News:

Peace Now says settlement construction is up 70% compared to last year. (AFP)

Pres. Peres says "the status quo with the Palestinians cannot go on." (Xinhua/Times of Israel)

Israel's chief negotiator Livni urges the Labor Party to join the Netanyahu government for the sake of peace. (Jerusalem Post)

Arms supplies to Gaza are being severely disrupted by the Egyptian blockade. (Al Monitor)

Despite economic hardships and blockades, Palestinians in Gaza find joy in the Eid al-Adhaholiday. (Al Monitor)

Palestinians seems set to continue boycotting Jerusalem elections. (Ha'aretz)

Settlers attack Palestinian vehicles near Nablus. (Ma'an)

A sensory room for stress relief, especially for disabled children, is being built in Gaza. (The Media Line)

An ambulance dispatch center for Israeli settlers faces cutbacks. (YNet)

Protesters opposing the Israeli military-designated "Firing Zone 918" in the occupied West Bank promote nonviolent resistance. (PNN)

Hezbollah reportedly captures an Israeli "spy eagle" in Lebanon. (Jerusalem Post)

The Egyptian army destroys another smuggling tunnel in Rafah. (Ma'an)

Syria's deputy PM says a Geneva peace conference is planned for Nov. 23-24. (Reuters/AP)

More Syrian armed rebels say they have split with the mainstream exiled political opposition. (AP/Los Angeles times)

Amnesty International urges Egypt to end its policy of detaining and deporting Syrian refugees. (AP)

Pres. Obama plans to host Iraq's PM at the White House on Nov. 1. (AP)

Egypt's FM says his country's relationship with the US is "in turmoil" and "disruption."(AP/Xinhua/Los Angeles Times)

Egypt's new government pledges to protect Coptic Christians from attacks and preserve their heritage. (Times of Israel)

Britain and Iran are moving to restore diplomatic relations. (Times of Israel)


Commentary:

Eyad Abu Shakra asks if the apparent US decline in the Middle East is a matter of declining will or a real loss of power. (Asharq Al Awsat)

The Jerusalem Post interviews academic Sami Miaari on how Palestinians vote in Israeli municipal elections. (Jerusalem Post)

Jonathan Rosen says an agreement with Palestinians on borders would be a success for Israel and PM Netanyahu. (Jerusalem Post)

Kathleen Peratis says BDS can promote a two-state solution. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Amos Harel says Netanyahu wants the West to pressure Iran, but will compromise if necessary. (Ha'aretz)

Akiva Eldar asks how long Israel will be able to keep its own nuclear weapons off the table. (Al Monitor)

Ari Shavit describes a grand bargain involving a freeze on settlements, Iran's nuclear program and talk of bi-nationalism. (Ha'aretz)

Gideon Levy says Iran is starting to get the better of Israel internationally. (Ha'aretz)

Amira Hass claims Hamas has the right to build smuggling tunnels. (Ha'aretz)

Gilad Kariv says in addition to his work on peace, the late PM Rabin wanted to promote equal rights for Arab citizens. (YNet)

Eitan Haber says Rabin admitted he didn't know everything and wasn't always right, unlike Israel's present leaders. (YNet)

Yonah Jeremy Bob asks if Israel should redefine war crimes. (Jerusalem Post)

David Ignatius says Turkey revealed the names of Israeli spies to Iran last year. (Washington Post)

Michael Young says Syrian opposition divisions and rejection of Geneva only help Pres. Assad. (The National)

The National says Assad is using hunger as a weapon of war against his own people. (The National)

Ursula Lindsey looks at the plight of Syrian refugees in Egypt. (New York Times)

Douglas Bloomfield says the government shutdown will keep Jewish-American solidly in the Democratic camp for many years. (Jerusalem Post)

Asharq Al-Awsat interviews the foreign policy chief of the Iraqi KRG, Falah Mustafa, on federalism and more. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

George Semaan asks if Libya is going back to the 50s, or even earlier. (Al Hayat)

News:

The PA categorically rejects the idea of a continued Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley after a peace agreement. (Jerusalem Post)

Right-wing Likud leaders say they will not permit an interim agreement with the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)

Sec. Kerry will meet PM Netanyahu in Rome on Oct. 23. (JTA)

