News:

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators will meet in Jerusalem. (Xinhua/PNN/Times of Israel)

The US warns dissolution of the PA would have “grave implications.” (PNN/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

A Palestinian official dismisses US threats to cut aid if Pres. Abbas dissolves the PA. (Jerusalem Post)

FM Lieberman says the PA should not come up with “new threats” every day. (Jerusalem Post/Ynet)

Hamas and Fatah are reportedly discussing reconciliation. (Ha’aretz)

Jordan summons the Israeli Ambassador over the recent clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Xinhua/PNN/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post/Jordan Times)

Israel says it is willing to treat Palestinian-Americans equally if it joins the US visa waiver program.
(Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

The US Supreme Court will review the identification of Jerusalem on American passports. (Ha’aretz/AP/JTA)

The Israeli army will begin “actively recruiting” Christian Palestinian citizens of Israel. (Ma’an/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post/Times of Israel)

Palestinian citizens of Israel in Umm al-Fahm protest against “price tag” attacks. (Ma’an)

A Fatah official says Yarmouk residents are planning to organize a peaceful rally against the militant groups. (Ma’an)

The US says it has indications that a toxic chemical was used in Syria in the past month. (Reuters/AP)

Syrian rebels are making their last stand in Homs against government forces. (AP)

Militants attack a balloting center in Iraq, killing 10. (AP)

Iran will start cutting gasoline subsidies this week. (Reuters/Xinhua)

US drones and Yemeni forces kill 40 al-Qaeda-linked fighters. (New York Times/The National)

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish says the US Supreme Court must uphold the Constitution, international law, and established US policy in its ruling on Jerusalem. (Now)

Seth Lipsky says if the US Supreme Court decides to list “Israel” as country of birth of an American born in Jerusalem, the consequences would be “huge.” (Ha’aretz)

Ha’aretz says the recent confrontation on the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa mosque serve as a reminder that the site must be handled with “wisdom and sensitivity.” (Ha’aretz)

Peter Beinart says South Africa has important lessons for Israel. (Ha’aretz)

Jonathan Cook says Israel has no weapons to defeat a campaign of popular non-violent resistance by Palestinians. (The National)

Faisal Al Yafai says Saudi Prince Bandar did not fail in Syria. (The National)

Brooklyn Middleton says Syria will be “reelecting” a “mass murderer.” (Al Arabiya)

Mustafa Akyol says Turkey and the US should discuss new ways to end the “disastrous civil war” in Syria. (New York TImes)

Khairallah Khairallah asks if Egypt has overcome the “Muslim Brotherhood complex.” (Al Arabiya)

News:

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet in Jerusalem. (Reuters/PNN/JTA)

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will hold separate talks today with Special Envoy Indyk. (Times of Israel)

Jewish “price tag” extremists vandalize a mosque in northern Israel. (AP/Ma’an/PNN/Ha’aretz/JTA)

A journalist, who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, is moved to house arrest in a case involving hisrecent visit to Lebanon. (New York Times/AFP/Ha’aretz)

Newly appointed Commissioner-General of UNRWA Krähenbühl vows to help end the blockade of Gaza. (PNN)

Sec. Kerry wants to ease restrictions for visa-seeking young Israelis. (Ha’aretz/JTA/Jerusalem Post) 

Tensions in Jerusalem are reflected in ugly rivalries over the Ras Khamis neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. (New York Times)

Hamas says Egyptian authorities have kept the Rafah crossing with Gaza closed for 81 days in 2014. (Ma’an)

Gaza’s Zayed city provides much needed housing for Palestinians. (The National)

Gaza’s population keeps on growing. (Al Monitor)

A right-wing Israeli organization is trying to block Arab Idol winner Assaf from entering Israel. (Ha’aretz)

Christians mark Good Friday in Jerusalem. (AP/Ma’an)

Gunmen kidnap a Tunisian diplomat in Libya. (Reuters)

Turkish Pres. Gul rules out exchanging government positions with PM Ergodan. (Reuters)

Pursuant to a report by the IAEA, the US releases $450 million of frozen Iranian funds. (Reuters/Jerusalem Post)

Commentary:

ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Arab men have to play a major role in the battle for women’s rights. (Huffington Post)

Ha’aretz says the frustration over the absence of progress in peace talks could lead Pres. Abbas to dismantle the PA. (Ha’aretz)

Ahmad Majdoubeh says if FM Lieberman wants to build good relations with “moderate Arab countries” then he should make peace with the Palestinians first. (Jordan Times)

Bakir Oweida says Israeli politicians must overcome the “fear of peace.” (Asharq al-Awsat)

Ben Caspit says Middle East turmoil has prompted an “Israeli military revolution.” (Al Monitor)

Avichai Stollar says a recently approved settlement in Hebron will exact an “unimaginable toll” on Palestinians living in the city. (Ha’aretz)

Zvi Gabbay says Israelis must wait for Palestinian unity to achieve peace. (Ha’aretz)

Aaron David Miller says the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is delaying a “day of reckoning.” (Foreign Policy)

