NEWS:

Palestinian officials claim they have a US letter of assurance that backs a Palestinian state and identifies Israeli settlement as illegal. (Xinhua)

The Egyptian envoy to Palestine accuses Hamas of incitement. (Al Monitor)

Egypt detains five Hamas members in connection with a mass shooting of Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. (Times of Israel)

Sec. Hagel says there are no plans to cut military aid to Egypt. (AFP)

Pres. Abbas has formed a committee to reach out to all sectors of Israeli civil society. (Xinhua)

Yesh Atid leader Lapid forbids his MKs from attending a Ramallah meeting with Abbas. (Ha'aretz)

A new Israeli government map would seem to endorse partition along the 1967 lines. (JTA)

Israelis take a stoical view of the chaos in neighboring countries. (New York Times)

Israelis are preparing for the consequences of a possible American strike on Syria. (New York Times)

Israel's former military intelligence chief says the US must choose the "best worst" option in Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Most Israelis don't think Syria will retaliate against them for an American strike, but they are preparing anyway. (Xinhua)

Israel approves a limited draft of military reservists. (Xinhua)

Israel pledges to hold Pres.Assad responsible if Hezbollah acts against Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli soldiers are disciplined for dancing while on patrol in the occupied Palestinian territories. (AP)

Israel arrests a Gaza man who was preparing to travel to a US-sponsored West Bank cultural event. (AP)

Some Palestinian schools in occupied East Jerusalem are switching to an Israeli curriculum. (Ma'an)

Israel backtracks on confiscating a Palestinian family's East Jerusalem hotel. (Ha'aretz)

A new Emergency Treatment Room of the Red Crescent Society Hospital in Jerusalem Is opened. (PNN)

Palestinian children are common all-but-invisible laborers in Israeli settlements. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Two more UC campuses are exonerated of fostering an anti-Semitic climate. (Los Angeles Times)


COMMENTARY:

Lee Hamilton says Israeli-Palestinian peace is still essential. (Politico)

Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman say Netanyahu must rein in extremists and his cabinet for peace talks to survive. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Akiva Eldar asks if there will be a place for Jews in a future Palestinian state. (Al Monitor)

Douglas Bloomfield says the US should rely more on public diplomacy, not threats, to keep Israel and the Palestinians at the negotiating table. (Jerusalem Post)

David Ignatius says US credibility is now on the line in Syria. (Washington Post)

Ari Shavit says the United States has no choice but to attack Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Eyad Abu Shakra says a US military strike will happen, but it's intentions are not yet clear. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Michael Young says US actions in Syria are likely to be limited. (The Daily Star)

Elias Harfoush says there seems to be a new Pres. Obama, thanks to Pres. Assad. (Al Hayat)

Manuel Almeida says Syria finds itself trapped between a warning and a game changer. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Gershon Baskin says increased security cooperation is essential to prevent further bloody confrontations in the occupied West Bank. (Jerusalem Post)

Amira Hass tries, in vain, to make sense of Israel's exit policies regarding Gaza residents. (Ha'aretz)

Carlo Strenger says Israel's right-wing doesn't realize the occupation is damaging its essential relations with the West. (Ha'aretz)

Hagai Segal says Israel's apology to Turkey over the deadly flotilla affair now looks like weakness. (YNet)

Joschka Fischer says Egypt, and much of the Middle East, is caught between dictatorship versus dictatorship. (Jordan Times)

Richard Behar asks why so many Palestinian high-tech entrepreneurs hated his cover story on their industry. (Forbes)