Date

News:
State Department denies reports that Sec. Kerry is dismantling his Middle East peace team. (Jerusalem Post/AFP)
Hamas says it will not oppose Hamdallah as unity government PM. (Xinhua)
Hamas releases six Fatah members. (Ma’an/Ha’aretz)
Pres. Peres says Israel must work hard to make peace with its neighbors. (Ha’aretz)
The majority of Israeli Jews support legislation that would authorize FM to reduce government funding to institutions which mark Nakba day. (Ynet)
The “iNakba” app finds former Palestinian towns in modern-day Israel. (AFP/Ha’aretz/The National)
The US upgrades the diplomatic status of some Syrian opposition groups. (AP/Reuters/New York Times)
A bomb kills a leader of the Al-Nusra Front. (AP)
Human Rights Watch criticizes Lebanon for returning Palestinian refugees to Syria. (Daily Star)
The Damascus opera suffers under mortar strikes. (AP)
An Egyptian court bans NDP officials from upcoming elections. (AP/Reuters)
Field Marshall Sisi says the Muslim Brotherhood will never return as an organization in Egypt. (AP/Reuters/New York Times/The National)
PM Maiteeq says he wants to engage all political forces in forming a “crisis government” in Libya.
Jordan and the US sign a $1 billion loan guarantee agreement. (Xinhua/Jordan Times)
Commentary:
The Jordan Times says Israel’s plans to recruit Christians Palestinian citizens of Israel to the army is an attempt to divide Palestinians. (Jordan Times)
Jalal Safadi says if Palestinian citizens of Israel maintain their Arab identity and integrate into Israel, they can create a better future for themselves. (Ynet)
Bernard Avisahi looks at Israel’s independence day and its future. (New Yorker)
Adnan Abu-Amer interviews Hamas leader Abu Marzouk. (Al-Monitor)
David Horovitz interviews Peres. (Times of Israel)
Ben Caspit says, with the breakdown of the peace talks, PM Netanyahu is composing a new public agenda. (Al Monitor)
Naomi Chazan says the majority of Israelis, who claim to support a two-state solution, have done very little to promote this goal. (Times of Israel)
Faisal Al Yafai says Saudi Arabia wants to establish an independent Gulf defense strategy. (The National)
The National says, before Qatar launches another tv news station, it should offer an explanation to its neighbors about why it backed the Muslim Brotherhood. (The National)
Hassan Barari says neither the West nor Arab countries can normalize relations with an Assad-led Syria. (Jordan Times)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says Syrian opposition leader Jarba is attempting to acquire anti-aircraft missiles in his visit to the US. (Al Arabiya)
Nathan Brown grades Egypt’s roadmap toward democracy. (Foreign Policy)

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