Zeev Sternhell says Israel’s road to becoming like apartheid-era South Africa “has been paved.” (Ha’aretz)

The National says Pres. Assad must acknowledge that his regime survived because of Iran. (The National)

Raed Omari says Jordan is becoming increasingly impatient with Syria. (Al Arabiya)

The National says its time for young Algerians to form political parties and cultivate grass roots support. (The National)

The New York Times says Twitter should not comply with Erdogan’s demands. (New York Times)

Robert Zaretsky says the Algerian presidential election will maintain the country’s status quo. (Los Angeles Times)
 

News:

An Israeli man is killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/Ma’an/Ha’aretz)

A Palestinian woman in Bethlehem is reportedly killed by Israeli tear gas. (Times of Israel)

Israeli forces injure Palestinian youth in Gaza. (Ma’an)

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accuses DM Ya’alon of destabilizing the peace process. (PNN)

The World Bank will provide $13 million in grant money for environmental projects in Gaza. (Ma’an)

Saudi Arabia denies FM Lieberman’s claim of “secret diplomacy.” (Ha’aretz/Ynet)

The Syrian opposition calls on the US to give an “appropriate response” to recent attacks in Aleppo. (Reuters)

The UN condemns the use of torture by Syrian authorities. (New York Times)

The OPCW says Syria has completed another shipment of chemical arms. (New York Times)

Jordan’s Ambassador to Libya is kidnapped after gunmen attack his car. (Reuters/AP/Jordan Times)

Gen Sisi formally submits signatures for his presidential bid. (AP/The National)

A bomb explosion in Cairo wounds two policemen. (AP) 

Commentary:

The New York Times says Pres. Obama and Sec. Kerry should abandon the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and focus on Ukraine. (New York Times)

Hassan Barari says the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are often held hostage to the imperatives of Israel’s domestic politics. (Jordan Times)

Peter Beinart says seder’s demonstrate how American Jews are divided over Israel.  (Ha’aretz)

Yitzhak Laor says Israel’s freedom means the “imprisonment of others.” (Ha’aretz)

Carolina Landsmann says by maintaining the status quo, PM Netanyahu is turning Israel into an “apartheid state.” (Ha’aretz)

Faisal Al Yafai says the late Patrick Seale misinterpreted the origins of the Syrian civil war. (The National)

Maria Golia say Egypt’s power cuts shed light on the country’s many problems. (The National)

Raed Omari says Jordan’s Islamists are being “unreasonable.” (Al Arabiya)

Manal Tibi and Karima El-Hefnawi debate whether the Arab Spring has improved the status of women in Egypt. (Asharq al-Awsat)

Benjamin Weinthal says Germany may start to crackdown on Hezbollah. (Foreign Policy)

Octavia Nasr says Lebanon failed to learn from its civil war. (Al Arabiya)

News:

Israel will stop transferring Palestinian tax revenues to the PA. (AP/Reuters/New York Times/AFP)

An Israeli peace activist Ron Pundak dies. (AP/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

Economy Minister Bennett threatens to quit over peace talks. (Reuters/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

Israeli officials say there is progress in talks on resuming peace negotiations. (Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

Chief Palestinian negotiator Erekat says reports on progress in talks “are false.” (Times of Israel)

Switzerland says Palestine can join the Geneva Conventions. (AP/AFP)

Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby backs the peace talks. (AP/Ha’aretz)

The wife of ex-Fatah official Dahlan says her husband intends to run for president in any future election. (Al-Monitor)

Hamas is using laser e-bullets for training, due to its economic crisis. (AP/Times of Israel)

Islamic Jihad ia gaining support in Gaza at the expense of Hamas. (Al Monitor)

Bethlehem hosts its second annual marathon. (Ma’an)

Jewish religious extremists prepare priests for what they hope will be Jerusalem’s “third temple.” (Al Monitor)

Jordan continues to assist rebels in the Syrian war. (New York Times)

Iranian leaders see their positions on Syria gaining traction. (Al Monitor)

Jordan and the World Bank sign a $250 million loan agreement. (Jordan Times)

Egyptian workers defy the government with strikes. (Washington Post)

Iraq’s deputy PM al-Mutlaq escapes an assassination attempt. (AP)

Iraqi insurgents use water as a weapon after seizing control of a dam. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Zbigniew Brzezinski, Frank Carlucci, Lee Hamilton, Carla Hills, Thomas Pickering and Henry Siegman insist on a more dynamic, proactive US role on Middle East peace. (Politico)

Jeffrey Goldberg says Kerry is not wrong for pushing the peace talks. (Bloomberg)

Alan Philps says Kerry risks “threefold failure” in the Middle East. (The National)

George Hishmeh says Kerry took an unprecedented step by blaming Israel for the failure of the peace talks. (Jordan Times)

The Jerusalem Post says both Israelis and Palestinians should not engage in the “blame game.” (Jerusalem Post)

Yossi Sarid says Israel is the only country that is treated with “kid gloves.” (Ha’aretz)

