News:
 
Leaked reports suggest Sec. Kerry’s potential framework proposal could have modest goals. (The Globe and Mail)  

The PA reportedly informs Kerry that it will not accept his framework as it currently stands. (The Times of Israel)

Jewish American leaders send a letter to PM Netanyahu praising Kerry’s efforts. (The Jerusalem Post)

King Abdullah of Jordan urges Jewish American organizations to back Washington’s peace initiative. (The Jordan Times)

Israeli right-wing politicians take part in a demonstration against peace talks. (Xinhua/Ma’an/The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli forces kill a Palestinian man at the Gaza border. (Los Angeles Times/The New York Times)

Representatives of various Palestinian political parties meet in Gaza to discuss negotiations and national reconciliation. (Ma’an)

Hamas objects to UN human rights books in schools. (AP)

A Palestinian family in Hebron is suing the Israeli police for failure to act on evidence of tree vandalism. (Ha’aretz)

Israeli occupation forces raid a house in Bethlehem. (PNN)

Arab idol winner Assaf says he has been “banned” from singing at the World Cup ceremony. (Ma’an)

Washington hopes the Sochi Winter Olympics will force Pres. Putin’s hands on Syria. (Foreign Policy)

Russia rejects a proposal that could remove Pres. Assad from power. (The Wall Street Journal)

Syrian evacuees from Homs comment on their dire living conditions. (The Washington Post)

Barrel bombs wreak havoc in Aleppo's opposition-held neighborhoods . (The Los Angeles Times)

The UN halts the evacuation of civilians from the city of Homs. (AP)

11 people are killed in insurgent attacks in Iraq. (Xinhua) 

Bahrain arrests 29 people at the anniversary of the ongoing uprisings. (AP/Reuters)

Libyan PM Zeidan says the government is safe after an army statement. (Reuters/AFP)

Commentary:

Ha’aretz says the Knesset is doing everything in its power to thwart peace talks. (Ha’aretz)

Elliott Abrams says the US must demand that a future Palestinian state be democratic. (Council on Foreign Relations)

Thomas Friedman says Israelis ought to define what they mean by “the nation state of the Jewish people.” (The New York Times)

Bakir Oweida says the UN can and must do more for Palestinian refugees. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yossi Sarid says, by rejecting the US-Palestinian anti-incitement proposal, Netanyahu’s government is perpetuating the conflict. (Ha’aretz)

Ben Caspit says Israeli FM Liberman has a secret plan to take over the Likud party. (Al-Monitor)

David Weinberg says the boycott threat against Israel has been inflated. (The Jerusalem Post) 

Noa Osterreicher says Economy Minister Bennett needs a “reality check.”  (Ha’aretz)

The Jerusalem Post says helping Palestinians solve their water issues is not only the right thing to do, but could provide considerable political gains. (The Jerusalem Post)

Ben Barber says compensating Jews from Arab countries may win their support for Kerry’s initiative. (McClatchy)

Barry Leff says the Jerusalem municipality’s planning approval for a Yeshiva council in an Arab neighborhood is more than bad timing.  (The Jerusalem Post)

David Ignatius says a regional accord that defuses the sectarian schism can end the war in Syria. (The Daily Star)

Eyad Abu Shakra blames the Syrian crisis on both American “retrenchment” and reported Iranian collusion with Al-Qaeda groups in Syria. (Asharq Alawsat)

Hassan Mneimneh says recent developments in Syria threaten to deal a serious blow to Al-Qaeda. (The German Marshall Fund)

Adel El-Adawy says the US is an indispensable partner for Egypt, and Russia cannot take its place. (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Mieczyslaw Boduszynski and Kristin Fabbe say the US must speak up against the assaults on democracy in both Egypt and Turkey. (Christian Science Monitor)

José Ciro Martínez says Jordanians are showing signs of restlessness, and any instability in Jordan will reverberate in the whole region. (Los Angeles Times)

The Brookings Institute issues a new study called “The Arab World Learning Barometer”  which highlights shortcomings in educational access and learning among children and youth in the Arab world. (The Brookings Institute)