News:
Leaked reports suggest Sec. Kerry’s potential framework proposal could [1] have modest goals. (The Globe and Mail)
The PA reportedly informs Kerry that it will not accept his framework [2] as it currently stands. (The Times of Israel)
Jewish American leaders send [3] a letter to PM Netanyahu praising Kerry’s efforts. (The Jerusalem Post)
King Abdullah of Jordan urges [4] Jewish American organizations to back Washington’s peace initiative. (The Jordan Times)
Israeli right-wing [5] politicians take part in a [6] demonstration against peace talks [7]. (Xinhua/Ma’an/The Jerusalem Post)
Israeli forces kill [8] a Palestinian man [9] at the Gaza border. (Los Angeles Times/The New York Times)
Representatives of various Palestinian political parties meet in Gaza [10] to discuss negotiations and national reconciliation. (Ma’an)
Hamas objects [11] to UN human rights books in schools. (AP)
A Palestinian family in Hebron is suing the Israeli police [12] for failure to act on evidence of tree vandalism. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli occupation forces raid [13]a house in Bethlehem. (PNN)
Arab idol winner Assaf says he has been “banned” [14] from singing at the World Cup ceremony. (Ma’an)
Washington hopes the Sochi [15] Winter Olympics will force Pres. Putin’s hands on Syria. (Foreign Policy)
Russia rejects a proposal [16]that could remove Pres. Assad from power. (The Wall Street Journal)
Syrian evacuees from Homs comment on their dire living conditions [17]. (The Washington Post)
Barrel bombs wreak [18] havoc in Aleppo's opposition-held neighborhoods . (The Los Angeles Times)
The UN halts the evacuation [19] of civilians from the city of Homs. (AP)
11 people are killed in insurgent attacks [20] in Iraq. (Xinhua)
Bahrain arrests [21] 29 people at the anniversary [22] of the ongoing uprisings. (AP/Reuters)
Libyan PM Zeidan [23] says the government is safe [24] after an army statement. (Reuters/AFP)
Commentary:
Ha’aretz [25] says the Knesset is doing everything in its power to thwart peace talks. (Ha’aretz)
Elliott Abrams [26] says the US must demand that a future Palestinian state be democratic. (Council on Foreign Relations)
Thomas Friedman [27] says Israelis ought to define what they mean by “the nation state of the Jewish people.” (The New York Times)
Bakir Oweida [28] says the UN can and must do more for Palestinian refugees. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yossi Sarid [29] says, by rejecting the US-Palestinian anti-incitement proposal, Netanyahu’s government is perpetuating the conflict. (Ha’aretz)
Ben Caspit [30] says Israeli FM Liberman has a secret plan to take over the Likud party. (Al-Monitor)
David Weinberg [31] says the boycott threat against Israel has been inflated. (The Jerusalem Post)
Noa Osterreicher [32] says Economy Minister Bennett needs a “reality check.” (Ha’aretz)
The Jerusalem Post [33] says helping Palestinians solve their water issues is not only the right thing to do, but could provide considerable political gains. (The Jerusalem Post)
Ben Barber [34] says compensating Jews from Arab countries may win their support for Kerry’s initiative. (McClatchy)
Barry Leff [35] says the Jerusalem municipality’s planning approval for a Yeshiva council in an Arab neighborhood is more than bad timing. (The Jerusalem Post)
David Ignatius [36] says a regional accord that defuses the sectarian schism can end the war in Syria. (The Daily Star)
Eyad Abu Shakra [37] blames the Syrian crisis on both American “retrenchment” and reported Iranian collusion with Al-Qaeda groups in Syria. (Asharq Alawsat)
Hassan Mneimneh [38] says recent developments in Syria threaten to deal a serious blow to Al-Qaeda. (The German Marshall Fund)
Adel El-Adawy [39] says the US is an indispensable partner for Egypt, and Russia cannot take its place. (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Mieczyslaw Boduszynski and Kristin Fabbe [40] say the US must speak up against the assaults on democracy in both Egypt and Turkey. (Christian Science Monitor)
José Ciro Martínez [41] says Jordanians are showing signs of restlessness, and any instability in Jordan will reverberate in the whole region. (Los Angeles Times)
The Brookings Institute [42] issues a new study called “The Arab World Learning Barometer” which highlights shortcomings in educational access and learning among children and youth in the Arab world. (The Brookings Institute)
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