News:
Sec. Kerry meets [1] with PM Netanyahu in Davos [2] to discuss peace talks. (AP/Ha’aretz)
Palestinian security officials dismiss Israel’s claim of dismantling [3] an Al-Qaida plot. (AP)
Pres. Peres says Israel does not want to wage a war [4] with Iran. (Xinhua)
Israeli police prevent Palestinians [5] from protesting in East Jerusalem. (Ma’an)
Israeli occupation forces arrest [6] a Palestinian police officer. (Ma’an)
Extremist settlers assault [7] two Palestinians in a village near Hebron. (PNN)
Syria issues [8] an ultimatum to a UN mediator, [9] vowing to leave if “serious talks” do not begin [10]. (AP/The New York Times/The Washington Post)
Kerry calls Pres. Assad a “one-man super magnet for terrorism.” [11] (AP)
The Syrian government rejects torture allegations [12], calling the report “politicized.” (Reuters)
Prince al-Faisal calls on the US to lead a military campaign [13] to end the fighting in Syria. (The Daily Star)
Five people were killed [14] in a series of bombings that targeted security headquarter [15] in Cairo. (AP/Reuters)
Pres. Mansour says his government helped bring about “an end to the police state.” [16] (Los Angeles Times)
PM Harper meets King Abdullah II [17] to discuss the situation in the Middle East. (Xinhua)
Jordanian MPs seek [18]to discuss Middle East peace talks and Kerry’s visit. (The Jordan Times)
UNHCR says [19] more than 65,000 people have fled [20] Fallujah and Ramadi. (Reuters/The National)
The IAEA seeks extra funds to monitor Iran’s [21] compliance with the nuclear deal (AP)
The US is reportedly lobbying top Israeli Generals [22] to sell its ideas for securing the Jordan River Valley. (The Daily Beast)
Commentary:
Ha’aretz [23] says the real economic danger to Israel stems from its refusal to make peace with the Palestinians and its insistence on building settlements. (Ha’aretz)
Uri Savir [24]says the latest rhetoric by Netanyahu and Abbas is detrimental to the peace process. (The Jerusalem Post)
J.J. Goldberg [25] says Israel is safe without militarily controlling the Jordan River Valley. (The Jewish Daily Forward)
Ephraim Sneh [26] gives three reasons as to why Israel should completely abandon its demand to control the Jordan River Valley. (Ynet)
Gideon Levy [27] says Israel should try to help the besieged residents in Yarmouk. (Ha’aretz)
Alan Elsner [28] criticises an act by the State Senate of Georgia that challenges the two state solution. (The Times of Israel)
Rami Khouri [29] says there will be no end to the fighting in Syria without a change in the power balance on the ground. (The Jordan Times)
The Christian Science Monitor [30] says the Syrian sides must develop enough trust in each other so that they can seek an agreement. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Murtaza Hussain [31] says ending Assad’s atrocities must be a precondition to any broader settlement that might come up in Geneva II. (The Gulf News)
Michele Dunne and Thomas Carothers [32] say the Obama administration must stop calling the transition in Egypt "democratic."
Ahmed Maher [33] says the new Egyptian constitution does not contain solutions to the nation’s political and economic problems. (The Gulf News)
The National [34] commends the political progress that has been achieved in Yemen since the beginning of the “Arab spring.” (The National)
The National [35] says the UAE has become a “model power” for being a “modern, open, successful, Muslim nation.” (The National)
Maryam Saleh [36] says the UN decision to stop counting Syrian death is reprehensible. (The National)
Tony Blair [37] calls on all governments to use education to combat extremism in all faiths, and warns of emerging religious conflicts. (The Daily Star)
Charles Rizk [38] says Lebanon’s inability to host the Hariri Special Tribunal shows that it’s a “failed state.” (The Daily Star)
Jamila Trindle [39] says Pres. Rouhani's appearance in Davos is a public relations win for him. (Foreign Policy)
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