NEWS: Both the Palestinian public and political leaders are deeply divided about the national reconciliation agreement, as is the Arab media. Hamas and Fatah are continuing their negotiations in Cairo. Salam Fayyad and Ismail Haneya both welcome the agreement. The EU lays out terms for continued aid to a new Palestinian government. Residents of Kafr Aqab in occupied East Jerusalem are cut off from most public services by Israel's separation barrier. A Jerusalem monastery is vandalized with hateful slogans by Jewish extremists, an attack condemned by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the PA Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs, and the Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land,. Israel says it is concerned that Hezbollah might get arms from Syria. PM Netanyahu orders his cabinet to cease “chitchat” about Iran. Palestinian MK Tibi's right to speak in the Knesset is again restricted. COMMENTARY: Ethan Bronner says the agreement between Hamas and Fatah carries risks for both Abbas and Netanyahu. Joe Klein says if it leads to the replacement of PM Fayyad, the agreement will be a disaster for the Palestinians. Khaled Abu Toameh doubts that the agreement will work. Robert Danin says implementing the agreement will be very difficult. The National says Palestinian unity is the only way forward. Magid Shihade says the agreement will have real consequences for all parties. Ha'aretz interviews Mohammed Bakri about his 2003 film “Jenin, Jenin.” Sefi Rachlevsky says the Israeli government isn't doing enough to protect its citizens. Moshe Arens says democracies around the world are warming to Israel. Larry Derfner says Israel is on the road to war with Iran.

NEWS: Hamas and Fatah sign an agreement that will apparently allow Pres. Abbas to also serve as PM, although it's not clear when this would take effect. Human Rights Watch says Israel's policies are denying thousands of Palestinians residency rights. PM Netanyahu will address the AIPAC conference next month. The last remaining member of Hamas' politburo leaves Damascus. In Israel, chatter about a possible attack on Iran grows, but Pres. Obama says he doesn't believe Israel has made any such decision. Palestinian villagers escort a stranded Israeli soldier to safety. The PLO will submit a list of proposed world heritage sites to UNESCO. An Israeli pro-peace group is banned from leading tours of occupied Hebron. COMMENTARY: Akiva Eldar says Israel could broker a nuclear-free Middle East, but it won't. Eliezer Yaari says Palestinian MKs are maintaining a shameful silence on violence in Syria. Susan Hattis Rolef says Israeli students should visit Hebron, and Jeff Barak says they need to see both sides of the story there. Amir Ofek denies Israel mistreats Palestinian children. Ben White says Israel won't allow equality for its Palestinian citizens. Tim Llewellyn memorializes the late Palestinian journalist Tewfik Mishlawi. David Ignatius says US officials are genuinely worried about a potential Israeli attack against Iran. Stuart Littlewood says Palestinians need higher caliber leaders. Azriel Bermant looks at Pres. Peres' new book about David Ben-Gurion. Ha'aretz says Palestinian citizens are not enemies of the state. Elyte Baykun says it is pointless for Palestinians to negotiate with an Israeli government that continues seizing land for settlements.

NEWS: UNSG Ban has shoes and rocks thrown at him in Gaza, as he says time is running out for negotiations. A viral photo of an Israeli soldier abusing a Palestinian is allegedly debunked. Two Palestinians are injured in an Israeli attack on Gaza. Israel clarifies its new subsidies won't apply to settlements after all. Pres. Abbas says Israel's "goodwill" gestures are not enough to resume talks. Israel's Shin Bet chief says Iran is targeting Israeli sites in retaliation for the assassination of its nuclear scientists. Palestinians return a lost Israeli soldier to Israel's custody. The Quartet is to working on a package of incentives for Palestinians to continue with negotiations. Gaza renews furniture exports. A new study suggests Jewish American support is tilting towards the Republican Party, but Democrats dismiss these claims. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says PM Netanyahu is here to stay. Yossi Sarid decries indoctrination of Israelis about Hebron. Anshel Pfeffer says Jewish Americans should put their own interests, and that of their country, ahead of that of Israel. Uri Savir says Israel should regard Tunisia as a model for post-dictatorship Arab democracies. US Congressman Allen West says the US-Israel relationship is unique and precious. J.J. Goldberg looks at the backers of an Islamlophobic film used by the NYPD. Bilal Hassen says Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are impossible. George Hishmeh says Israel is deliberately trying to sabotage the two-state solution. Sarah Wildman says time is quickly running out for the two-state solution.

