News:

Sec. Kerry will update the Arab League on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. (Times of Israel)

Pres. Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah reportedly plan to coordinate their responses to Kerry. (Jerusalem Post)

The Middle East Quartet says it will continue to coordinate with Jordan. (Jordan Times)

3 Palestinians are wounded in two separate Israeli airstrikes. (Ma'an/Xinhua)

Rockthrowing Palestinians disrupt a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian activists. (AP)

Peace Now urges the Israeli government to dismantle illegal settlements after clashes with Palestinians. (AFP)

An Israeli human rights group says it has video showing Israeli troops participating in settler attacks against Palestinians. (Ma'an)

Pope Francis' upcoming Middle East trip is said to have "a political dimension." (YNet)

Hamas is trying to rebuild its relations with Iran. (The Guardian)

A Fatah official says he will visit Gaza when Hamas is ready for unity. (Xinhua)

Palestinian officials say Hamas and Fatah have been holding productive discussions about unity. (Xinhua)

Hamas complains Egypt is not taking the humanitarian crisis in Gaza "seriously." (Ma'an)

A strike by UNRWA workers adds to Palestinian woes. (Reuters)

Hundreds of Palestinian citizens of Israel protest ongoing home demolitions in the Negev. (Ma'an)

There are ways for Israeli settlers to establish outposts by avoiding Israeli building regulations. (Ha'aretz)

Israel's military refuses to issue a complete list of foreign weapons sales. (Ha'aretz)

The violence in Iraq appears to be a sequel to the American war there. (New York Times)

A bombing near an Iraqi army recruiting center kills 21. (AP)

Four different armed groups are reportedly fighting in Falluja. (Al Monitor)

ISIS is being dealt a serious blow in Syria by other rebel forces. (New York Times)

Syria reports two different attacks by rebels on chemical weapons sites. (New York Times)

Russia blocks condemnation of Syrian government air strikes on Aleppo. (AP)

A car bomb near a school in central Syria kills at least 18. (AP/Reuters)

Syria's opposition holds its first "unified" meeting in years to discuss upcoming peace talks. (Reuters)

Turkey says Iran can play a role in resolving the Syrian crisis. (Xinhua)

Jordan appeals for $2.4 billion in US aid for Syrian refugees there. (Xinhua)

A large arms seizure in Bahrain raises fears of further violence. (BBC)

Bahrain suspends reconciliation talks with opposition groups. (Reuters)

Egypt sentences 63 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to three years each for violence-related charges. (Reuters)

Support for Egypt's military-led government appears strong amid an ongoing crackdown. (Washington Post)

Egyptian satirist Dr. Bassem Youssef is planning a comeback. (AP)

Fanatics attack books in Lebanon. (AP)

Yemen bans the formation of religious political parties. (The Media Line)

Tunisia's constituent assembly appoints an electoral commission, paving the way for the new, technocratic government. (AP)

International nuclear negotiations with Iran hit a snag on centrifuge research questions. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Ari Shavit says the Zionist right needs Sec. Kerry to save it from itself. (Ha'aretz)

Barak Ravid says PM Netanyahu wants to say yes to Kerry, but without anybody noticing. (Ha'aretz)

Daniella Cheslow says Hamas' fortunes continue to sink amid regional changes. (McClatchy)

Asmaa al-Ghoul says Hamas is eager to reach a security arrangement with Egypt. (Al Monitor)

Daniel Seidemann says the Israeli myth of a "united Jerusalem" is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. (The Guardian)

Linda Gradstein says Kerry is pushing for recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state." (The Media Line)

Roy Isacowitz says Netanyahu's peace plan is to do nothing. (Ha'aretz)

Daniel Friedmann says there are signs the "Jordanian option" might once again be plausible. (YNet)

Hagai Segal says there can be no Israeli compromise on Jerusalem. (YNet)

A Palestinian student from Syria describes the experience of being a Palestinian in the Syrian war. (PNN)

Chemi Shalev says David Ben-Gurion did not see Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people." (Ha'aretz)

Ha'aretz says "price tag" attacks can and must be thwarted. (Ha'aretz)

Gershon Baskin says there's more than enough water for Israelis and Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)

Dalia Hatuqa looks of the pitfalls of reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (The National)

Madawi Al-Rasheed says a closer alliance with Pakistan is central to Saudi Arabia's new security strategy. (Al Monitor)

David Ignatius says Iran's fingerprints can be seen in violence in Falluja. (Washington Post)

Caryle Murphy says PM AL-Maliki finds himself somewhat isolated in the battle in Anbar. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Daily Star says the US is demonstrating a double standard about Al Qaeda in Syria and Iraq. (The Daily Star)

Michael Weiss looks at the unfolding of rebel infighting in Syria. (NOW)

David Owen says a cease-fire in Syria is not completely out of reach. (Christian Science Monitor)

Michael Young says fighting between Syrian rebels suggests there will be no resolution to the conflict soon. (The National)

David Kenner looks of the controversial death of a Reuters stringer photographer in Syria. (Foreign Policy)

Francis Matthew says Pres. Putin is ruthlessly exploiting his opportunity in Syria. (Gulf News)

Ibrahim Saif says Jordan desperately needs international support to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. (Jordan Times)

Antoine Lambroschini says Ennahda in Tunisia is learning from the mistakes of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. (Arab News)

Michael Young says Lebanon cannot continue to operate in a political vacuum. (The Daily Star)

Aaron David Miller says the Obama administration's foreign policy is a logical one. (Foreign Policy)

The National says Robert Gates' memoirs show the Obama administration's lack of vision. (The National)

Denise Natali says PM Erdogan is mishandling the Kurdish issue. (Al Monitor)

Asharq Al-Awsat interviews Yemen's Legal Affairs Minister, Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)