Chaims Gans says the demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a “Jewish state” adds yet another humiliation. (Ha’aretz)

Bakir Oweida says Palestinian women face the oppression of Israeli occupation as well as injustice within Palestinian society. (Asharq al Awsat)

H.A. Hellyer says the Europeans keep missing opportunities in the Arab world. (The National)

The Daily Star says the Syrian opposition needs to listen to the many Syrians who are demanding a “change of course.”(Daily Star)

David Kenner asks if the world is still paying attention to Pres. Assad’s conduct. (Foreign Policy)

Aaron Magid says Egypt’s relationship with Israel is complex and paradoxical. (Daily Star)

Abdel Monem Said says Egypt needs electricity to move forward. (Al Arabiya)

Diana Moukalled says coexistence between different parts of Iraqi society has been weakened. (Al Arabiya)

David Petraeus and Vance Serchuk say if the US strikes a nuclear deal with Iran it needs to prepare for all the consequences. (Washington Post)

News:

A three-hour meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ends without clear sign ofprogress. (Ma’an/Jerusalem Post/JTA/Times of Israel)

FM Lieberman says the package deal being discussed is not the same as it was two weeks ago.  (Jerusalem Post/Ynet)

Israel appropriates Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank by recognizing another settlement outpost. (Reuters/PNN/Ha’aretz/The National)

A Fatah official says the Israeli government is committed to colonization. (PNN)

Israeli chief negotiator Livni says Economy Minister Bennett is stoking settler violence.(Ha’aretz/Ynet/Times of Israel)

Senior Israeli officials say they have transferred all the PA revenues they collected in March.  (Ha’aretz)

British Party Labor leader Miliband criticizes expansion of Israeli settlements. (BBC)

A PLO committee will travel to Gaza for reconciliation talks. (Ma’an/Xinhua)

Israelis accuse Pres. Abbas of “terrorism.” (Ma’an)

Palestinian citizens of Israel protest in Nazareth against national service. (Ha’aretz)

Israel’s drive to export its new-found natural gas could help rebuild some strained relations.(Reuters)

Hamas will launch a satellite channel in Gaza. (Ma’an)

A trip to Auschwitz by Palestinian university students causes an uproar. (Washington Post)

Israel says Sec. Kerry’s remarks on Iran’s nuclear threshold is “not acceptable.” (Reuters/Jerusalem Post)

Syrian government forces seize two villages near the Lebanese border. (AP/Reuters)

Hezbollah is developing new tactics in the Syrian civil war. (AP)

American officials say they are looking into reports of another Syrian government chemical weapons attack. (AP/Washington Post)

Libya’s Interim PM al-Thani will step down after he was attacked by militias. (AP)

Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will retire in October. (AP)

A series of bombings kills more than 20 across Iraq. (New York Times)

Iraqi secularists are reportedly under attack ahead of the elections. (Al Monitor)

Iran lodges a complaint against the US over the denial of visa for its UN Ambassador.(Reuters/Xinhua/The National)

Iranians see “little relief” as sanctions are eased. (New York Times)

Dubai seeks to become an “Islamic” economic hub. (New York Times)

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish says Professor Mohammed Dajani should be praised, not blamed, for teaching Palestinian students about the Holocaust.  (The National)

The Jordan Times says the PA was right to join international treaties. (Jordan Times)

Jackson Diehl says over the past 25 years Israelis and Palestinians have made slow but enormous progress toward coexistence. (Washington Post)

Khaled Elgindy says the latest round of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians never had a chance to succeed. (Foreign Policy)

Nathan Jeffay asks why the recent Israeli land grab in the occupied West Bank is different than any other. (Jewish Daily Forward)

Ben Caspit says PM Netanyahu needs Pres. Obama more than ever if peace talks fail. (Al Monitor)

Ha’aretz says Israel should stop “shutting its eyes’ to what is going in the occupied West Bank. (Ha’aretz)

Moshe Arens says extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank are a fringe group that hates Arabs and has no respect for the State of Israel. (Ha’aretz)

Gideon Levy says Ron Pundak wanted peace for peace’s sake, without pathos or guilt. (Ha’aretz)

Oudeh Basharat says the struggle by Palestinian citizens of Israel against religious extremism is part of a wider Arab struggle. (Ha’aretz)

Amer Al Sabaileh says recent developments in Syria shows only a political solution is possible. (Jordan Times)

Yezid Sayigh says the Syrian conflict is drifting in favor of the government. (Carnegie)

Afraa Al-Hariri and Om El-Ezz El-Farissi debate whether women were at the forefront of the Arab Spring.(Asharq al-Awsat)

Rami Khouri says Lebanon finds itself a mirror of the Middle East. (Daily Star)

Hamza Mustafa says Iraqi militia are playing a key role in Syria. (Asharq al-Awsat)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says Arabs must unite before seeking a permanent seat at the UN. (Al Arabiya)

H.A. Hellyer says Egypt’s “war on terror” is doing more harm than good. (Al Arabiya)