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NEWS:

US intelligence has spent considerable resources spying on foes, but also on Israel. (Washington Post)

Israel's Bedouin citizens feel betrayed by a mass relocation plan. (Reuters)

Palestinian officials reject Norwegian comments about cutting aid if there is no progress on peace. (Xinhua)

Egyptian naval vessels shoot at and arrest Palestinian fishermen near the Egypt-Gaza border. (Ma'an)

The US is still set for a limited strike against Syria despite a "no" vote in the British Parliament. (New York Times)

France says airstrikes against Syria could begin as early as Wednesday. (AFP)

Russia beefs up its naval presence off the Syrian coast in advance of potential airstrikes. (Los Angeles Times)

Potential US airstrikes in Syria pose new challenges to the Egyptian government and opposition. (New York Times)

PM Netanyahu says there is "a low probability" Israel will be drawn into conflict with Syria. (Times of Israel)

Sec. Hagel says the US is seeking an international coalition for action on Syria. (Xinhua)

Officials from various Palestinian factions oppose a US strike on Syria. (Jerusalem Post)

Egypt denies an Israeli ship docking permission for repairs. (AP)

Uganda denies cutting a deal with Israel over deported African migrants. (Reuters)

A Muslim Brotherhood member is shot and injured by Egyptian forces in Sinai unrest. (Ma'an) 

Eyewitnesses say a bloody August 24 attack in Sinai was conducted by an ambulance car bomb. (Asharq Al-Awsat)


COMMENTARY:

Hussein Ibish asks if Syria is being "Lebanized" or Lebanon being "Syrianized," as Hezbollah draws its country into the Syrian war (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Michael Gordon says the purpose of US strikes on Syria will be to restore deterrence, not oust Pres. Assad. (New York Times)

Edward Joseph and Elizabeth O’Bagy ask what to do next after the US strike. (Foreign Policy)

Yoel Marcus says the use of chemical weapons and the question of Iran are the turning point for the US in Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Roger Cohen says Assad must be made to pay a price for using chemical weapons. (New York Times)

Ari Shavit says the US has no choice but to act in Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Jeffrey Goldberg thinks a US strike against Syria might actually make things worse. (Bloomberg)

Robin Wright asks what's the next step after US air strikes against Syria. (Los Angeles Times)

Caspian Makan says the world should have acted before Syria turned to chemical weapons. (YNet)

The Jerusalem Post asks if Syrian and Iranian threats of retaliation are just bluster. (Jerusalem Post)

Bradley Burston compares the evil taking place in Syria to Auschwitz. (Ha'aretz)

Hassan Haidar says Pres. Assad is "no longer an acceptable interlocutor." (Al Hayat)

Walid Choucair says the US is hoping airstrikes would lead to Geneva 2, or at least no more use of chemical weapons. (Al Hayat)

The Arab News says Saudi Arabia believes it's time for serious and decisive action against the Syrian regime. (The Arab News)

Arron Merat says the crisis over Syria offers a new opportunity for US-Iranian negotiations. (Al Monitor)

David Brooks says the biggest security threat in the world is growing sectarian tension in the Middle East. (New York Times)

Mara Revkin describes growing radicalization in the Sinai Peninsula. (Washington Post)

Seth Freedman says the Israeli military should praise, not punish, dancing Israeli soldiers. (The Guardian)

Daniel Byman asks if, in spite of its current difficulties, Hamas is actually winning in the long run. (The Washington Quarterly)

NEWS:

Palestinian officials claim they have a US letter of assurance that backs a Palestinian state and identifies Israeli settlement as illegal. (Xinhua)

The Egyptian envoy to Palestine accuses Hamas of incitement. (Al Monitor)

Egypt detains five Hamas members in connection with a mass shooting of Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. (Times of Israel)

Sec. Hagel says there are no plans to cut military aid to Egypt. (AFP)

Pres. Abbas has formed a committee to reach out to all sectors of Israeli civil society. (Xinhua)

