News:
Pres. Abbas [1] says the coming weeks will be crucial for the Palestinian cause. (Ma’an)
Reuters looks at possible successors [2] to Abbas. (Reuters)
PM Hamdallah [3] says no mechanisms are in place to implement the Palestinian reconciliation agreement. (Ma’an)
Despite a UN agreement, hurdles [4] remain for Gaza reconstruction. (The National)
The Israeli government [5] is expected to go forward with construction [6] of the West Bank separation barrier in the vicinity of the historic village [7] of Batir. (Ha’aretz/Ynet/Jerusalem Post)
Israeli jails are filled with Palestinian minors [8] after this summer’s riots. (Ha’aretz)
Israel is preparing a draft law that would allow it to impose a special fee [9] on goods passing through crossing points between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. (Ha’aretz)
Gaza farmers [10] want guarantees that Israel will not destroy their lands. (Al-Monitor)
A poll indicates that Israelis are more concerned [11] about the peace process and the EU than they are Iran. (Times of Israel)
Israeli bulldozers [12] level land in southern Gaza. (Ma’an)
Ramallah [13] is selected to be among the world’s most “resilient” cities. (Ma’an)
France [14] conducts its first [15] airstrikes [16] against ISIS [17]. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/Washington Post)
Gen. Dempsey [18] says the US appreciates France's airstrike against ISIS extremists. (AP)
Congress [19] gives the final approval to aid Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS. (New York Times)
Pres. Obama says the Senate vote [20] to authorize arming and training Syrian rebels shows the world that Americans are united in combating ISIS. (AP)
Thousands of Syrian Kurds [21] have begun crossing into Turkey, fleeing ISIS fighters. (Reuters)
Ayatollah Sistani [22] says Iraq needs outside help to fight ISIS. (Daily Star)
ISIS creates a police force [23] in north west Iraq to “implement the orders of the religious judiciary.” (Reuters)
ISIS [24] releases a new video [25] showing a British journalist [26] who says he is a prisoner of the extremists. (AP/Reuters/New York Times)
The US is reportedly tracking [27] threats against the West by Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria. (Wall Street Journal)
A bomb [28] kills two Lebanese soldiers near the Syrian border. (AP)
An American official says Obama [29] is not scheduled to meet Pres. Rouhani in New York, but he is open to such a meeting. (Reuters)
Commentary:
Alan Philps [30] says the Gaza crisis obscures the long quest for Palestinian statehood. (The National)
AP [31] interviews Hamas leader Abu Marzouk. (AP)
Abdullah Erakat [32] asks if Abbas is Israel’s last chance for peace. (The Media Line)
Shlomi Eldar [33] says Israel must help Palestinians in Gaza, regardless of Hamas. (Al-Monitor)
Benjy Cannon [34] outlines five things Jewish-American leaders must know about college students. (Ha’aretz)
David Ignatius [35] looks at James Clapper’s revelations on ISIS. (Washington Post)
Alexander Christie-Miller [36] explains why he thinks Turkey will not fight with the US against ISIS. (Christian Science Monitor)
Ahmad Majdoubeh [37] says the US should stick to diplomacy not militarism in the Middle East. (Jordan Times)
The Daily Star [38] says Obama has proven that he is no strategist. (Daily Star)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed [39] looks at Pres. Sisi’s foreign policy. (Al Arabiya)
H.A. Hellyer [40] says Libya is not too big to fail, but must be saved anyway. (The National)