News:

Four more Palestinian refugees are killed in the Syrian conflict. (Ma’an)

Israelis and Palestinians both express pessimism about negotiations on the eve of Sec. Kerry's visit. (Reuters/Jerusalem Post/UPI)

Kerry may be floating some new ideas in his meetings with Israelis and Palestinians. (The Guardian)

Pres. Abbas reportedly says no progress whatsoever has been made in negotiations with Israel. (Ma’an)

Abbas says the linkage in Israeli politics between prisoner release and settlement expansion could kill peace talks. (Ha'aretz)

Abbas also denounces Israel's demands for a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley. (Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian officials say the US should be more serious about making the talks work. (Los Angeles Times)

A new opinion poll shows most Palestinians are in favor of a two-state solution but more pessimistic than ever. (PNN)

Israeli press reports suggest the country's negotiators are deeply at odds over Jerusalem. (PNN)

Israeli negotiators reportedly may have told Palestinians in West Bank separation barrier should serve as the new border. (AFP)

Israeli Finance Minister Lapid rules out any possibility of negotiations over the future of Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post)

Israel conducts DNA tests to identify the bodies it is returning to Palestinians. (Ma’an/Xinhua)

Israeli DM Ya'alon says Hamas is preparing for more conflict by creating a network of tunnels throughout Gaza. (Xinhua)

The Israeli military simulates taking direct control of Gaza again. (YNet)

Palestinians say Israel has sentenced a young man to a month in prison for "making an illegal phone call." (Ma’an)

A fuel crisis in the occupied West Bank has reportedly been resolved. (Ma’an)

Women-only cafés are a new feature of Palestinian social life in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)

American and Saudi officials play down their differences as Kerry visits the Kingdom. (New York Times/AP/Washington Post)

Commentary:

J.J. Goldberg examines reports the US may be preparing its own peace proposals. (The Forward)

The PLO issues a new fact sheet about Israeli settlement activity since the resumption of negotiations. (PLO)

Shlomi Eldar insists Palestinian chief negotiator Erekat really did try to resign because Israel's policies have made negotiations politically untenable. (Al Monitor)

Faisal Al Yafai says it wasn't just Yitzhak Rabin who was killed in 1995 but the Israeli commitment to peace. (The National)

Ashraf al-Ajrami says few Israelis are aware most released prisoners join the peace movement. (YNet)

Asmaa al-Ghoul looks at how black Palestinians in Gaza deal with the racism they encounter. (Al Monitor)

The New York Times thinks Kerry's visit to Egypt confused rather than clarified relations with the US. (New York Times)

The National says Kerry will be hearing from frustrated Arab allies. (The National)

Lally Weymouth interviews Saudi Prince Turki, who says some US policies "have been wrong." (Washington Post)

Hussein Ibish says the world must act on the dire Syrian refugee crisis. (NOW)

Zvi Bar'el says Europe must open its borders to Syrian refugees. (Ha'aretz)

Diana Moukalled profiles Soad Nofal, a woman defying Al Qaeda in Syria. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Hassan Barari says PM Al-Maliki’s policies pose a bigger threat to Iraq and the region than Al-Qaeda. (Arab News)