Yesh Atid leader Lapid forbids his MKs from attending a Ramallah meeting with Abbas. (Ha'aretz)

A new Israeli government map would seem to endorse partition along the 1967 lines. (JTA)

Israelis take a stoical view of the chaos in neighboring countries. (New York Times)

Israelis are preparing for the consequences of a possible American strike on Syria. (New York Times)

Israel's former military intelligence chief says the US must choose the "best worst" option in Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Most Israelis don't think Syria will retaliate against them for an American strike, but they are preparing anyway. (Xinhua)

Israel approves a limited draft of military reservists. (Xinhua)

Israel pledges to hold Pres.Assad responsible if Hezbollah acts against Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli soldiers are disciplined for dancing while on patrol in the occupied Palestinian territories. (AP)

Israel arrests a Gaza man who was preparing to travel to a US-sponsored West Bank cultural event. (AP)

Some Palestinian schools in occupied East Jerusalem are switching to an Israeli curriculum. (Ma'an)

Israel backtracks on confiscating a Palestinian family's East Jerusalem hotel. (Ha'aretz)

A new Emergency Treatment Room of the Red Crescent Society Hospital in Jerusalem Is opened. (PNN)

Palestinian children are common all-but-invisible laborers in Israeli settlements. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Two more UC campuses are exonerated of fostering an anti-Semitic climate. (Los Angeles Times)


COMMENTARY:

Lee Hamilton says Israeli-Palestinian peace is still essential. (Politico)

Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman say Netanyahu must rein in extremists and his cabinet for peace talks to survive. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Akiva Eldar asks if there will be a place for Jews in a future Palestinian state. (Al Monitor)

Douglas Bloomfield says the US should rely more on public diplomacy, not threats, to keep Israel and the Palestinians at the negotiating table. (Jerusalem Post)

David Ignatius says US credibility is now on the line in Syria. (Washington Post)

Ari Shavit says the United States has no choice but to attack Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Eyad Abu Shakra says a US military strike will happen, but it's intentions are not yet clear. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Michael Young says US actions in Syria are likely to be limited. (The Daily Star)

Elias Harfoush says there seems to be a new Pres. Obama, thanks to Pres. Assad. (Al Hayat)

Manuel Almeida says Syria finds itself trapped between a warning and a game changer. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Gershon Baskin says increased security cooperation is essential to prevent further bloody confrontations in the occupied West Bank. (Jerusalem Post)

Amira Hass tries, in vain, to make sense of Israel's exit policies regarding Gaza residents. (Ha'aretz)

Carlo Strenger says Israel's right-wing doesn't realize the occupation is damaging its essential relations with the West. (Ha'aretz)

Hagai Segal says Israel's apology to Turkey over the deadly flotilla affair now looks like weakness. (YNet)

Joschka Fischer says Egypt, and much of the Middle East, is caught between dictatorship versus dictatorship. (Jordan Times)

Richard Behar asks why so many Palestinian high-tech entrepreneurs hated his cover story on their industry. (Forbes)

NEWS:

Four more Palestinian refugees are killed in the Syrian conflict. (Ma’an)

The Arab League denounces Syria for chemical weapons use but declines to back an American military response. (New York Times)

The US is seen as wanting to "punish" Syria for chemical weapons use but not seek immediate regime change. (AFP)

Iran says any attack against Syria would prompt retaliation against Israel. (New York Times)

Israel says it would retaliate against any attack. (Los Angeles Times)

Iran says Israeli "aggressions" against regional states must stop. (Xinhua)

Israel primarily fears Syrian missiles or nerve gas reaching Hezbollah. (Xinhua)

There is a rush in Israel for gas masks. (AP)

Palestinian police are investigating the killing of a Palestinian man by their own forces. (AP/Ma'an)

Experts say China has much at risk but little leverage in the Middle East. (Reuters)

