Date

News:
Pres. Abbas names PM Hamdallah as prime minister of the new Palestinian government. (AFP/Jerusalem Post)
Abbas tells Israeli peace activists that he will uphold security coordination with Israel. (Times of Israel)
An Israeli soldier is suspended after killing two Palestinian teenagers in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters/New York Times)
PM Netanyahu tells settlers he is fighting for them, but there are international constraints. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli lawmakers introduce legislation to annex 90 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
Israeli Chief Negotiator Livni threatens to pull out of the coalition if Israel were toannex the West Bank. (Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)
40 hunger-striking Palestinian detainees are hospitalized in Israel. (Ha’aretz)
The EU gives €200 million to the PA and UNRWA in order to provide vital basic services to the Palestinian people. (PNN)
South African politician De Klerk says Israel could become an apartheid state without the creation of a Palestinian state. (JTA)
Israel’s navy detains four Palestinian fishermen in Gaza. (Ma’an)
An American official says US plans to increase support for Syria’s moderate rebels are in their early stages. (Reuters)
Syrians in Lebanon vote in the Syrian presidential election as expat balloting isextended for another day. (AP/Washington Post)
A US citizen working for the Al-Nusra Front in Syria conducts a suicide bombing. (New York Times/Times of Israel)
Field Marshall Sisi wins Egypt’s presidential election in a huge landslide. (Reuters/AP/The National)
A 22-nation exercise that includes 6,000 US troops starts in Jordan.(Stripes)
Libyan warplanes strike Islamist militias in Benghazi. (Reuters/The National)
There is a power struggle in Libya between two competing prime ministers. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia officially invites Iranian FM Zarif to visit the kingdom. (Xinhua)
Commentary:
Gal Beckerman analyzes the Pope’s visit to two very different walls. (Jewish Daily Forward)
Haviv Rettig Gur says Pope Francis “triumphed over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” (Times of Israel)
Gershon Baskin says the two-state solution is still viable. (Jerusalem Post)
Matthew Levitt and Neri Zilber say Hamas’ and Fatah’s ability to make progress on security, institutional, and political changes will dictate the future of Palestinian politics. (WINEP)
Ori Nir says Israeli politicians are alienating progressive American Jews. (Ha’aretz)
Michael Young says if Pres. Assad will be re-elected his Iranian and Russian backers will start facing difficulties. (The National)
Joyce Karam says Pres. Obama is shifting to a conflict-management strategy in Syria. (Al Arabiya)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed asks if Obama has changed his Syria policy. (Al Arabiya)
The Daily Star says the turnout of Syria’s election day in Lebanon should send an important message to Lebanese officials. (Daily Star
Faisal Al Yafai says the end of the Israeli occupation in Lebanon empowered the most confrontational elements in both countries. (The National)
Michael Young says Iran is benefitting from chaos in the Arab world. (Daily Star)
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman says Tunisia could be the “first Arab Spring success,” but its not there yet. (Christian Science Monitor)

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