President Obama and PM Netanyahu discuss regional security and Middle East peace in a phone call. (Reuters)

 

Sec. Kerry will visit the Middle East again in two weeks and reiterates there is a short windowfor renewed peace efforts. (AP)

 

Former Pres. Clinton will also visit Israel in June. (Xinhua)

 

China is also attempting to begin to become a player in Middle East peace. (New York Times/AP)

 

The State Department urges respect for freedom of worship after charges Israel restricted Palestinian Christian travel to Jerusalem this Easter. (JTA)

 

A senior figure in the Israeli Shas party urges Netanyahu to adopt the Arab League peace initiative. (Ha'aretz)

 

Israeli media reports the government has approved 296 new settlement housing units near Ramallah. (Ma'an)

 

Israel releases the grand mufti of Jerusalem after questioning. (New York Times)

 

Young Palestinians clash with Israeli occupation forces at the Al Aqsa mosque compound. (Ma'an)

 

Pres. Peres assures Jordan that Israel will honor agreements regarding holy sites. (Jerusalem Post)

 

The UN decries rising poverty in occupied East Jerusalem. (Al Jazeera)

 

Fatah officials say Palestinians don't take orders from the Syrian regime. (Jerusalem Post)

 

Physicist Stephen Hawking confirms his refusal to attend an Israeli government conference is in protest against its policies towards the Palestinians. (New York Times/AP)

 

Hawking's critics say if he wants to boycott Israel he should stop using Israeli technology in his communications equipment. (The Guardian)

 

An Israeli human rights group says half the Palestinians killed in Israel's last Gaza operationwere civilians. (Ha'aretz)

 

Israel launches its first automated drone. (Xinhua)

 

Doha-based Islamist cleric Qaradawi visits Gaza, which Fatah condemns. (AFP/Jerusalem Post)

 

A parliamentary delegation from Bahrain is also visiting Gaza. (Ma'an)

 

Jordanian prisoners are hunger-striking against the peace treaty with Israel. (The Media Line)

 

Hamas says it's trying to root out Israeli spy networks in Gaza. (Reuters)

 

China and Israel set up a task force to increase trade. (South China Morning Post)

 

PA police mistakenly shoot a woman near Hebron. (Ma'an)

 

Palestinians report there are growing indications of oil in the occupied West Bank, which Israel may be quietly exploiting. (UPI)

 

Egypt summons the Israeli ambassador over alleged mistreatment of Egyptian staff at the embassy in Tel Aviv. (Xinhua)

 

The Israeli state may be considering closer ties with J Street. (YNet)

 

 

 

Lara Friedman says it's completely wrong to think Netanyahu has frozen settlement construction or expansion. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) 

 

The CSM profiles Palestinian activist turned scholar Mohammed Dajani. (Christian Science Monitor)

 

Ha'aretz says proposed new legislation in Israel would undemocratically stifle criticism of Israeli military actions. (Ha'aretz)

 

Chemi Shalev says Hawking is now the "unlikely poster child" of the boycott movement. (Ha'aretz)

 

Carlo Strenger accuses Hawking of hypocrisy. (Ha'aretz)

 

Ben White says Hawking should be commended for his boycott. (Al Jazeera)

 

Gershon Baskin says there is nothing "united" about Jerusalem under Israeli rule. (Jerusalem Post)

 

Gil Troy calls Israeli "price tag" vigilantes "morally bankrupt, politically foolish criminals." (Jerusalem Post)

 

Xinhua asks why Syria isn't responding to Israel's airstrike. (Xinhua)

 

Aaron David Miller says Kerry is right to try to get Arab states involved in the peace process, but is unlikely to succeed, and only the Israelis and the Palestinians can really make it happen. (Foreign Policy)

 

Brent Sasley says an Israeli law mandating a referendum on any peace agreement is a bad idea. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

 

George Hishmeh says Israel's airstrike in Syria was designed to undermine the prospects of new peace talks. (Gulf News)

 

Abdullah Iskandar says Israel had no right to attack Syria. (Al Hayat)

 

Nassif Hitti says the Arab League can help Israelis and Palestinians negotiate. (Al Monitor)

 

Douglas Bloomfield says the Arab League has to get involved in a meaningful way. (Jerusalem Post)

 

Ron Kampeas says Qatar is trying to make its name as a Middle East peacemaker. (JTA)

 

Badar Salem looks at the myriad challenges faced by gay Palestinians. (Al Bawaba)