News:
Pres. Obama [1] will meet [2] with Pres. Abbas [3] to discuss [4] peace talks. [5] (AP/New York Times/AFP/Ha’aretz/The National)
Sec. Kerry urges [6] Abbas to make “tough decisions” [7] on peace. (Reuters/AFP)
Pres. Peres [8] says Abbas is a true [9] partner for peace. (Jerusalem Post/Ynet)
DM Ya’alon [10] says a peace agreement with Palestinians is unreachable [11] unless they recognize Israel as a “Jewish state.” (Ha’aretz/Ynet)
Hamas prevents supporters [12] of Fatah from holding a demonstration in Gaza [13] in solidarity with Abbas. (New York Times/Ma’an)
Israeli occupation forces raid a Jerusalem neighborhood [14], detaining eight Palestinians. (Ma’an)
Extremist settlers uproot 55 olive trees [15] in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)
Israeli occupation forces remove a Palestinian flag [16] from a Hebron roof. (Ha’aretz)
Gaza’s power plant [17] resumes operations after Israel allows fuel deliveries [18] into the Gaza strip. (Ma’an/Ha’aretz)
Lebanon sends [19] its army to the Syrian border as rebels flee Syria. (AP)
The Syrian army reportedly ousts rebels [20] from the key city [21] of Yabroud. [22] (AP/Reuters/New York Times)
The Syrian opposition is reportedly willing to trade land in Golan for Israeli [23] military support. (Ha’aretz)
Pres. Mansour says the Egyptian general public opposes [24] the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in the political process. (AP)
Gunmen kill [25] six Egyptian soldiers [26] at an army checkpoint in Cairo. (AP/The National)
US delivers Hellfire [27] missiles and munitions to Iraq. (AP)
US Naval forces seize control of a rogue Libyan oil tanker [28]. (BBC)
Commentary:
Aaron David Miller [29] says Abbas and PM Netanyahu face five huge hurdles on peace with Israel. (CNN)
Jackson Diehl [30] says Obama’s double standards could doom peace talks. (Washington Post)
Robert Satloff [31] says by refusing to recognize Israel as a “Jewish state,” Abbas is denying something even Yasser Arafat was willing to accept. (Foreign Policy)
Ha’aretz [32] says Kerry is right that Netanyahu’s “Jewish state” demand is “unnecessary.” (Ha’aretz)
Shlomo Ben-Ami [33] says giving up on a “united Jerusalem” is the only way to secure the city’s eternal status. (Jordan Times)
Elliott Abrams and Uri Sadot [34] say the significance of Israeli settlement activity depends on whether they are building inside or outside the major blocs. (Washington Post)
Jeff Barak [35] says Labor Party leader Herzog is Israel’s man for the future. (Jerusalem Post)
Ami Gluska [36] asks if there could be an Arab-Israeli president. (Ha’aretz)
Moshe Arens [37] says the Iron Dome system will never be able to provide 100 percent protection. (Ha’aretz)
Hussein Ibish [38] says, despite liberal foreign policy aspirations, force still trumps diplomacy. (The National)
H.A. Hellyer [39] says the international community must choose whether to let Syria suffer for generations. (Al Arabiya)
Ahmed Jarba [40] says the Syrian people will not give up on their dreams of freedom and dignity. (Al Arabiya)
Abdul Rahman al Rashed [41] says the fall of Yabrud exemplifies Iran’s success in leading the war in Syria. (Al Arabiya)
Rami Khouri [42] says Syria is a mirror in which the Arab world sees itself. (Daily Star)
The Daily Star [43] asks why the Lebanese people are not jolted into action by the failure of their political system. (Daily Star)
David Hearst [44] says there is now open diplomatic warfare between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. (Huffington Post)
Mustafa Hashem [45] says Egyptian youth are growing more disillusioned. (Daily Star)
Haider Saeed [46] and Majid Rafizadeh [47] debate if Iraq can escape Iran’s sphere of influence. (Asharq al Awsat)
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