Norway's FM warns Israel and the Palestinians that without progress, the world may stop bankrolling Palestinian state-building. (Jerusalem Post)

Other Gaza factions appear highly skeptical about Hamas' suggestions they join the government. (Al Monitor)

Egypt intensifies its crackdown on Gaza smuggling tunnels. (Daily Mail)

The US Dept. of Education dismisses complaints by Jewish students at UC Berkeley that criticism of Israel is "harassment." (Los Angeles Times)


COMMENTARY:

Michael Weiss says the US should try to oust Assad and lays out a scenario for how. (Foreign Affairs)

Frederic Hof evaluates Sec. Kerry's Syria speech. (Atlantic Council)

Aaron David Miller says the US has little to gain in Syria. (Foreign Policy)

Rami Khouri says there are no easy solutions in Syria. (The Daily Star)

Ali Ibrahim looks at American options in Syria. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Doyle McManus says the administration's goals in Syria are likely to be very modest. (Los Angeles Times)

David Rothkopf says whatever the administration does in Syria is likely to be too little, too late. (Foreign Policy)

Foreign Policy lists 35 sites in Syria it thinks are likely American targets. (Foreign Policy)

Nahum Barnea says Israel should not take any action in Syria. (New York Times)

Shlomi Eldar says Israel should be part of an anti-Assad coalition. (Al Monitor)

Anshel Pfeffer looks at American options in Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Mitch Ginsburg says, for Israel, it's a pity both sides in Syria can't lose. (Times of Israel)

Semih Idiz asks if Turkey's parliament will approve military action in Syria. (Al Monitor)

Khaled Diab says Israel remains a convenient scapegoat throughout the Islamic world. (Ha'aretz)

Ha'aretz says, if PM Netanyahu is serious about peace, he will stop damaging actions like the raid on Qalandiyah. (Ha'aretz)

Zvi Bar'el says Israel and the Palestinians have no choice but to cooperate in order to survive. (Ha'aretz)

Hillel Halkin says many Israelis feel vindicated by their skepticism about the "Arab Spring." (The Forward)

NEWS:

Palestinian source say, despite reports to the contrary, negotiators met in Jericho Monday night. (Xinhua/Ma'an)

Islamic Jihad joins Hamas in condemning the peace negotiations with Israel. (Al Monitor)

UNRWA condemns the killing of one of its staff members in Qalandia by Israeli occupation forces. (Ma'an)

Hamas is planning to execute another Palestinian convicted of spying for Israel. (Xinhua)

Suspected Jewish extremists attack an Arab neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. (AP)

A Palestinian family moves into a cave after Israeli occupation forces destroy their home in East Jerusalem. (Ha'aretz)

The PA security forces spokesman says Hamas is "in a state of hysteria." (Ma'an)

Pres. Peres calls on the UN to end the bloodshed in Syria. (AP)

Israeli intelligence is said to be central to the US case on chemical weapons against Syria. (Times of Israel)

An Israeli delegation meets with National Security Advisor Rice. (YNet)

Tel Aviv schools deny that they are segregating and discriminating against African migrant children. (Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian journalists protest press restrictions by Israel, the PA and Hamas. (Times of Israel)

Former Israeli soldiers in Australia speak frankly about occupation tactics. (The Australian)


COMMENTARY:

Hussein Ibish says any US intervention in Syria should be strategic and designed to change the balance of power on the ground. (Now Media)

Faisal Al Yafai says the Kosovo crisis has lessons for Syria today. (The National)

Diana Moukalled says Pres. Assad is proceeding with life as normal. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Akiva Eldar says the tragedy in Syria is a warning for Israel. (Al Monitor)

Shlomi Eldar says an American attack on Syria will achieve very little, if anything. (Al Monitor)

Ben Sales says some Israelis see potential American action in Syria as a harbinger for Iran. (JTA)

Mohammad Salah says Pres. Obama is right that US-Egypt relations will never be the same, but mainly because Egyptians' views have changed. (Al Hayat)

