News:

The PA categorically rejects the idea of a continued Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley after a peace agreement. (Jerusalem Post)

Right-wing Likud leaders say they will not permit an interim agreement with the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)

Sec. Kerry will meet PM Netanyahu in Rome on Oct. 23. (JTA)

Salafists from Gaza are reportedly killed while fighting in the Syrian conflict. (Al Monitor)

An Israeli court rules it's not discriminatory to give benefits to only certain Palestinian Jerusalem residents. (Jerusalem Post)

The Israeli military says it killed a Palestinian man at a military base in the occupied West Bank. (New York Times/Ma'an)

2,000 Indians claiming to be Jewish emigrate to Israel amid skepticism about their real ties to the faith. (JTA)

Pres. Abbas invites Pope Francis to the "Holy Land." (Ma'an)

Abbas swears in PM Hamdallah and an unchanged PA cabinet. (Ma'an)

After meeting Abbas, German Chancellor Merkel urges Israel to restrain settlement construction. (YNet)

18 Palestinians are charged with terrorist plotting in Lebanon. (naharnet)

Israeli occupation forces detain five Palestinians in separate incidents Thursday in the occupied West Bank. (Ma'an)

Abbas promises to save the life of a girl suffering from a failed kidney, diabetes and thalassemia. (PNN)

4 girls die after being trapped in a car in Hebron. (Ma'an)

This year's Palestinian olive harvest is being overshadowed by fears of annexation. (PNN)

US Amb. to Israel Schapiro denounces Hamas' smuggling tunnels. (Times of Israel)

Israel's mayoral race in Jerusalem is contested between radically different components. (Washington Post)

Saudi Arabia rejects a seat on the UN Security Council. (New York Times/AP/Reuters)

Hezbollah is further endangering Israeli hawks by accusing them of "spying." (AP)

Egypt's Coptic Christians struggle to preserve their heritage under significant pressure. (AP)

59 are killed and 196 wounded in a day of violent attacks in Iraq. (Xinhua)

Iranian officials say new nuclear negotiations signal the beginning of a new era with the West. (AFP/Ha'aretz)

Iran says Israel is trying to undermine the new negotiations with the West. (YNet)

Turkey denies having exposed an Israeli spy ring in Iran. (YNet/Jerusalem Post)

A senior Syrian government intelligence officer is killed in the conflict in that country. (BBC)
 

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish looks of the dying mythologies of the "axis of evil" and the "axis of resistance." (Al Majalla)

Talal Salman says Lebanon is now no longer the only Arab "country without a state." (As-Safir/Al Monitor)

Sharif Al Nashashibi says declining US clout in the Middle East has shaken Egypt and many regional allies. (Gulf News)

Aaron David Miller looks at the reasons behind declining US influence in the Middle East. (Foreign Policy)

Zuheir Kseibati says the Arabs are massacring each other while Iran and Israel negotiate to divide the spoils. (Al Hayat)

Andrew Apostolou warns against offering "sanctions relief" to Iran at this stage. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Nawaf Obaid says Saudi Arabia is adopting a much more activist foreign policy. (Al Monitor)

Barbara Slavin analyzes Iran's new nuclear proposal. (Al Monitor)

Roger Cohen says Netanyahu has to ask himself the question: "if not now, when?" (New York Times)

Anshel Pfeffer says the only real threat to Israelis from BDS and universal jurisdiction is fear. (Ha'aretz)

Avi Issacharoff says in desperation, Hamas is hoping to capture another Israeli soldier. (Times of Israel)

Yossi Sarid says Netanyahu is "the most dangerous leader in the Western world" and needs to put away his Churchillian cigar. (Ha'aretz)

Yoel Marcus says Israel doesn't have a better leader than Netanyahu right now. (Ha'aretz)

Saba Farzan and Saeed Ghasseminejad say Netanyahu is doing well in PR with the West, but not the Middle East. (Jerusalem Post)

David Weinberg claims the late PM Rabin was "close to stopping the Oslo process." (Jerusalem Post)

Uri Misgav says the court ruling there is no such thing as "Israeli" nationality is not a shock but an identity crisis. (Ha'aretz)

Michael Oren evaluates the 1973 war, 40 years later. (The New Republic)

Yossi Melman denounces "Turkey's unprecedented betrayal of Israel." (Jerusalem Post)

Ilene Prusher interviews David Harris-Gershon, whose wife was almost killed in a 2002 terrorist attack in Jerusalem. (Christian Science Monitor)

The Jerusalem Post interviews Finance Minister Lapid. (Jerusalem Post)

Lish Lee Avner says Israelis should feel free to live in Berlin despite the Holocaust. (YNet)

The BBC looks at the plight of Syrian refugees stuck in France. (BBC)

Elhanan Miller says PM Erdogan is politically turning to less nationalism and more Islamism. (Times of Israel)

Samir Salha says Kurds need a state, and the only real question is where and when it will be. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Norm Coleman says the US was wrong to cut aid to Egypt. (Washington Post)