NEWS:

Israeli warplanes bomb an area south of Beirut, in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel. (The Daily Star/New York Times)

Two explosions rock the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. (AP)

Israel may be preparing to approve 1,500 new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem. (PNN)

The PA calls on the Middle East Quartet to stop Israel's settlement expansions. (Ma'an)

Israel calls anti-Japanese statements by one of its officials "unacceptable." (AP)

Pres. Abbas says the prisoner release issue is separate from peace talks. (Ma'an)

Abbas says there has been no progress in peace talks. (PNN)

Abbas affirms a peace agreement would end all claims against Israel. (Ha'aretz/Times of Israel)

Abbas will host Rosh Hashanah with Israeli MKs. (Jerusalem Post)

Israel expels a freed Palestinian prisoner from the West Bank to Gaza. (Xinhua)

Israel's chief negotiator Livni calls on the Labor Party to join the coalition and support peace talks with the Palestinians. (Xinhua)

Masked men stab a PA intelligence officer near Nablus. (Ma'an)

Hamas claims the youth movement calling for its ouster in Gaza was "trained by Egyptian intelligence." (Jerusalem Post)

The leader of a Salafist group in Gaza calls for a "Jihad" against the new Egyptian government. (Al Monitor)

Bedouins deny harboring militants as the conflict in Sinai intensifies. (Al Monitor)

Ultra-Orthodox tourism is thriving in Israel. (The Media Line)

Settlers and other Israelis complain Palestinians are "crossing freely" into Israel from certain parts of the West Bank. (Jerusalem Post)


COMMENTARY:

Ha'aretz says Israel should scrap proposed laws defining its "Jewish character" and move to integrate its Arab minority. (Ha'aretz)

Yair Ettinger says Israelis need to understand they can no longer rely on automatic support from Jewish Americans. (Ha'aretz)

Uri Savir says few Israeli politicians are honest with the public about the need for a peace agreement with the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)

Avi Issacharoff says Hamas is defiantly pushing back against Egypt, Israel and its recent losses. (Times of Israel)

Sarah Seltzer says, in a battle of competing boycotts, both Alice Walker and the University of Michigan Center for Education for Women are wrong. (The Forward)

Nathan Guttman says Israeli-Turkish relations are once again collapsing, despite US efforts at reconciliation. (The Forward)

Barın Kayaoğlu says PM Erdogan's latest remarks critical of Israel reflect a broader anti-Semitism. (Al Monitor)

Meir Javedanfar looks at the strained relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah. (Al Monitor)

Mazal Mualem interviews MK Issawi Frej, who explains why he joined a left-wing Israeli party. (Al Monitor)

Nabila Ramdani says, for peace to succeed, it's necessary for Sec. Kerry to understand what daily life under occupation is like. (New Statesman)

Sherine Bahaa questions the usefulness of the new peace talks. (Ahram Weekly)