NEWS: A new poll finds a majority of Palestinian youth in favor of a two-state solution. UNSG Ban says that a Palestinian state is long overdue. Israelis and Palestinians bitterly dispute the propriety of a TV show that included interviews with family members of convicted murderers. Israel's Supreme Court again orders the evacuation of the largest “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Analysts speculate that Hamas' policy shifts are designed to gain ascendancy. Palestinian security services detain two journalists on suspicion of mocking the leadership. Germany upgrades Palestine's diplomatic status. Israel may renege on designating 70 settlements as “national priority” areas. Israel asks the US to prompt the Palestinians into continuing low-level negotiations. Israeli military leaders warn against attacking Iran. Changes in Hamas' policies may be connected to a financial crisis. COMMENTARY: Chuck Freilich says Israel faces a momentous choice on Iran. Israeli Maj.-Gen. Kochavi says the Arab world is rediscovering its power through the uprisings. Ray Hanania says it's easier to be caught up in emotions than to make the hard choices for peace. George Hishmeh says Israel appears to be systematically undermining all hopes for peace. Leila Hilal looks at potential options dealing with the Palestinian refugee question. Steven White and P.J. Dermer ask if “hypocrisy is becoming the norm at the Jerusalem Post?” The Forward looks at the depiction of the Israeli occupation at the Sundance Film Festival. Victor Kotsev blames Israel largely for the failure of recent negotiations. Amira Hass asks if helping Palestinians serves as cover for the occupation.

NEWS: The PA and PM Fayyad face a backlash over tax hikes. Fatah officials say Palestinian leaders may agree on a new government by Thursday. UNSG Ban is on a peace mission to the Middle East. PM Netanyahu is reelected Likud chief. Religious extremists deploying harsh rhetoric are coming to the forefront of both Israeli and Palestinian discourse. Palestinians clash with Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem. Hackers target Palestinian news websites. Released Palestinian prisoners are adapting to life in Qatar. Growing lawlessness in Sinai may threaten the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. COMMENTARY:Ha'aretz says Netanyahu's new committee on settlements would not be necessary if the government followed the law. Douglas Bloomfield says Hamas is running away from Syria like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Josh Nathan-Kazis says concerns about Israel have replaced racial anxieties as the main obstacles Pres. Obama must overcome with Jewish voters. Rami Khouri says he's not impressed with the apparent rapprochement between Hamas and Jordan and thinks it should be put to a referendum. Osama Al Sharif says it's not clear how much Hamas really being brought out of the cold, but distancing it from Tehran has to be a good thing. Efraim Inbar says the Amman talks are another exercise in total futility. Elliott Abrams says designating 70 settlements as “national priority” areas is a foolish move by Israel but is actually Washington's fault. John Whitbeck says Israel is using carefully crafted language to assert ownership of East Jerusalem and other occupied areas. APN interviews Yossi Alpher on the Amman negotiations. Robert Staloff urges American politicians to stop speaking in terms of “ironclad commitments” to Israel.

NEWS: Israel arrests three suspects in the murder of a Palestinian Christian leader in what appears to have been an intra-communal real estate dispute. Hamas leader Haniyyeh is visiting Iran. PM Netanyahu offers a wide range of concessions to the settler movement. Netanyahu answers questions online from Arab netizens. Netanyahu's office denies reports it might be willing to forgo sovereignty in the Jordan Valley in the event of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Jordan and Qatar emerge as the leading candidates to be Hamas' new headquarters. Palestinian actor Mohammed Bakri faces a campaign of harassment from Jewish extremists. A new study suggests the violence of the second intifada did not damage Israel's national morale. The JTA looks at a controversy involving the Center for American Progress. MK Tibi says criticisms of him in the Knesset are totally unfair. COMMENTARY: Uri Misgav says Israel needs to separate religion and state. Avirama Golan says Israeli school students are being indoctrinated in nationalism more extreme than ever. Akiva Eldar says Newt Gingrich's flip-flop on Palestine won't help him win Florida. Gershon Baskin says both sides are to blame for the failure of peace talks in Jordan. David Newman criticizes Israel's growing policy of walling its borders. The Forward says there's something fundamentally undemocratic about billionaire Sheldon Adelson funneling $10 million to Newt Gingrich's campaign. The Jordan Times says the King was correct in opening a new chapter with Hamas. Yossi Alpher says the Amman talks bordered on counterproductive. Ghassan Khatib says Jordan and other sponsors should explain to the world Israel's responsibility for the talks' failure. Maher Abukhater says no matter how frustrated parties are, talks will continue.

NEWS: Hamas leader MIshaal makes his 1st official visit to Jordan since 1999. A hard-line settler is challenging PM Netanyahu for the leadership of the Likud party. Netanyahu may be moving towards early national elections in Israel. After an outcry of opposition, the PA is suspending tax hikes. The PLO executive committee is meeting today to discuss the impasse in negotiations with Israel, for which both sides are blaming each other. Turkey denies reports it has provided funding to Hamas. A new report says Palestinian citizens of Israel are increasingly attending higher education institutions in PA-controlled areas. 70 West Bank settlements are on the new Israeli “national priorities” list for special benefits. The New York Times profiles Gingrich benefactor Sheldon Adelson. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel's curriculum is hiding the occupation from students. Barry Rubin dismisses the idea that Israel might attack Iran. Mohammed Najib says Mishaal maybe trying to carve out a new role for himself. Paul Harris says Adelson isn't running for office but his money could have a big impact on the Florida primary. Robert Fisk says when it comes to Middle East peace, the past trumps the present. Salman Masalha says Israeli society is permeated with discrimination. Khaled Elgindy says the Middle East Quartet has outlived its usefulness. Jackie Spinner says the dramatic reduction in US aid to the PA is a significant threat to Palestinian economic recovery in cities like Hebron.

