News:
Sec. Kerry is pushing for a "framework" agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to keep talks going. (New York Times)

The "framework" proposal is thought to be the outlines of a final status agreement. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli leaders say Kerry should be taken very seriously and may want a Nobel Prize. (YNet)

An Israeli official again reiterates it wants to retain the crucial Jordan Valley. (AP)

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister resurrects the idea 1967 borders are "Auschwitz borders."(Ha'aretz)

Right-wing Israeli politicians make a symbolic visit to the Jordan Valley. (Xinhua)

Israel has reportedly proposed a land swap offer to the United States. (Ma'an/Times of Israel)

PM Netanyahu's insistence on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state" is proving a key sticking point. (New York Times)

Israeli finance minister Lapid again dismisses the demand for Palestinian recognition of Israel as "Jewish" as "rubbish." (Jerusalem Post)

Israel says it's going to wait for Kerry to leave before another announcement of settlement expansions. (New York Times)

Pres. Abbas warns of possible legal and diplomatic action if Israel persists in settlement activity. (AFP)

A "secret Palestinian security report" purportedly warns of the dangers of a third intifada. (YNet)

Palestinians say there has been an increase in the number of Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements. (PNN)

The PLO says the US is planning to provide $440 million in aid to the PA this year. (Ma’an)

A poll suggests both Israelis and Palestinians support the two-state solution, but remain suspicious of the other side. (AP)

Israeli and Palestinian leaders continue to exchange accusations. (Ma’an)

Palestinians say an 85-year-old man died after Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas. (Reuters/(Xinhua)

In a rare move, an Israeli military tribunal acquits Palestinians of throwing stones at settlers. (Ha'aretz)

The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic dies in an explosion when he opened an old safe. (Reuters/AP)

Hamas approves a 2014 budget of $589 million for the Gaza Strip that includes a 75 percent deficit. (New York Times)

Egypt says the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas plotted to blow up churches in Sinai during Christmas. (Ma’an)

Hamas leader Haniyeh rules out the possibility that Egypt could declare it a terrorist organization. (Ma’an)

The Palestinian Statistics Bureau says there are 11.8 million Palestinians in the world. (PNN)

A relocation city for Bedouins founded by Israel decades ago inspires no confidence in such schemes. (The Forward)

Former PM Sharon is said to be near death and in critical condition. (New York Times/AP/Ha'aretz)

7,818 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years. (AP)

PM Al-Maliki asks Sunni members not to leave the Iraqi parliament. (Washington Post)

Syrian activists say 130,000 people have died since the beginning of the conflict in that country. (Reuters)

17 rebels are reportedly killed by Syrian troops in the southern city of Daraa. (Xinhua)

At least 20 people are killed when a missile strikes a residential building in Aleppo. (Los Angeles Times)

Lebanon arrests leaders of an Al Qaeda-linked group in connection with the bombing of the Iranian Embassy. (New York Times)

Two people are killed as police and protesters clash in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Roger Cohen says Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish state depends on ending the occupation. (New York Times)

Karin Laub says Israel and the Palestinians face hard choices in Kerry's framework proposal. (AP)

Gershon Baskin says Israel needs Kerry and the US even if they don't want to admit it. (Jerusalem Post)

Eitan Haber says Kerry's determination to achieve peace puts Israel in a very difficult quandary. (YNet)

Shlomi Eldar says, despite a prisoner release, more Israeli settlement activity could kill peace talks. (Al Monitor)

David Horovitz tries to imagine what Netanyahu is thinking right now. (Times of Israel)

Tamar Hermann says the Israeli left has to choose between supporting Netanyahu and increasing chances for peace or opposing him and increasing their electoral prospects. (YNet)

Ari Shavit says if Kerry's proposals include a Jewish state in the 1967 borders, it would be a Zionist victory. (Ha'aretz)

Ami Ayalon says Israel needs to take bold unilateral measures to salvage the peace process. (New York Times)

Ha'aretz says Israel should stop using municipal planning as an excuse to seize land and dispossess Palestinians. (Ha'aretz)

Joshua Mitnick interviews Jerusalem expert Daniel Siedemann. (Christian Science Monitor)

Zuher Andrawous says Palestinians are becoming more divided along sectarian lines. (Ha'aretz)

Gideon Levy says Israelis seem to tolerate torture. (Ha'aretz)

Bloomberg profiles Palestinian businessmen Munib R. Masri. (Bloomberg)

Hassan Hassan says Hezbollah's misleading anti-takfiri rhetoric could fool some people. (The National)

Mohammed Habash says radicalized Syrian youths are one of Pres. Assad's greatest assets. (The National)

The National says the Iraqi army offensive in Anbar against Sunni forces will only backfire. (The National)

Michel Kilo says it's time to take a stand against the most extreme rebel group in Syria, ISIS. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Hania Mourtada profiles the Syrian Islamic Front, a potential new Western Islamist ally. (Foreign Policy)

Osama Al Sharif gives his overview on what to expect in the Middle East in 2014. (Jordan Times)

Calder Walton describes how Jewish terrorists in Palestine helped give birth to the British surveillance state. (Foreign Policy)

Greg Carlstrom explains why the Egyptian government is blaming everything it can on the Muslim Brotherhood. (Foreign Policy)

Nathan Brown looks forward to the upcoming Egyptian constitutional referendum. (Carnegie)