News:
Pres. Abbas [1] will meet with [2] Swedish PM Lofven [3] today. (Reuters/AFP/Jerusalem Post)
The PA [4] will ban the entry [5] of products [6] by six major Israeli companies [7]. (Ma’an/PNN/JTA/Ha’aretz)
Pres. Rivlin launches a project [8] to help integrate Palestinian citizens of Israel into the workforce. (JTA)
Five Fatah members [9] from occupied East Jerusalem are indicted on terrorism charges [10]. (JTA/Times of Israel)
Israeli forces demolish [11] the home of a Palestinian family in Lod. (Ma’an)
Israeli occupation forces demolish a home in occupied East Jerusalem [12], displacing 14 Palestinians. (Ma’an)
Suicide rates [13] are on the rise in Gaza. (Al-Monitor)
Two smugglers [14] are killed in a exchange of fire [15] on the Israeli-Egyptian border [16]. (Ha’aretz/Ma’an/Times of Israel)
Israeli officials [17] are reportedly considering changing the format [18]of PM Netanyahu’s speech before Congress. (Reuters/Ha’aretz)
Pres. Obama and Netanyahu [19] clash from afar over the Congressional speech [20]. (New York Times/PNN)
Obama will send his new ISIS war powers request [21] to Congress. (AP)
The UAE [22] resumes airstrikes against ISIS [23]. (New York Times/Washington Post/The National)
Pres. Assad says third parties, [24] including Iraq, are conveying information to Damascus [25] about the US-led campaign against ISIS. (Reuters/The National)
The EU launches a program [26] to disrupt networks of “jihadis” going to the Middle East. (AP)
Pres. Putin meets with Pres. Sisi [27] as Russia seeks to boost its ties with Egypt. (AFP)
Islamist militants set off five bombs [28] in Alexandria following which 15 suspected extremists are killed by air raids in Sinai. (Reuters)
Egypt suspends [29] its major soccer league [30] following the recent stadium tragedy. (Reuters/New York Times)
Sisi calls Arab Gulf leaders [31] to assure them that audio recordings that purportedly show him and a top aide mocking them are fake. (AP)
Jordan and Bahrain agree [32] to cooperate in air defence. (Jordan Times)
Obama says [33] its time for Iran [34] to decide if it wants a nuclear deal with the P5+1. (Reuters/AP/JTA)
Commentary:
Amos Harel [35] says a weak and desperate Hamas is trying to rebuild itself. (Ha’aretz)
Neri Zilber [36] says Gaza reconstruction is stalled because of the Fatah-Hamas deadlock. (WINEP)
Nadav Tamir [37] says Europe is not hostile to Israel. (Ha’aretz)
Shmuel Rosner [38] says Netanyahu should abandon his speech before Congress. (New York Times)
Hassan Hassan [39] says as long as the foreign intervention in Syria lacks focus, the fight against ISIS will continue to be futile. (The National)
Zvi Bar’el [40] says the US-led coalition is fighting ISIS with no clear goal. (Ha’aretz)
Tariq Alhomayed [41] says Arabs boots on the ground are needed to defeat ISIS. (Asharq al-Awsat)
Diana Moukalled [42] urges a boycott of ISIS videos. (Asharq al-Awsat)
James Traub [43] says the US can do very little to alter the course of events in the Middle East right now. (Foreign Policy)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed [44] says Egypt’s stability is vital to the security of the entire Arab world. (Al Arabiya)
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor [45] says the GCC was slow to realize how dangerous the situation in Yemen has become. (Al Arabiya)
Ryan Crocker, Robert Ford, James Jeffrey and Ronald Neumann [46] say the US needs to keep its ambassador in Yemen. (The Hill)
David Ignatius [47] says the US must proceed with caution on Iranian diplomacy. (Washington Post)
The Washington Post [48] says Jason Rezaian is being used as a human pawn by the Iranian regime. (Washington Post)
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