Salafists from Gaza are reportedly killed while fighting in the Syrian conflict. (Al Monitor)

An Israeli court rules it's not discriminatory to give benefits to only certain Palestinian Jerusalem residents. (Jerusalem Post)

The Israeli military says it killed a Palestinian man at a military base in the occupied West Bank. (New York Times/Ma'an)

2,000 Indians claiming to be Jewish emigrate to Israel amid skepticism about their real ties to the faith. (JTA)

Pres. Abbas invites Pope Francis to the "Holy Land." (Ma'an)

Abbas swears in PM Hamdallah and an unchanged PA cabinet. (Ma'an)

After meeting Abbas, German Chancellor Merkel urges Israel to restrain settlement construction. (YNet)

18 Palestinians are charged with terrorist plotting in Lebanon. (naharnet)

Israeli occupation forces detain five Palestinians in separate incidents Thursday in the occupied West Bank. (Ma'an)

Abbas promises to save the life of a girl suffering from a failed kidney, diabetes and thalassemia. (PNN)

4 girls die after being trapped in a car in Hebron. (Ma'an)

This year's Palestinian olive harvest is being overshadowed by fears of annexation. (PNN)

US Amb. to Israel Schapiro denounces Hamas' smuggling tunnels. (Times of Israel)

Israel's mayoral race in Jerusalem is contested between radically different components. (Washington Post)

Saudi Arabia rejects a seat on the UN Security Council. (New York Times/AP/Reuters)

Hezbollah is further endangering Israeli hawks by accusing them of "spying." (AP)

Egypt's Coptic Christians struggle to preserve their heritage under significant pressure. (AP)

59 are killed and 196 wounded in a day of violent attacks in Iraq. (Xinhua)

Iranian officials say new nuclear negotiations signal the beginning of a new era with the West. (AFP/Ha'aretz)

Iran says Israel is trying to undermine the new negotiations with the West. (YNet)

Turkey denies having exposed an Israeli spy ring in Iran. (YNet/Jerusalem Post)

A senior Syrian government intelligence officer is killed in the conflict in that country. (BBC)
 

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish looks of the dying mythologies of the "axis of evil" and the "axis of resistance." (Al Majalla)

Talal Salman says Lebanon is now no longer the only Arab "country without a state." (As-Safir/Al Monitor)

Sharif Al Nashashibi says declining US clout in the Middle East has shaken Egypt and many regional allies. (Gulf News)

Aaron David Miller looks at the reasons behind declining US influence in the Middle East. (Foreign Policy)

Zuheir Kseibati says the Arabs are massacring each other while Iran and Israel negotiate to divide the spoils. (Al Hayat)

Andrew Apostolou warns against offering "sanctions relief" to Iran at this stage. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Nawaf Obaid says Saudi Arabia is adopting a much more activist foreign policy. (Al Monitor)

Barbara Slavin analyzes Iran's new nuclear proposal. (Al Monitor)

Roger Cohen says Netanyahu has to ask himself the question: "if not now, when?" (New York Times)

Anshel Pfeffer says the only real threat to Israelis from BDS and universal jurisdiction is fear. (Ha'aretz)

Avi Issacharoff says in desperation, Hamas is hoping to capture another Israeli soldier. (Times of Israel)

Yossi Sarid says Netanyahu is "the most dangerous leader in the Western world" and needs to put away his Churchillian cigar. (Ha'aretz)

Yoel Marcus says Israel doesn't have a better leader than Netanyahu right now. (Ha'aretz)

Saba Farzan and Saeed Ghasseminejad say Netanyahu is doing well in PR with the West, but not the Middle East. (Jerusalem Post)

David Weinberg claims the late PM Rabin was "close to stopping the Oslo process." (Jerusalem Post)

Uri Misgav says the court ruling there is no such thing as "Israeli" nationality is not a shock but an identity crisis. (Ha'aretz)

Michael Oren evaluates the 1973 war, 40 years later. (The New Republic)

Yossi Melman denounces "Turkey's unprecedented betrayal of Israel." (Jerusalem Post)

Ilene Prusher interviews David Harris-Gershon, whose wife was almost killed in a 2002 terrorist attack in Jerusalem. (Christian Science Monitor)

