News:
The PA categorically rejects the idea of a continued Israeli military presence [1] in the Jordan Valley after a peace agreement. (Jerusalem Post)
Right-wing Likud leaders say they will not permit an interim agreement [2] with the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)
Sec. Kerry will meet PM Netanyahu [3] in Rome on Oct. 23. (JTA)
Salafists from Gaza [4] are reportedly killed while fighting in the Syrian conflict. (Al Monitor)
An Israeli court rules it's not discriminatory [5] to give benefits to only certain Palestinian Jerusalem residents. (Jerusalem Post)
The Israeli military says it killed [6] a Palestinian man at a military base [7] in the occupied West Bank. (New York Times/Ma'an)
2,000 Indians claiming to be Jewish [8] emigrate to Israel amid skepticism about their real ties to the faith. (JTA)
Pres. Abbas invites Pope Francis [9] to the "Holy Land." (Ma'an)
Abbas swears in PM Hamdallah and an unchanged PA cabinet [10]. (Ma'an)
After meeting Abbas, German Chancellor Merkel urges Israel to restrain settlement [11] construction. (YNet)
18 Palestinians are charged [12] with terrorist plotting in Lebanon. (naharnet)
Israeli occupation forces detain five Palestinians [13] in separate incidents Thursday in the occupied West Bank. (Ma'an)
Abbas promises to save the life of a girl [14] suffering from a failed kidney, diabetes and thalassemia. (PNN)
4 girls die [15] after being trapped in a car in Hebron. (Ma'an)
This year's Palestinian olive harvest is being overshadowed [16] by fears of annexation. (PNN)
US Amb. to Israel Schapiro denounces Hamas' smuggling [17] tunnels. (Times of Israel)
Israel's mayoral race in Jerusalem [18] is contested between radically different components. (Washington Post)
Saudi Arabia [19] rejects a seat [20] on the UN Security Council [21]. (New York Times/AP/Reuters)
Hezbollah is further endangering Israeli hawks [22] by accusing them of "spying." (AP)
Egypt's Coptic Christians struggle [23] to preserve their heritage under significant pressure. (AP)
59 are killed and 196 wounded in a day of violent attacks in Iraq [24]. (Xinhua)
Iranian officials say [25] new nuclear negotiations signal the beginning of a new era [26] with the West. (AFP/Ha'aretz)
Iran says Israel is trying to undermine [27] the new negotiations with the West. (YNet)
Turkey denies [28] having exposed an Israeli spy ring [29] in Iran. (YNet/Jerusalem Post)
A senior Syrian government intelligence officer is killed [30] in the conflict in that country. (BBC)
Commentary:
Hussein Ibish [31] looks of the dying mythologies of the "axis of evil" and the "axis of resistance." (Al Majalla)
Talal Salman [32] says Lebanon is now no longer the only Arab "country without a state." (As-Safir/Al Monitor)
Sharif Al Nashashibi [33] says declining US clout in the Middle East has shaken Egypt and many regional allies. (Gulf News)
Aaron David Miller [34] looks at the reasons behind declining US influence in the Middle East. (Foreign Policy)
Zuheir Kseibati [35] says the Arabs are massacring each other while Iran and Israel negotiate to divide the spoils. (Al Hayat)
Andrew Apostolou [36] warns against offering "sanctions relief" to Iran at this stage. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)
Nawaf Obaid [37] says Saudi Arabia is adopting a much more activist foreign policy. (Al Monitor)
Barbara Slavin [38] analyzes Iran's new nuclear proposal. (Al Monitor)
Roger Cohen [39] says Netanyahu has to ask himself the question: "if not now, when?" (New York Times)
Anshel Pfeffer [40] says the only real threat to Israelis from BDS and universal jurisdiction is fear. (Ha'aretz)
Avi Issacharoff [41]says in desperation, Hamas is hoping to capture another Israeli soldier. (Times of Israel)
Yossi Sarid [42] says Netanyahu is "the most dangerous leader in the Western world" and needs to put away his Churchillian cigar. (Ha'aretz)
Yoel Marcus [43] says Israel doesn't have a better leader than Netanyahu right now. (Ha'aretz)
Saba Farzan and Saeed Ghasseminejad [44] say Netanyahu is doing well in PR with the West, but not the Middle East. (Jerusalem Post)
David Weinberg [45] claims the late PM Rabin was "close to stopping the Oslo process." (Jerusalem Post)
Uri Misgav [46] says the court ruling there is no such thing as "Israeli" nationality is not a shock but an identity crisis. (Ha'aretz)
Michael Oren [47] evaluates the 1973 war, 40 years later. (The New Republic)
Yossi Melman [48] denounces "Turkey's unprecedented betrayal of Israel." (Jerusalem Post)
Ilene Prusher interviews David Harris-Gershon [49], whose wife was almost killed in a 2002 terrorist attack in Jerusalem. (Christian Science Monitor)
The Jerusalem Post interviews Finance Minister Lapid [50]. (Jerusalem Post)
Lish Lee Avner [51] says Israelis should feel free to live in Berlin despite the Holocaust. (YNet)
The BBC [52] looks at the plight of Syrian refugees stuck in France. (BBC)
Elhanan Miller [53] says PM Erdogan is politically turning to less nationalism and more Islamism. (Times of Israel)
Samir Salha [54] says Kurds need a state, and the only real question is where and when it will be. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Norm Coleman [55] says the US was wrong to cut aid to Egypt. (Washington Post)