News:

Israel approves 186 new settlement units in the occupied East Jerusalem. (AFP/PNN/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

DM Ya’alon comes under heavy criticism from American officials for his anti-American remarks. (Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post/JTA)

UNRWA resumes food distribution in the Yarmouk camp after a two-week halt. (AFP)

Israeli Chief Negotiator Livni says Pres. Abbas’ decisions on peace talks is key to a prisoner release. (AFP/JTA)

A Palestinian official threatens to resume UN initiatives if Israel calls off prisoner release. (AP/Ynet)

A growing generational divide among Palestinians about peace with Israel is reflected in Abbas’ family. (New York Times)

Former Fatah official Dahlan calls Abbas a “catastrophe” for the Palestinians. (Times of Israel)

Israel returns four bodies of Palestinians held for more than a decade. (Ha’aretz) 

Israeli occupation forces kill a Palestinian teeenager in the West Bank. (Xinhua/Ma’an/Jerusalem Post)

Extremist settlers uproot 50 olive trees in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)

The PA announces plans to drill for oil in the West Bank. (AP)

Hamas urges the international community to end the blockade of Gaza. (Xinhua)

PM Netanyahu orders the IDF to prepare for a possible strike on Iran during 2014. (Ha’aretz)

Israeli officials have been urging Washington to resume aid to Egypt. (Ha’aretz)

Israeli airstrikes reportedly kill one Syrian soldier and wound seven. (AP/New York Times/The National)

The US suspends operations of Syria’s embassy in Washington and its US consulates.(Reuters/New York Times)

Lebanese troops open the road to a Syrian border town. (AP/Daily Star)

Al-Qaeda is reportedly building its network in Lebanon. (Washington Post) 

A government raid on a militant bomb factory in Egypt leaves two soldiers and five extremists dead.  (AP/Reuters)

The US signs a $165 million water assistance agreement with Jordan. (Jordan Times)

Commentary:

The Daily Star says Pres. Obama should make the “tough decisions’ on the peace talks. (Daily Star)

Jodi Rudoren says the Middle East peace process has its own coded language. (New York Times)

Salman Mashalha dismisses all notions of a binational state. (Ha’aretz)

Ha’aretz says Ya’alon is “endangering Israel’s security.” (Ha’aretz)

Yariv Oppenheimer says Israel’s peace camp has abandoned its “customary defensiveness,” especially online. (Ha’aretz)

Aaron Magid asks why Israel’s left opposes a peace referendum. (Ha’aretz)

Anat Saragusti says AIPAC’s version of Israel is not her’s. (Ha’aretz)

Hussain Abdul Hussain says the US should increase support for the Syrian opposition. (NOW)

Sharif Nashashibi says Hezbollah’s role in Syria is jeopardizing its position in Lebanon. (The National)

Osama al Sharif says the battle for Aleppo may decide the future of the conflict in Syria. (Jordan Times)

Rami Khouri says both the Egyptian military and the Muslim Brotherhood have proven illegitimate. (Daily Star)

Hussein Ibish says the saga of a rogue oil tanker is the latest evidence of Libyan state fragmentation. (NOW)

The National urges more official US delegation visits to GCC states. (The National)