News:
Four more Palestinian refugees [1] are killed in the Syrian conflict. (Ma’an)
Israelis [2] and Palestinians [3] both express pessimism [4] about negotiations on the eve of Sec. Kerry's visit. (Reuters/Jerusalem Post/UPI)
Kerry may be floating some new ideas [5] in his meetings with Israelis and Palestinians. (The Guardian)
Pres. Abbas reportedly says no progress whatsoever [6] has been made in negotiations with Israel. (Ma’an)
Abbas says the linkage in Israeli politics [7] between prisoner release and settlement expansion could kill peace talks. (Ha'aretz)
Abbas also denounces Israel's demands for a long-term military presence [8] in the Jordan Valley. (Jerusalem Post)
Palestinian officials say the US should be more serious [9] about making the talks work. (Los Angeles Times)
A new opinion poll shows most Palestinians are in favor of a two-state solution [10] but more pessimistic than ever. (PNN)
Israeli press reports suggest the country's negotiators are deeply at odds over Jerusalem [11]. (PNN)
Israeli negotiators reportedly may have told Palestinians in West Bank separation barrier should serve as the new border [12]. (AFP)
Israeli Finance Minister Lapid rules out any possibility [13] of negotiations over the future of Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post)
Israel conducts DNA [14] tests to identify the bodies [15] it is returning to Palestinians. (Ma’an/Xinhua)
Israeli DM Ya'alon says Hamas is preparing for more conflict [16] by creating a network of tunnels throughout Gaza. (Xinhua)
The Israeli military simulates taking direct control of Gaza [17] again. (YNet)
Palestinians say Israel has sentenced a young man to a month in prison for "making an illegal phone call." [18] (Ma’an)
A fuel crisis [19] in the occupied West Bank has reportedly been resolved. (Ma’an)
Women-only cafés [20] are a new feature of Palestinian social life in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)
American [21] and Saudi [22] officials play down their differences [23] as Kerry visits the Kingdom. (New York Times/AP/Washington Post)
Commentary:
J.J. Goldberg [24] examines reports the US may be preparing its own peace proposals. (The Forward)
The PLO [25] issues a new fact sheet about Israeli settlement activity since the resumption of negotiations. (PLO)
Shlomi Eldar [26] insists Palestinian chief negotiator Erekat really did try to resign because Israel's policies have made negotiations politically untenable. (Al Monitor)
Faisal Al Yafai [27] says it wasn't just Yitzhak Rabin who was killed in 1995 but the Israeli commitment to peace. (The National)
Ashraf al-Ajrami [28] says few Israelis are aware most released prisoners join the peace movement. (YNet)
Asmaa al-Ghoul [29] looks at how black Palestinians in Gaza deal with the racism they encounter. (Al Monitor)
The New York Times [30] thinks Kerry's visit to Egypt confused rather than clarified relations with the US. (New York Times)
The National [31] says Kerry will be hearing from frustrated Arab allies. (The National)
Lally Weymouth interviews Saudi Prince Turki [32], who says some US policies "have been wrong." (Washington Post)
Hussein Ibish [33] says the world must act on the dire Syrian refugee crisis. (NOW)
Zvi Bar'el [34] says Europe must open its borders to Syrian refugees. (Ha'aretz)
Diana Moukalled [35] profiles Soad Nofal, a woman defying Al Qaeda in Syria. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Hassan Barari [36] says PM Al-Maliki’s policies pose a bigger threat to Iraq and the region than Al-Qaeda. (Arab News)
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