News:
The UN [1] names American judge Mary McGowan Davis [2] to lead an investigation [3] into the 2014 Gaza conflict. (New York Times/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)
The Israeli army is reportedly planning [4] to indict several soldiers who fought in Gaza last summer on charges of looting. (Ha’aretz)
A 14-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl [5] jailed by Israel has become a symbol of Palestinian anger over the arresting of children. (AFP)
Israeli occupation forces detain 11 [6] Palestinian teenagers in the occupied territories [7]. (Ma’an/PNN)
Fatah official Rajoub [8] compares PM Netanyahu to Hitler. (Times of Israel)
Israeli occupation forces raid protest tents [9] set up near Abu Dis in East Jerusalem. (Ma’an)
An annual campaign to plant one million trees [10] on land facing possible annexation in the occupied West Bank kicks off in Hebron. (Ma’an)
The White House’s top Middle East official [11], Phil Gordon, will speak in Israel later this month at a conference on security. JTA)
Many Democrats [12] are considering skipping Netanyahu’s address [13] to Congress. (Ynet/Jerusalem Post)
Jordan executes [14] two Iraqi [15] terrorists [16] in response to an ISIS video [17] showing captured Jordanian pilot [18] Mouath al-Kasaesbeh [19] being burnt alive. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/Washington Post/The National/Jordan Times)
Pres. Obama and King Abdullah [20] vow not to let up in the fight against ISIS [21]. (AP/AFP)
The father of the murdered pilot [22] says Jordanians must stand united behind their leadership in the fight against terrorism. (Jordan Times)
Political leaders and Muslim clerics [23] in the Middle East denounce the burning alive of al-Kasaesbeh [24] as “un-Islamic.” (Reuters/AP)
The UNSC says the world should help Jordan [25] in fighting terrorism. (Jordan Times)
The EU criticizes Jordan’s [26] decision to execute two terrorists. (Ha’aretz)
Many in Congress support [27] increased military assistance to Jordan [28]. (AP/JTA)
American officials hope [29] the murder of al-Kasaesbeh will toughen Jordan's resolve in the fight against ISIS. (Reuters)
The UAE, a key-US ally [30] in the fight against ISIS, reportedly suspended airstrikes in December after al-Kasaesbeh was captured [31]. (New York Times/AFP)
A video showing ISIS extremists [32] burning alive al-Kasasbeh raises the question of which images news outlets should use. (New York Times)
Reuters looks at Egypt’s fight [33] against extremists in Sinai. (Reuters)
Saudi oil is seen as a lever to lure Russia away [34] from Pres. Assad. (New York Times)
Commentary:
Asmaa al-Ghoul [35]says in light of physical assaults and abuses in Gaza and the West Bank, some Palestinian journalists engage in self-censorship. (Al-Monitor)
Ali Ibrahim [36] says Hamas is not only a security risk but its existence and actions are a serious impediment to the Palestinian cause. (Asharq al-Awsat)
Ben Caspit [37] says Israel has accepted Hamas rule in Gaza. (Al-Monitor)
Zvi Bar’el [38] asks who is going to save Gaza. (Ha’aretz)
Anders Persson [39] says EU member states have the power to create an international consensus for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Ha’aretz)
Thomas Friedman [40] says Netanyahu’s forthcoming speech before Congress is a “bad mistake.” (New York Times)
Peter Beinart [41] critiques Israel’s “arrogant” Amb. to the US Dermer. (Ha’aretz)
The Jordan Times [42] says Jordan, along with its allies, will wipe out ISIS and its ideology.(Jordan Times)
The National [43] says the brutal killing of the Jordanian pilot must only increase the world’s resolve against ISIS. (The National)
Theodore Karasik [44] says Jordan’s military and special operation forces are likely to be unleashed to track down and eliminate ISIS on Syrian territory. (Al Arabiya)
Sean Naylor and Lara Jakes [45] ask if ISIS’ last hostages can be saved. (Foreign Policy)
Kenneth Pollack [46] says for real peace in Iraq, the US must insist that Shiites and Sunnis share power. (New York Times)
Aki Peritz [47] says the Iraqi government is unwittingly subsidizing ISIS. (New York Times)
David Ignatius [48] looks at King Salman’s decisive leadership changes in Saudi Arabia. (Washington Post)
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum [49] says governments must innovate or become irrelevant. (Asharq al-Awsat)
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