News:
A convoy carrying 900 food parcels [1]enters the Yarmouk refugee [2] camp in Syria. (AP/Ma’an)
A PLO official calls Sec. Kerry’s proposal on Jerusalem “general and vague [3].” (The Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Finance Minister Lapid [4]says Israel’s economy will be “battered [5]” if peace talks fail. (AP/Ha’aretz)
Jordanians protest [6] against Kerry’s peace plan [7]. (Xinhua/The Jordan Times)
Norway drops two Israeli firms [8] from its “Government Pension Fund Global.” (Ha’aretz)
Oxfam accepts [9] Scarlett Johansson’s decision to step down [10] following her association with an Israeli settlement company. (AP/Oxfam)
Israeli occupation forces issue demolition orders [11] for two Palestinian homes in the West Bank. (Ma’an)
Iran says it intends to invite Pres. Abbas to visit Tehran [12]. (Xinhua)
Israeli Economy Minister Bennett claims victory [13] over PM Netanyahu after apologizing to him. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli MK Yogev accuses Kerry of being “anti-Israel [14].” (The Jerusalem Post)
Hamas will form [15] an independent committee to dispute Egyptian accusations it is meddling in their internal affairs [16]. (Xinhua/Ma’an)
Palestinians in Gaza [17] are facing a growing water shortage [18].(The Media Line/The Guardian)
A study indicates that Arab families in Israel are larger on average [19] than Jewish families. (Ha’aretz)
Palestinians in Gaza [20] are producing a film about captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit [21]. (AP/The Jerusalem Post)
The Syrian regime and opposition [22] delegations both observe a minute of silence [23] in Geneva. (Reuters/The New York Times)
Human Rights Watch [24] provides evidence of the use of explosives and bulldozers by the Assad regime in razing residential buildings [25]. (AP/The National)
A US intelligence repor [26]t finds that Pres. Obama’s chemical weapons agreement with Syria “adds legitimacy [27]” to the Assad regime. (The Hill/DNI)
US intelligence chiefs say Syria has become a “huge magnet [28]” for international terrorists. (Foreign Policy)
Gen. Sissi [29] is riding on a popular wave that could carry him to the Egyptian presidency. (AP)
Egypt rejects US criticism [30] over the prosecution of Al-Jazeera journalists. (AP)
King Abdullah II [31]of Jordan will meet with Obama to discuss peace talks and Syria. (AP)
Militants storm a government office [32] in Baghdad, killing two people. (AP)
Commentary:
Dmitriy Shapiro [33] asks what if peace talks fail. (Washington Jewish Week)
David Ignatius [34] says Kerry's diplomacy centers on the "art of the interim deal" regarding both the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iran. (The Washington Post)
Avi Shlaim [35] says Netanyahu seeks to obstruct Kerry’s plan and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. (The New York Times)
Zeev Sternhell [36] says boycotting Israel is not anti-Semitic. (Ha’aretz)
Gershon Baskin [37] says Israel and the Palestinians should allow settlers to live as Palestinian citizens in a future Palestinian state. (The Jerusalem Post)
The Nationa [38]l says that Netanyahu's proposal for settlers to stay in Palestine plan may have some upside. (The National)
Roger Cohen [39] reflects on a myriad of recent developments in the Middle East. (The New York Times)
The Jordan Times [40] says US assurances are comforting, but uncertainty will continue until details of any peace plan are revealed. (The Jordan Times)
Diana Moukalled [41] says the Assad regime is being damaged by the Geneva talks due to public scrutiny. (Asharq Alawsat)
Rami Khouri [42] says Sissi if he becomes president must reduce tensions in Egypt including the Muslim Brotherhood. (The Daily Star)
Intissar Fakir [43] says attempts to ban Takfir in Tunisia and Morocco could entrench the secularist-Islamist polarization. (The National)
Samir Salha [44] says PM Erdogan's visit to Tehran will not succeed in averting the inevitable clash between Turkey and Iran. (Asharq Alawsat)
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