News:

Sec. Kerry meets with PM Netanyahu in Davos to discuss peace talks. (AP/Ha’aretz)

Palestinian security officials dismiss Israel’s claim of dismantling an Al-Qaida plot. (AP)

Pres. Peres says Israel does not want to wage a war with Iran. (Xinhua)

Israeli police prevent Palestinians from protesting in East Jerusalem. (Ma’an)

Israeli occupation forces arrest a Palestinian police officer. (Ma’an)

Extremist settlers assault two Palestinians in a village near Hebron. (PNN)

Syria issues an ultimatum to a UN mediator, vowing to leave if “serious talks” do not begin. (AP/The New York Times/The Washington Post)

Kerry calls Pres. Assad a “one-man super magnet for terrorism.” (AP)

The Syrian government rejects torture allegations, calling the report “politicized.” (Reuters)

Prince al-Faisal calls on the US to lead a military campaign to end the fighting in Syria. (The Daily Star)

Five people were killed in a series of bombings that targeted security headquarter in Cairo. (AP/Reuters)

Pres. Mansour says his government helped bring about “an end to the police state.” (Los Angeles Times)

PM Harper meets King Abdullah II to discuss the situation in the Middle East. (Xinhua)

Jordanian MPs seek to discuss Middle East peace talks and Kerry’s visit. (The Jordan Times)

UNHCR says more than 65,000 people have fled Fallujah and Ramadi. (Reuters/The National)

The IAEA seeks extra funds to monitor Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal (AP)

The US is reportedly lobbying top Israeli Generals to sell its ideas for securing the Jordan River Valley. (The Daily Beast)

Commentary:

Ha’aretz says the real economic danger to Israel stems from its refusal to make peace with the Palestinians and its insistence on building settlements. (Ha’aretz) 

Uri Savir says the latest rhetoric by Netanyahu and Abbas is detrimental to the peace process. (The Jerusalem Post)

J.J. Goldberg says Israel is safe without militarily controlling the Jordan River Valley. (The Jewish Daily Forward)

Ephraim Sneh gives three reasons as to why Israel should completely abandon its demand to control the Jordan River Valley. (Ynet)

Gideon Levy says Israel should try to help the besieged residents in Yarmouk. (Ha’aretz)

Alan Elsner criticises an act by the State Senate of Georgia that challenges the two state solution. (The Times of Israel)

Rami Khouri says there will be no end to the fighting in Syria without a change in the power balance on the ground. (The Jordan Times)

The Christian Science Monitor says the Syrian sides must develop enough trust in each other so that they can seek an agreement. (The Christian Science Monitor)

Murtaza Hussain says ending Assad’s atrocities must be a precondition to any broader settlement that might come up in Geneva II. (The Gulf News)

Michele Dunne and Thomas Carothers say the Obama administration must stop calling the transition in Egypt "democratic."

Ahmed Maher says the new Egyptian constitution does not contain solutions to the nation’s political and economic problems. (The Gulf News)

The National commends the political progress that has been achieved in Yemen since the beginning of the “Arab spring.” (The National)

The National says the UAE has become a “model power” for being a “modern, open, successful, Muslim nation.” (The National)

Maryam Saleh says the UN decision to stop counting Syrian death is reprehensible. (The National)

Tony Blair calls on all governments to use education to combat extremism in all faiths, and warns of emerging religious conflicts. (The Daily Star)

Charles Rizk says Lebanon’s inability to host the Hariri Special Tribunal shows that it’s a “failed state.” (The Daily Star)

Jamila Trindle says Pres. Rouhani's appearance in Davos is a public relations win for him. (Foreign Policy)