Daily News Issue Date: 
June 9, 2014
News: 
News:
Pope Francis says Israeli and Palestinian leaders must respond to their people’s yearning for peace. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/AFP/Ha’aretz/Ynet/Times of Israel/The National)
Israel seeks the return of PA forces to Gaza. (Ha’aretz)
European Commission Chief Barroso says the new Palestinian government must be supported. (AFP)
PM Netanyahu’s office says Israel will not unilaterally withdraw from the occupied West Bank. (Times of Israel)
Finance Minister Lapid calls settlement construction in the occupied West Bank a “waste of money.” (AP/Xinhua/JTA)
FM Lieberman says annexation is inapplicable to Israel's current situation with the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post/Times of Israel)
Israeli Interior Minister Sa’ar dismisses the idea of an independent Palestinian state, but calls for Jordan to play an integral part in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Times of Israel)
UN Envoy Serry meets in Gaza with four ministers of the new Palestinian government. (Ma’an/AP)
Banks in Gaza remain closed as a crisis over salaries continues to challenge the new Palestinian government. (Ma’an)
The new Palestinian government brings rare hope for refugees. (The National)
Human Rights Watch says the killing of two Palestinian teenagers during a protest in the occupied West Bank might constitute an Israeli war crime. (Reuters)
Egypt is reportedly willing to permanently open the Rafah crossing. (Ma’an)
The Israeli parliament will vote for a new president. (AP)
Sec. Clinton writes in her memoir that she disapproved of early efforts by the Obama White House to push Israel toward a complete freeze of settlement activity. (Jerusalem Post/AP)
Pres. Assad declares a general amnesty for prisoners in Syria. (AP/Xinhua)
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah calls on the US to talk to Assad if it wants to settle the crisis in Syria. (Washington Post)
Lebanese Druze leader Jumblatt says Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria was a “moral mistake.” (The National)
Pres. Sisi promises to rule Egypt in an inclusive manner. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/The National)
The inauguration highlights Sisi’s shaky international standing. (Reuters)
Egypt arrests seven men for sexually assaulting a student during celebration of the inauguration of Sisi. (AP)
Libya’s Supreme Court rules the GNC’s election of PM Maiteeq was unconstitutional.  (Reuters)
The UAE issues a law requiring compulsory military service for adult males. (AP)
Commentary:
Hussein Ibish says Australia's decision to no longer call East Jerusalem occupied is an attack on international law and order.(The National)
The Christian Science Monitor says the Vatican prayers for the Middle East serve as a reminder of the universal desire for peace. (Christian Science Monitor)
Hazem Balousha says Hamas seeks to reclaim political influence by using the PLO.  (Al-Monitor)
Gabriel Webber says students in the UK have defeated BDS by bringing pro-Israel and pro-Palestine students together. (Ha’aretz)
Roger Cohen says comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa is a “moral calumny.”(New York Times)
Jose Manuel Barroso says without progress in the peace negotiations, the EU’s growing cooperation with Israel will be greatly complicated. (Ha’aretz) 
Dani Dayan proposes a plan to “create a new civil reality” in the occupied West Bank. (New York Times)
Ben Caspit says Netanyahu’s political fortunes depend on maintaining relations with Washington. (Al-Monitor)
S. Daniel Abraham asks if Israelis really want a “Jewish state.” (Ha’aretz)
Shlomo Ben-Ami says the collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations should spur a fundamental reconsideration of a paradigm of peace making.  (Jordan Times)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed asks how will Sisi confront the accumulated economic failures threatening Egypt and his presidency. (Al Arabiya)
H.A. Hellyer says Egyptians want change but it’s  not clear how much change they want, at what pace, and what they are willing to give up for it. (Al Arabiya)
Faisal Abbas write a letter to Sisi. (Al Arabiya)
Amina Al-Naqqash and Mohamed Abu Hamed debate whether Sisi will prioritize foreign policy or balance domestic and foreign policies. (Asharq al-Awsat)
Rami Khouri says the recent elections in the Arab world raise questions about Arab democracy. (Daily Star)
Amer Al Sabaileh says Jordan should adopt new and flexible strategies that guarantees it a role in the region. (Jordan Times)
The Jordan Times says Prince Zeid’s nomination to the post of UN High Commissioner for human rights is a national and personal achievement. (Jordan Times)
William Hague and Angelina Jolie say it is in our power to remove rape as a weapon of war from the world’s “arsenal of cruelty.” (The National)
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