News:

The Gaza-Israel escalation threatens the current cease-fire. (AP/Reuters/Washington Post/Ma’an/Ha’aretz)

Pres. Abbas calls on Israel to halt the escalation in Gaza. (AFP/Ynet)

FM Lieberman says Israel should retake Gaza. (Xinhua)

Islamic Jihad issues a warning video in Hebrew, urging Israelis to leave the country. (Ha’aretz)

Israel closes the Gaza crossing in response to the rocket attacks. (Xinhua)

A Palestinian official says Egypt is attempting to broker a truce between Israel and Gaza. (Jerusalem Post)

The EU warns of “serious consequences” for Middle East security if Gaza’s problems are not addressed. (AFP)

PM Cameron calls for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. (Xinhua)

Cameron will meet with Abbas in the occupied West Bank to discuss peace talks. (Times of Israel)

Israel passes a law requiring a national referendum to approve any further withdrawal from occupied East Jerusalem. (AP/JTA)

Sec. Kerry says mistrust between Israel and Palestine is higher than ever. (PNN/Jerusalem Post)

Israel may halt prisoner release if peace talks fail with the Palestinians. (Ha’aretz)

Israeli occupation forces order a Palestinian resident in Hebron to remove a Palestinian flag from his house. (Ha’aretz)

Gunmen attack an army bus in Cairo, killing one soldier. (AP/Reuters)

The UAE summons the Iraqi Ambassador over charges of Gulf funding of terrorism. (Reuters/Xinhua)

PM Maliki warns that violence from the Syrian war could spillover into the West. (AP)

Commentary:

Aaron David Miller says Amb. Samuel Lewis was a man of uncommon judgement. (The Jewish Daily Forward)

Eyad Abu Shakra responds to Pres. Obama’s interview with Jeffrey Goldberg about the Middle East. (Asharq al Awsat)

Ha’aretz says Israel keeps its Arab citizens in municipal “ghettos,” rife with poverty and neglect. (Ha’aretz)

Peter Beinart says Kerry’s peace initiative should worry liberal Zionists. (Ha’aretz)

Yossi Klein says Israel avoids “looking into the mirror” to see the 2 million Palestinians in its midst. (Ha’aretz)

The Jerusalem Post says Israel and Jordan need to put the killing of a Jordanian judge behind them.(Jerusalem Post)

The Jordan Times says it is contrary to international law to kidnap nuns in Syria. (Jordan Times)

Andrew Harper says Jordan continues to set a regional example by continuing to accept refugees. (Jordan Times)

The Daily Star says some in the international community are happy with a “shortsighted” calculus of success in Syria. (Daily Star)

Michael Jansen says a devastated Syria divided among jihadist “emirs” is in no one’s interests.  (Jordan Times)

Saleh Muhammad says the Syrian Kurds need greater Western support. (Daily Star)

Michael Young says Lebanon’s vacuum should push all sides to compromise. (The National)

Abdallah Schleifer says the Egyptian army is involved in construction projects that are for the benefit of the general public. (Al Arabiya)

Michael Hanna says the Egyptian state has fragmented during the past three years. (Foreign Policy)

Jeffrey Goldberg says Qatar’s policies have managed to make him sympathetic to  Saudi Arabia.  (Bloomberg)