NEWS:

Israel is moving decisively to strengthen its hold on occupied East Jerusalem, including confiscated private Palestinian property. (Christian Science Monitor)

PM Netanyahu insists Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank will continue in spite of peace efforts, but Israel must be intelligent about it. (Xinhua/Ha'aretz)

Netanyahu says Palestinians are posing "insurmountable preconditions" for peace negotiations. (AFP)

A new poll suggests 85% of Israelis oppose releasing Palestinian prisoners as part of peace efforts. (Jerusalem Post)

FM Judeh is visiting Jordanian prisoners held by Israel. (Jordan Times)

The PA says its fiscal crisis is only worsening. (Ma'an)

Jordan's King Abdallah reiterates his support for Palestinians and role as custodian of Jerusalem holy places. (Jordan Times)

A British report says Israel is selling weapons to many countries, including Arab and Muslim ones. (Ha'aretz)

A Palestinian worker is shot by an Israeli settler amid a wave of arrests. (Xinhua)

A new study shows Palestinian children are deeply traumatized when their homes are demolished by Israel. (Al Monitor)

With Israel increasingly surrounding itself with walls and fences, some worry about increased isolation. (Washington Post)

Israel signs a free trade agreement with Columbia. (Xinhua)

The President of Columbia also visits Pres. Abbas in Ramallah. (PNN)

An Israeli court indicts a man accused of killing a woman in occupied East Jerusalem. (Ma'an)

In a rare legal victory, Palestinian citizens of Israel regain confiscated land. (The National)

Hamas insists it has never "interfered with Egypt's security." (Ma'an)

Israel distributes 10,000 gas masks to Arab citizens. (YNet)

Israeli are no longer visiting a once popular resort in southern Sinai. (Times of Israel)

Israeli Amb. Oren praises US UN Amb. nominee Power as "caring deeply about Israel's security needs." (JTA)

South Africa's Jews and Muslims, once united against apartheid, are now split on Israel and the Palestinians. (The Forward)

Members of Congress and other politicians are again talking about stripping the presidential waiver from the Jerusalem Embassy Law. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

COMMENTARY:

Leon Wieseltier says without a peace agreement with the Palestinians Israel won't long remain a Jewish state and that the universal abandonment of Salam Fayyad was "a historical scandal of the first magnitude.” (AP)

Swedish minister Gunilla Carlsson says Israeli and Palestinian leaders must take bold moves for peace immediately. (Ma'an)

Sefi Rachlevsky says Israel can expect a painful wake-up call on its unsustainable settlement policy. (Ha'aretz)

David Horovitz asks why Netanyahu has promoted Danny Danon and others he knows are outspoken opponents of Palestinian statehood. (Times of Israel)

J.J. Goldberg says Netanyahu is being outmaneuvered by colleagues to his right. (The Forward)

Carlo Strenger appeals to Abbas to help save the two-state solution. (Ha'aretz)

Benjamin Pogrund says if Israel were really interested in peace it would test Arab commitment to the API. (Ha'aretz)

Akiva Eldar says a peacekeeping force in the occupied Golan Heights is no substitute for actual piece. (Al Monitor)

Nathan Guttman says Israel is benefiting from the Syrian war as Hamas and Hezbollah suffers setbacks. (The Forward)

Gal Beckerman says Israel's continued obsession with the Mohammed al-Dura affair shows its unwillingness to confront its own dark side. (The Forward)

Shlomi Eldar says, by supporting Syrian rebels, Hamas is jeopardizing its weapons supply from Iran. (Al Monitor)

Peter Berkowitz says Israel's image isn't actually fraying in the United States. (The National Interest)