The Jerusalem Post interviews Finance Minister Lapid. (Jerusalem Post)

Lish Lee Avner says Israelis should feel free to live in Berlin despite the Holocaust. (YNet)

The BBC looks at the plight of Syrian refugees stuck in France. (BBC)

Elhanan Miller says PM Erdogan is politically turning to less nationalism and more Islamism. (Times of Israel)

Samir Salha says Kurds need a state, and the only real question is where and when it will be. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Norm Coleman says the US was wrong to cut aid to Egypt. (Washington Post)

News:

An Israeli committee advances a new law that would greatly restrict negotiations on Jerusalem. (Xinhua)

Israel's chief negotiator Livni is leading the charge to oppose the legislation. (Jerusalem Post)

Pres. Abbas says Israel's demands on Jerusalem are turning the conflict from a political to a religious one. (Ma'an)

Israel will reportedly release a second batch of Palestinian prisoners on Oct. 29. (Xinhua)

Palestinians in Nablus say they are determined to return to normal lives without violence. (Washington Post)

Ex-Shin Bet chief Diskin warns there is no chance of peace given the current Israeli political climate and another intifada is possible. (Jerusalem Post/Times of Israel)

As peaceful protests are declining, fears of another intifada are intensifying. (The National)

Hamas urges the PLO to abandon negotiations with Israel and calls for a new intifada. (Xinhua/AP)

Abbas denies negotiations with Israel are at a dead end. (Times of Israel)

Hamas admits digging a tunnel from Gaza into Israel. (Xinhua/AFP)

Reports claim PM Erdogan is urging Hamas not to make any concessions to Egypt as long as the political situation there remains volatile. (Ha'aretz)

Israel approves a new x-ray cargo inspection facility that should assist the Palestinian economy. (Xinhua)

The mayoral race in Nazareth proves hotly contested. (New York Times)

Israel honors New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with a $1 million prize. (AP)

The Arab League announces Syrian peace talks to be held in late November. (Washington Post)

Dozens are killed by a suicide bomber at a café in Baghdad. (New York Times/AP)

Dozens are killed by suicide bomber linked to Al Qaeda in Hama. (New York Times)

Egypt's PM condemns deadly attacks on Coptic Christians, especially at a wedding. (AP/AFP)

An Egyptian family rejects an Israeli honor for one of their ancestors. (AP)

E-commerce is hugely expanding throughout the Middle East. (Christian Science Monitor)

Israeli NGOs are quietly distributing aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan. (Times of Israel)

Bedouin women in Israel are increasingly turning to education for a better future. (The Media Line)

 

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish looks at the "toxic effects" of political and cultural nostalgia in the Middle East and around the world. (The National)

Aeyal Gross explains why the proposed legislation restricting negotiations on Jerusalem is illegal and undemocratic. (Ha'aretz)

The Jerusalem Post interviews Livni, who reiterates nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. (Jerusalem Post)

Dan Goldenblatt argues it's important to start finding ways to convince settlers of the necessity of peace. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Tom Friedman says understanding Middle Eastern politics can help explain Washington dysfunctionality. (New York Times)

Oudeh Basharat looks at panic in Israel about the idea of Jewish women having sex with Arab doctors. (Ha'aretz)

The Washington Post says US policies are doing nothing to stop the Syrian regime attacking its own people. (Washington Post)

The Jerusalem Post says Hamas becoming more desperate, and therefore more dangerous. (The Jerusalem Post)

Miriam Awadallah looks at efforts by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to compete for Iranian support. (Sharnoff's Global Views)

Noah Klieger says Israel should suspend relations with Turkey. (YNet)

Ben Caspit says Israeli-Turkish relations have reached a new low. (Al Monitor)

Joseph Federman says there are signs of a US-Israel rift over Iran. (Times of Israel)

Sharif Nashashibi says Sudan may prove to be "the next Syria." (The National)

Abdullah Iskandar says state fragmentation in Lebanon has reached an all-time low. (Al Hayat)

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed says Turkey is mobilizing against Al Qaeda in Syria but can do much more. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Nasouh Majali says a Geneva conference on Syria would be a step forward, but no solution. (Jordan Times)

Ayman Mustafa says the Muslim Brotherhood persists in trying to use religion to gain political power. (Gulf News)