Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discusses Palestine in her address to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday (1). Former U.S. diplomat Thomas Pickering meets with Hamas officials in Switzerland (2). The group of U.S. Jewish leaders that met with President Obama on Monday report that the meeting has allayed their concerns about his approach to Israel and Mideast peace (3). The Palestinian Authority shuts down the Al Jazeera television network in the West Bank (5) (12). Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly considering attending and speaking at the UN General Assembly meeting in September (15). Quartet envoy Tony Blair lauds improvements made by the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank (18).