Roni Schocken says Israel is moving towards becoming more "Jewish" and less "democratic". (Ha'aretz)

Gershom Gorenberg says PM Netanyahu is an effective politician but an incompetent manager. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Avi Issacharoff says Palestinians will not accept explanations that "Israeli soldiers felt endangered" to justify killing demonstrators. (Times of Israel)

Amira Hass says individual horror stories cannot be ranked. (Ha'aretz)

Salman Masalha says the Arab world cannot move forward if it keeps looking back to its past. (Ha'aretz)

Shlomi Yass and Yuval Dagan look at surveys reflecting Arab views of democracy. (Jerusalem Post)

Diana Atallah and Linda Gradstein say the PA is moving to strengthen its ties with the new Egyptian government. (The Media Line)

NEWS:

At least 31 Palestinians are among the dead in an alleged chemical attack by Syrian government forces. (Ma'an/Ynet)

Pres. Assad warns the US against any intervention in Syria. (New York Times)

Israel urges American leaders to respond to Syrian "crimes." (AP)

Israelis do not believe they will be attacked if there is a US-led campaign against Syrian targets. (Times of Israel)

Under threat of further attacks, Hezbollah has turned its main neighborhood in Beirut into a fortress. (Christian Science Monitor)

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are also increasing. (The Media Line)

Three Palestinians are killed by Israeli occupation forces in a raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. (New York Times/AP/Reuters)

Palestinian negotiators say they have suspended Monday's meetings in protest of the killings. (Xinhua/Ma'an)

The PA condemns and calls for an inquiry into the Qalandia killings. (Xinhua/Ma'an)

Thousands attend funerals for the victims of the Qalandia killings. (Ma'an)

Pres. Abbas insists Palestinians want to achieve peace through negotiations. (Ma'an)

Israel's Housing Minister Ariel declares there will never be a two-state solution. (Jerusalem Post)

Hamas says it will invite other factions to participate in ruling Gaza. (Xinhua)

Israel insists it's pressing forward with 1,500 settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. (AP)

Egypt's FM Fahmi meets with Abbas in Ramallah, and expresses strong ties with Palestine. (Ma'an/Wafa)

Egypt reopens the Gaza border crossing after five days of closure. (New York Times/AP)

B’Tselem collects reports on torture and abuse against Palestinians by Israeli forces. (PNN)

Tel Aviv has introduced racially segregated kindergartens for African migrants. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Jewish-Muslim dialogue is growing around the world. (Times of Israel)

Hamas and Fatah crack down on each other in the West Bank and Gaza, respectively. (Al Monitor)

Palestinians pioneer sign language banking. (Al Monitor)


COMMENTARY:

Hussein Ibish says the US remains the most important player in the Middle East, despite self-doubts, and should lead. (The National)

Shaul Arieli says both Israelis and Palestinians have to prepare for the potential for negotiations to fail. (Ha'aretz)

Amos Harel says Israel must prepare for the consequences of US strikes against Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Mitch Ginsburg says it is in Israel's interest that Assad not prevail. (Times of Israel)

Oudeh Basharat says talk of Israel being a "Jewish state" boils down to anti-Arab racism. (Ha'aretz)

Leonard Fein says justice demands a boycott of the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. (The Forward)

Dmitry Shumsky says Israel is undermining its national project by castigating various minorities as inferior. (Ha'aretz)

Mostafa Zein says Pres. Obama is trapped between pragmatism and idealism in the Middle East. (Al Hayat)

Ibrahim Al-Othaimain says Israeli-Iranian relations are driven by interests, not ideology. (Arab News)

Dominique Moisi says Israel is the "unlikely winner" from the Arab uprisings. (The Daily Star)

Ben Caspit thinks UNSG Ban's Middle East visit shows the West's waning influence in the region. (Al Monitor)

India Stoughton looks at a new book on the Palestinian side of Israel's West Bank separation barrier. (The Daily Star)

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