News:
Sec. Kerry is pushing for a "framework" agreement [1] between Israel and the Palestinians to keep talks going. (New York Times)
The "framework" proposal is thought to be the outlines of a final status agreement [2]. (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli leaders say Kerry should be taken very seriously [3] and may want a Nobel Prize. (YNet)
An Israeli official again reiterates it wants to retain the crucial Jordan Valley [4]. (AP)
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister resurrects the idea 1967 borders are "Auschwitz borders." [5](Ha'aretz)
Right-wing Israeli politicians make a symbolic visit [6] to the Jordan Valley. (Xinhua)
Israel has reportedly proposed [7] a land swap offer [8] to the United States. (Ma'an/Times of Israel)
PM Netanyahu's insistence on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state" is proving a key sticking point [9]. (New York Times)
Israeli finance minister Lapid again dismisses the demand [10] for Palestinian recognition of Israel as "Jewish" as "rubbish." (Jerusalem Post)
Israel says it's going to wait for Kerry to leave [11] before another announcement of settlement expansions. (New York Times)
Pres. Abbas warns of possible legal and diplomatic action [12] if Israel persists in settlement activity. (AFP)
A "secret Palestinian security report" [13] purportedly warns of the dangers of a third intifada. (YNet)
Palestinians say there has been an increase in the number of Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements [14]. (PNN)
The PLO says the US is planning to provide $440 million [15] in aid to the PA this year. (Ma’an)
A poll suggests both Israelis and Palestinians support the two-state solution [16], but remain suspicious of the other side. (AP)
Israeli and Palestinian leaders continue to exchange accusations [17]. (Ma’an)
Palestinians say an 85-year-old man died [18] after Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas [19]. (Reuters/(Xinhua)
In a rare move, an Israeli military tribunal acquits Palestinians of throwing stones [20] at settlers. (Ha'aretz)
The Palestinian ambassador [21] to the Czech Republic dies in an explosion [22] when he opened an old safe. (Reuters/AP)
Hamas approves a 2014 budget of $589 million for the Gaza Strip that includes a 75 percent deficit [23]. (New York Times)
Egypt says the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas plotted to blow up churches [24] in Sinai during Christmas. (Ma’an)
Hamas leader Haniyeh rules out the possibility [25] that Egypt could declare it a terrorist organization. (Ma’an)
The Palestinian Statistics Bureau says there are 11.8 million Palestinians in the world [26]. (PNN)
A relocation city for Bedouins founded by Israel decades ago [27] inspires no confidence in such schemes. (The Forward)
Former PM Sharon [28] is said to be near death [29] and in critical condition [30]. (New York Times/AP/Ha'aretz)
7,818 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2013 [31], the highest annual death toll in years. (AP)
PM Al-Maliki asks Sunni members [32] not to leave the Iraqi parliament. (Washington Post)
Syrian activists say 130,000 people have died [33] since the beginning of the conflict in that country. (Reuters)
17 rebels are reportedly killed by Syrian troops [34] in the southern city of Daraa. (Xinhua)
At least 20 people are killed [35] when a missile strikes a residential building in Aleppo. (Los Angeles Times)
Lebanon arrests leaders [36] of an Al Qaeda-linked group in connection with the bombing of the Iranian Embassy. (New York Times)
Two people are killed [37] as police and protesters clash in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. (Reuters)
Commentary:
Roger Cohen [38] says Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish state depends on ending the occupation. (New York Times)
Karin Laub [39] says Israel and the Palestinians face hard choices in Kerry's framework proposal. (AP)
Gershon Baskin [40] says Israel needs Kerry and the US even if they don't want to admit it. (Jerusalem Post)
Eitan Haber [41] says Kerry's determination to achieve peace puts Israel in a very difficult quandary. (YNet)
Shlomi Eldar [42] says, despite a prisoner release, more Israeli settlement activity could kill peace talks. (Al Monitor)
David Horovitz [43] tries to imagine what Netanyahu is thinking right now. (Times of Israel)
Tamar Hermann [44] says the Israeli left has to choose between supporting Netanyahu and increasing chances for peace or opposing him and increasing their electoral prospects. (YNet)
Ari Shavit [45] says if Kerry's proposals include a Jewish state in the 1967 borders, it would be a Zionist victory. (Ha'aretz)
Ami Ayalon [46] says Israel needs to take bold unilateral measures to salvage the peace process. (New York Times)
Ha'aretz [47] says Israel should stop using municipal planning as an excuse to seize land and dispossess Palestinians. (Ha'aretz)
Joshua Mitnick interviews Jerusalem expert Daniel Siedemann [48]. (Christian Science Monitor)
Zuher Andrawous [49] says Palestinians are becoming more divided along sectarian lines. (Ha'aretz)
Gideon Levy [50] says Israelis seem to tolerate torture. (Ha'aretz)
Bloomberg profiles Palestinian businessmen Munib R. Masri [51]. (Bloomberg)
Hassan Hassan [52] says Hezbollah's misleading anti-takfiri rhetoric could fool some people. (The National)
Mohammed Habash [53] says radicalized Syrian youths are one of Pres. Assad's greatest assets. (The National)
The National [54] says the Iraqi army offensive in Anbar against Sunni forces will only backfire. (The National)
Michel Kilo [55] says it's time to take a stand against the most extreme rebel group in Syria, ISIS. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Hania Mourtada [56] profiles the Syrian Islamic Front, a potential new Western Islamist ally. (Foreign Policy)
Osama Al Sharif [57] gives his overview on what to expect in the Middle East in 2014. (Jordan Times)
Calder Walton [58] describes how Jewish terrorists in Palestine helped give birth to the British surveillance state. (Foreign Policy)
Greg Carlstrom [59] explains why the Egyptian government is blaming everything it can on the Muslim Brotherhood. (Foreign Policy)
Nathan Brown [60] looks forward to the upcoming Egyptian constitutional referendum. (Carnegie)
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