Amira Hass [34] tries, in vain, to make sense of Israel's exit policies regarding Gaza residents. (Ha'aretz)
Carlo Strenger [35] says Israel's right-wing doesn't realize the occupation is damaging its essential relations with the West. (Ha'aretz)
Hagai Segal [36] says Israel's apology to Turkey over the deadly flotilla affair now looks like weakness. (YNet)
Joschka Fischer [37] says Egypt, and much of the Middle East, is caught between dictatorship versus dictatorship. (Jordan Times)
Richard Behar [38] asks why so many Palestinian high-tech entrepreneurs hated his cover story on their industry. (Forbes)
Front Page Features