News: A Palestinian poll indicates support for the PA’s decision to join the ICC and its boycott of Israeli products, and dwindling support for Hamas. (Times of Israel) Vegetables harvested in Gaza will be exported to Israel for the first time in eight years. (Ma’an) Israeli authorities have decided to allow white Portland cement into Gaza for the first time in several years. (Ma’an) Egypt shuts down the Rafah border crossing. (Ma’an/PNN) Qatar starts a project to rebuild 1,000 homes that were damaged or destroyed during last summer’s war in Gaza. (New York Times) The EU denounces the move by Israeli authorities to demolish an EU-funded shelter in occupied East Jerusalem. (AFP) The Palestinian power firm cancels a deal to buy $1.2 billion of natural gas from Israel. (Reuters/Times of Israel) A group of Palestinian gunmen shut down the main road near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus. (Ma’an) Israeli soldiers wound seven Palestinian university students as clashes break out near the Ofer detention center in Ramallah. (Ha’aretz/Ma’an) The Obama administration will wait for Israel’s elections before commenting on conflicting reports of PM Netanyahu’s retreat from a two-state solution. (JTA) FM Lieberman brushes off Palestinian threats to prosecute him for proposing to behead Arab citizens disloyal to the state. (AFP/Times of Israel) AP profiles Gaza novelist Atef Abu Saif. (AP) King Abdullah of Jordan says an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is essential to combating Islamic extremists. (AFP/The National/Jordan Times) UNRWA Chief Krahenbuhl accompanies the first aid convoy in three months to enter the besieged Yarmouk camp in Damascus. (AFP) Palestinian Deputy PM Mustafa says Israeli voters ignore the West Bank at their peril. (The National) As Israel’s election nears, peace with the Palestinians earns barely a mention. (Reuters) Iraqi security forces capture part of Tikrit's northern Qadisiya district. (Reuters/New York Times) Iraqi FM al-Jaafari dismisses Saudi concerns that Iran is taking control of his country and says Baghdad has good relations with both regional powers. (Reuters) A video posted online by ISIS purportedly shows the killing of teenager Muhammad Musallam, anIsraeli Arab accused by the group of being an Israeli spy. (Reuters/Washington Post/AFP/JTA/Times of Israel/The National) A small number of Americans have offered to take up arms against ISIS, working with local militias in Iraq and Syria. (New York Times) A Jordanian city votes to avoid the “ISIS aesthetic.” (New York Times) Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador from Sweden after a human rights spat. (Reuters/AFP) King Salman vows that low oil prices will not halt progress in his country, and promises to defend Arab and Muslim causes around the world. (AP/The National/Al Arabiya) Egypt’s investment conference aimed at drawing investors from around the world starts on Friday. (AP) Commentary: Ilan Goldenberg and Nicholas Heras ask if Israel can survive without the PA. (Foreign Policy) Yossi Mekelberg says Israel and the PA are playing a potentially “dangerous high stakes game of chicken” in which neither wants to be the first to blink. (Al Arabiya) Hana Salah says young Palestinian women in Gaza are now turning to business incubators to find funding and support to build their own businesses. (Al-Monitor) Peter Beinart says if Israelis reelect Netanyahu, they will risk losing the US. (Ha’aretz) Alex Fishman says Pres. Obama is making clear to Israel that he is about to become much more aggressive regarding the Palestinian issue. (Ynet) The Daily Star says any new Israeli government will probably seek a continuation of the status quo. (Daily Star) Zvi Bar’el asks which of the” two Jewish nations” Israeli voters will choose. (Ha’aretz) J.J. Goldberg looks at the electoral and psychological landscape of Israel. (The Forward) Akiva Eldar asks if opposition leader Herzog will compromise party values to join the government. (Al-Monitor) Yossi Verter says Netanyahu's Likud party is showing signs of distress. (Ha’aretz) Thomas Friedman says the influence of Sheldon Adelson is being felt in both the US and Israel. (New York Times) “Abdel” recounts his experiences as a surgeon in Aleppo. (New York Times) Tom Fletcher says the international community has tolerated the intolerable in Syria. (Al Arabiya) Michael Young says worrying Israel and Arab countries alike, America is pivoting away from the region. (The National) Jamal Khashoggi explains how the Middle East should handle the Muslim Brotherhood. (Al Arabiya) David Ignatius says a letter from Republican lawmakers to Iran is dangerous and irresponsible. (Washington Post) Tyler Cullis says Senate efforts to undermine the president's attempts to reach a nuclear accord with Tehran are on the wrong side of history. (New York Times) Hussein Ibish says the unfolding battle in Tikrit will reveal much about the future of Iraq and the battle against ISIS. (NOW) |