News:
Pres. Obama says PM Netanyahu’s anti-Arab remarks [1] will likely have foreign policy consequences. (Ha’aretz)
Israel’s new deputy FM [2] Hotovely says Israel owes no apologies [3] for its policies in the Holy Land [4]. (AP/Times of Israel/Ynet)
A new World Bank report [5] warns Gaza’s [6] economy [7] is on the “verge of collapse [8].” (AP/AFP/PNN/Times of Israel)
The Greek government plans [9] to hold a parliamentary vote on recognizing Palestine as an independent and sovereign state. (PNN)
A Palestinian boy [10] is critically injured [11] after Israeli forces shoot him [12] with a rubber-coated steel bullet in occupied East Jerusalem. (Ma’an/JTA/Ha’aretz)
An Israeli court [13] rules to release [14] imprisoned Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar [15]. (Ma’an/PNN/Ha’aretz)
Jewish settlers are turning [16] a church compound into a new outpost [17] in the occupied West Bank. (Ha’aretz/PNN)
A Palestinian soccer player [18] is detained by Israeli security personnel [19] at the Allenby crossing with Jordan. (Times of Israel/Jerusalem Post)
Two hundred Palestinians [20] above the age of 60 from Gaza head to Jerusalem to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Ma’an)
ISIS says [21] it has full control of Syria’s Palmyra [22]. (Reuters/Washington Post)
Insurgents in Syria seize a hospital [23]from the government forces in the Idlib province. (Reuters)
The US admits [24] two children were likely killed [25] by an American air strike in Syria in November. (Reuters/AP)
In Palmyra and Ramadi, ISIS carried out a strategy of attrition [26], weakening the opposition for a crushing strike. (New York Times)
Despite Obama’s endorsement [27], US officials are questioning whether PM al-Abadi is too weak [28] to bridge the sectarian divide. (Reuters/AP/New York Times)
Obama pledges [29] to elevate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally [30]of the US. (Reuters/AP)
A senior US official [31] is in Israel to discuss the possibility [32] of a compromise [33] that would someday ban nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction [34] in the Middle East. (Reuters/AP/JTA/Ha’aretz)
Obama says he has a personal stake [35] on ensuring that negotiations with Iran produce an agreement that keeps Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon. (AP)
Commentary:
Ha’aretz [36]says the international community is not willing to buy Netanyahu’s deceit anymore. (Ha’aretz)
Adnan Abu Amer interviews former Hamas advisor Ahmed Yousef. [37] (Al-Monitor)
Jeffrey Goldberg interviews Obama. [38] (The Atlantic)
Amos Harel [39] says Hamas is torn between a long-term truce and a renewed war. (Ha’aretz)
Raed Omari [40] says most of the region’s emergent problems are the direct outcome of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. (Al Arabiya)
Ben Sales interviews former Sen. Lieberman. [41] (JTA)
Alan Philps [42] asks whether the shared cause of fighting ISIS militants might have the effect of creating unity in Iraq. (The National)
The National [43]says the capture of Palmyra should be added to the long list of atrocities in Syria’s civil war. (The National)
Eugene Robinson [44] asks why the US should fight for Iraqis if the Iraqi army is not going to fight for itself. (Washington Post)
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor [45] says relying on the US for security is a mistake. (Al Arabiya)
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