NEWS:
Egyptian security forces may be preparing to mount a
rescue operation for seven kidnapped officers in Sinai. (Ma'an)
Protesting Egyptian security forces keep the
Gaza crossing closed for a third day. (Xinhua)
Gunfire from the Syrian conflict
again lands in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (AP)
Mohammed al-Dura's father calls for an
international probe into whether Israeli forces killed his son at the start of the second intifada, and says he's
willing to exhume his son's body. (Ha'aretz/Jerusalem Post)
Finance Minister Lapid, whose political star appears to be
dimming slightly, says Israel should pursue an
interim agreement with the Palestinians. (New York Times/AP)
An Israeli
court issues an injunction against extending the West Bank separation barrier through a village noted for its ancient terraces. (Christian Science Monitor)
Israel cancels a UNESCO fact-finding mission to Jerusalem, saying Palestinians "politicized" the initiative. (Jerusalem Post)
Gaza
fishermen are struggling to maintain their livelihood as Israel restricts their areas of activity. (Christian Science Monitor)
The Jordanian
government squashes an initiative in Parliament to expel the Israeli ambassador. (The Media Line)
Palestinians recall the destruction of an East Jerusalem neighborhood by conquering Israeli forces in 1967 in the immediate aftermath of the war. (The Forward)
Palestinians are suing Israel for the return of
6,000 books seized in aftermath of the 1948 war. (The National)
COMMENTARY:
Barak Ravid says a new Israeli report on the Mohammed al-Dura affair, which claims the boy was never killed at all, is almost surreally misguided. (Ha'aretz)
Rami Khouri looks at the gap between Arab public opinion and government policies. (Daily Star)
Shmuel Rosner looks at the campaigns for Israel's chief rabbi positions. (New York Times)
Amira Hass looks at a new one-state document, which does not mention Jews or Israelis, released in the occupied West Bank. (Ha'aretz)
Omar Barghouti says boycotts could be an effective form of pressure against Israel. (The National)
Tamara Cohen says Israel must protect its Bedouin citizens. (Jerusalem Post)
Shlomi Eldar says Israel's changing assumptions on Syria may indicate its assumptions were faulty from the outset. (Al Monitor)
Barry Rubin says Israel should still consider Iran its greatest regional threat. (Jerusalem Post)
Leonard Fein says both Israelis and Palestinians failed to recognize each other's legitimate narratives. (The Forward)
Ithamar Handelman-Smith asks, if Israeli law protects the right of settlers to defend themselves with arms, might that law not apply to Palestinians as well? (Ha'aretz)
J. Dana Stuster asks if the Arab World is still moved by Nakba Day. (Foreign Policy)
Ha'aretz says the Israeli government needs to stop trying to rewrite the history of the Nakba. (Ha'aretz)
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