NEWS:

The Arab League welcomes Sec. Kerry's proposals for restarting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, raising prospects for resumed talks. (New York Times/AP)

Some Israeli officials reportedly say they are open to a formula for talks based on the 1967 borders, but PM Netanyahu's office denies this. (YNet/Jerusalem Post/Reuters)

Kerry extends his trip for more consultations, but there is no planned meeting with Netanyahu yet. (AFP)

Kerry says he believes he is "getting closer" to facilitating resumed negotiations. (AFP/Washington Post)

Pres. Abbas consults with Palestinian leaders after the Arab League announcement about resuming negotiations with Israel. (Reuters)

Netanyahu formally asks the EU to reconsider its ban on further cooperation with Israel's occupation, but Palestinians praise it. (AP/Xinhua)

Pres. Peres asks the EU to delay implementing and reconsider the new guidelines about noncooperation with Israel's occupation, and suggests they could be an impediment to new peace talks. (AFP/AP/Ha'aretz)

The new EU measures are likely to increase Israel's growing international isolation. (AFP)

Some Israeli analysts think the EU measures will make it harder for Netanyahu to control right-wing elements in his government. (Times of Israel)

The UK reportedly wanted much tougher guidelines that would have applied to every Israeli in the occupied Palestinian territories. (Ha'aretz)

The US refuses to criticize the EU decision. (Jerusalem Post)

Western officials reportedly say Palestinians are seeking to build an airport in Ramallah. (YNet)

Israel may be preparing to dismantle several checkpoints in the occupied West Bank and other "goodwill gestures." (Jerusalem Post/AFP)

Hamas rejects a suggested Fatah "deadline" for a national unity government of August 14. (Ma'an)

Gaza's hospitals are the latest to be hit by the financial and supplies crisis in the Strip. (Al Monitor)

Hamas asks Egypt to provide alternatives now that most Gaza smuggling tunnels have been closed down. (Ahram Online)

Palestinians launch a "morality campaign" urging people to voluntarily pay for electricity. (The Media Line)

IKEA is considering opening a branch in Ramallah. (The Guardian)

Militants kill three Egyptian policeman in the Sinai Peninsula. (AP)

Some Israelis are taking advantage of cheap land near the Egyptian border, but at some risk. (Christian Science Monitor)

Protesting Palestinian refugees shut down an UNRWA office at a refugee camp in Lebanon. (Ma'an)

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, in a rare rebuke, calls on Israeli officials to cooperate in a terrorism lawsuit against the Bank of China. (JTA)

A student exchange program in central Pennsylvania is trying to assist a stigmatized Palestinian student enroll in a local high school. (Patriot News)

COMMENTARY:

Abdullah Iskandar says the whole Arab world is wondering what, exactly, Kerry has in mind. (Al Hayat)

Gershon Baskin says both parties need to take advantage of the opportunity Kerry is providing. (Jerusalem Post)

Marty Peretz says Kerry's "heroic efforts" are pretty much all that is left of Pres. Obama's Middle East policies, and Palestinians should accept whatever Israel offers them. (Daily Beast)

Neve Gordon says Israel's response to the new EU guidelines shows it has no intention of ending the occupation. (Ha'aretz)

Gideon Levy says Israel should thank the EU for making it confront its fundamental realities. (Ha'aretz)

John Whitbeck says the EU has a major role to play in brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace. (Al Jazeera)

Carlo Strenger says the Israeli right seems incapable of understanding the implications of the EU guidelines. (Ha'aretz)

Rachel Shabi says the EU decision has hit Israel like a bucket of cold water to the face. (The Guardian)

The National says the guidelines mark a new phase in Israeli-EU relations. (The National)

Chemi Shalev says the Israeli right now faces a choice between Kerry's proposals and more measures like the EU guidelines. (Ha'aretz)

Cnaan Liphshiz wonders how effective the EU guidelines will actually be. (JTA)

Jan Sokolovsy and Ari Briggs say the right response to the EU is for Israel to curtail cooperation with the PA. (Jerusalem Post)

Ephraim Sneh says the EU guidelines show there's an economic price, as well as isolation, for the occupation. (YNet)

Ha'aretz says Netanyahu is in denial and is leading Israel to the brink of an abyss. (Ha'aretz)

The Israeli NGO B'Tselem says law enforcement against settlers in the occupied West Bank is "enslaved" to the occupation project. (B'Tselem)

Rashad Hussain says Ramadan is a good time to combat anti-Semitism among Muslims. (JTA)

Roy Isacowitz says Israel doesn't have to look exactly like the former South Africa in order to actually be practicing apartheid. (Ha'aretz)

Robert Danin proposes a formula for ending Gaza's isolation. (Council on Foreign Relations)

Maysoon Zayid looks at the growing interest in skating among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Asmaa al Ghoul looks at the campaign of hatred and incitement against Palestinians in some of the Egyptian media. (Al Monitor)

Hassan Tahsin says Sinai security and Egyptian-Palestinian relations, especially with Hamas, were stained by former Pres. Morsi's legacy. (Al Arabiya)

Hazem Saghieh asks if the Muslim Brotherhood is at all capable of self-criticism. (Al Hayat)