Daily News Issue Date: 
January 30, 2014
News: 

News:

A convoy carrying 900 food parcels enters the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. (AP/Ma’an)

A PLO official calls Sec. Kerry’s proposal on Jerusalem “general and vague.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli Finance Minister Lapid says Israel’s economy will be “battered” if peace talks fail. (AP/Ha’aretz)

Jordanians protest against Kerry’s peace plan. (Xinhua/The Jordan Times)

Norway drops two Israeli firms from its “Government Pension Fund Global.” (Ha’aretz)

Oxfam accepts Scarlett Johansson’s decision to step down following her association with an Israeli settlement company. (AP/Oxfam)

Israeli occupation forces issue demolition orders for two Palestinian homes in the West Bank. (Ma’an)

Iran says it intends to invite Pres. Abbas to visit Tehran. (Xinhua)

Israeli Economy Minister Bennett claims victory over PM Netanyahu after apologizing to him. (Ha’aretz)

Israeli MK Yogev accuses Kerry of being “anti-Israel.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Hamas will form an independent committee to dispute Egyptian accusations it is meddling in their internal affairs. (Xinhua/Ma’an)

Palestinians in Gaza are facing a growing water shortage.(The Media Line/The Guardian)

A study indicates that Arab families in Israel are larger on average than Jewish families. (Ha’aretz)

Palestinians in Gaza are producing a film about captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. (AP/The Jerusalem Post)

The Syrian regime and opposition delegations both observe a minute of silence in Geneva. (Reuters/The New York Times)

Human Rights Watch provides evidence of the use of explosives and bulldozers by the Assad regime in razing residential buildings. (AP/The National)

A US intelligence report finds that Pres. Obama’s chemical weapons agreement with Syria “adds legitimacy” to the Assad regime. (The Hill/DNI)

US intelligence chiefs say Syria has become a “huge magnet” for international terrorists. (Foreign Policy)

Gen. Sissi is riding on a popular wave that could carry him to the Egyptian presidency. (AP)

Egypt rejects US criticism over the prosecution of Al-Jazeera journalists. (AP)

King Abdullah II of Jordan will meet with Obama to discuss peace talks and Syria. (AP)

Militants storm a government office in Baghdad, killing two people. (AP)

Commentary:

Dmitriy Shapiro asks what if peace talks fail. (Washington Jewish Week)

David Ignatius says Kerry's diplomacy centers on the "art of the interim deal" regarding both the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iran. (The Washington Post)

Avi Shlaim says Netanyahu seeks to obstruct Kerry’s plan and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. (The New York Times)

Zeev Sternhell says boycotting Israel is not anti-Semitic. (Ha’aretz)

Gershon Baskin says Israel and the Palestinians should allow settlers to live as Palestinian citizens in a future Palestinian state. (The Jerusalem Post)

The National says that Netanyahu's proposal for settlers to stay in Palestine plan may have some upside. (The National)

Roger Cohen reflects on a myriad of recent developments in the Middle East. (The New York Times)

The Jordan Times says US assurances are comforting, but uncertainty will continue until details of any peace plan are revealed. (The Jordan Times)

Diana Moukalled says the Assad regime is being damaged by the Geneva talks due to public scrutiny. (Asharq Alawsat)

Rami Khouri says Sissi if he becomes president must reduce tensions in Egypt including the Muslim Brotherhood. (The Daily Star)

Intissar Fakir says attempts to ban Takfir in Tunisia and Morocco could entrench the secularist-Islamist polarization. (The National)

Samir Salha says PM Erdogan's visit to Tehran will not succeed in averting the inevitable clash between Turkey and Iran. (Asharq Alawsat)


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