NEWS: The PLO says Israel has given it no reason to continue with talks and dismisses Israel's proposals on borders. The continued diplomatic impasse is throwing the viability of a two-state solution into doubt. Pres. Abbas meets with EU foreign policy chief Ashton. The Palestinian election commission says it's ready and able to hold elections in May if so instructed. Hamas has effectively abandoned its headquarters in Damascus. In spite of having resigned, Dennis Ross is reportedly still providing regular advice to the Obama administration. Israel agrees to the construction of an access road for the first planned Palestinian city in the West Bank. An Israeli cabinet minister takes journalists on a tour of a West Bank settlement. In a conversation with Pres. Peres at the Davos forum, PM Fayyad says building a Palestinian state will require Israeli cooperation and Peres says a Palestinian state has in effect already been established. Pro-Palestinian hackers apologize for a cyber attack on the Ha'aretz website. COMMENTARY: David Ignatius memorializes the late Palestinian journalist Tewfik Mishlawi. Yossi Sarid says PM Netanyahu may face an angered and reelected Pres. Obama next year. Guy Bechor says Hamas is in real trouble. Herb Keinon says low-level Israeli-Palestinian talks are likely to continue. The National says the peace process is a fig leaf for the Quartet. George Hishmeh says the suggestion by a newspaper editor that Israel might assassinate Obama met with a shocking silence, except from the Jewish-American community.

NEWS: Palestinians and Israelis have not yet agreed on another round of talks. Significant challenges are facing efforts to revive them. The EU says there is still hope they will continue and is reportedly working on an incentive package for Palestinians. Hanan Ashrawi says Israel is “thwarting all efforts” to continue negotiations. Some experts say Palestinians are looking for alternatives to continued talks. Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is placed in solitary confinement following recent public comments. Palestinian officials doubt elections will be held in May, as planned. Palestinians are concerned about new Israeli search technologies involving nausea-inducing gas. Hamas says it's trying to improve relations with Jordan. COMMENTARY: Carlo Strenger says politicians, including PM Netanyahu, and others should stop misusing the Holocaust. Israel Harel says Israel's High Court should create a constitutional court. Roni Brizon says religious and nationalist extremists are taking over Israel. Gershon Baskin says Israel will only find security through peace. Jonathan Rosen says Israel will probably have an election before October. Douglas Bloomfield says negotiations might be futile at this stage but they are still necessary. Gal Beckerman says Sheldon Adelson's apparent ability to change Newt Gingrich's attitudes on Israel and the Palestinians shows one person can affect an election if they're willing to spend enough money. Joel Braunold says the apparent failure of negotiations doesn't change the fundamental realities facing Israelis and Palestinians. Eyal Press looks at a new Israeli film about law and the occupation. Ronen Bergman asks if Israel will attack Iran.

NEWS: EU foreign policy chief Ashton says Israel and the Palestinians should keep talking. Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti says Palestinian strategy should be based on national unity, non-violent resistance and negotiations with Israel. Pres. Abbas says the Amman talks are not yielding progress and Palestinians say they may end the talks after the next round. The last session was reportedly contentious. The Palestinian election commission opens offices in Gaza. The US announces a 3-year extension of loan guarantees for Israel. Reports in the Arab media suggest Jordan may be considering sanctions against Israel. Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood officials say they will not meet with Israeli representatives. PA tax hikes meet with vocal Palestinian opposition. COMMENTARY: Zvi Bar'el says Israel's highest court mustn't be a plaything in the service of the settler movement. Bradley Burston says Jewish Americans, including those in Hollywood, need to see Israelis as normal people. Moshe Ronen says Israel would be wrong to silence outspoken Palestinian MK Zoabi. Uriel Heilman asks why some Jewish Americans dislike Pres. Obama so much. Stuart Reigeluth and Dimitris Bouris say Europe should be much more assertive in opposing Israeli settlements. Ibrahim Sharqieh says the US should abandon its policy of seeking Palestinian statehood only through negotiations. Linda Heard says the international community cannot continue to turn a blind eye to Israel's discriminatory practices. Michael Sharnoff says the Arab Peace Initiative should be the basis for new diplomatic progress. The Oman Tribune says Palestinians would be justified in walking out of the current round of negotiations. Wayne Barrett asks if massive donations from a pro-settler billionaire explain the apparently sudden transformation of Newt Gingrich's attitudes on Israel and the Palestinians.