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NEWS:

Six more Palestinians are killed at a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. (Ma'an)

The UN appeals for aid for Palestinian refugees in Syria. (AFP)

Israeli business leaders tell PM Netanyahu stalled peace efforts and continued occupation will"ruin Israel's economy." (Ha'aretz)

Former Pres. Clinton says Israel must make peace in order to survive. (AP)

In trying to revive peace talks, Sec. Kerry is stymied by a profoundly divided Israeli government. (New York Times)

Palestinians demand "clarification" of Israeli Economy and Trade Minister Bennett's statement ruling out the possibility of a Palestinian state. (Xinhua)

Palestinian officials say recent statements contradicting a two-state solution by numerous Israeli officials show Israel has no interest in peace. (PNN)

Netanyahu insists Israel is still committed to a two-state solution. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli journalists meet with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah. (Al Monitor)

Palestinian citizens of Israel say a proposed new law greatly extending preferential treatment for military veterans is blatant discrimination. (The Media Line)

A Palestinian NGO claims Israel has a plan to expand Jerusalem by confiscating 5.5 acres of adjacent Palestinian land. (Ma'an)

Israeli police search for suspected Jewish extremist vandals who attacked an Arab town in Jerusalem, vandalizing at least 28 cars. (AP/Xinhua)

Israelis debate whether to call such "price tag" attacks "terrorism." (Christian Science Monitor)

Israeli settlers threaten to occupy a Palestinian village in the northern occupied West Bank. (Ma'an)

Hamas calls on Hezbollah to withdraw all its troops from Syria, even as the groups try to decrease tensions. (Xinhua/Al Monitor)

Many Israelis doubt the ability of the new Iranian president to change his country's policies. (Xinhua)

Seeking a larger role in the region, China is hosting a Middle East peace conference. (AP)

Islamist students vow to fight a PA crackdown on their activities in in the occupied West Bank. (Times of Israel)

Unemployment is promoting drug addiction in Gaza. (Al Monitor)

COMMENTARY:

Raphael Ahren asks why Israel is so afraid of the Arab Peace Initiative. (Times of Israel)

Ha'aretz says a new law being considered by the Knesset would greatly increase discrimination against Arabs and others in Israel, and intensify apartheid-like qualities of the state. (Ha'aretz)

David Newman says the proposed new law is definitely discriminatory, and some form of national service for all might be the answer. (Jerusalem Post)

Amos Harel says the election of Iran's new reformist president delays Israel's military options by at least a year. (Ha'aretz)

AP interviews Pres. Peres, who has just turned 90. (AP)

The Washington Post also interviews Pres. Peres. (The Washington Post)

Reuters also interviews Pres. Peres, who backs plans to arm Syrian rebels. (Reuters)

Pierre Klochendler looks at life in the Golan Heights in the shadow of the Syrian war. (Xinhua)

Uzi Baram says lack of honesty and credibility has become a virtual norm among Israeli politicians. (Ha'aretz)

Franco Rizzi says new PM Hamdallah has a history of working for intercultural dialogue. (Jerusalem Post)

Jim Torczyner says Pres. Abbas made a wise choice in appointing Hamdallah. (Jerusalem Post)

Akiva Eldar thinks the Israeli public is veering towards the left. (Al Monitor)

Elie Ferzli says Hamas fears renewed violence in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon due to tensions with Hezbollah. (Al Monitor)

Reuters looks at whether or not Israel has enacted any kind of "de facto settlement freeze" this year. (Reuters)

NEWS:

Yet another senior Israeli leader, Naftali Bennett, rules out the possibility of there ever being a Palestinian state. (Ha'aretz/AP)

EU foreign policy chief Ashton is visiting Israel, and is expected to say Israel's obsession with settlements is undermining peace efforts. (Jerusalem Post)

Israel and the PA agree on reviving economic cooperation, after finance ministers consult. (Xinhua/Ma'an)

The PA is putting on hold plans to try to register the ancient farming terraces of Battir, in the occupied West Bank, as a UNESCO world heritage site. (Ma'an)

Hamas is reportedly deploying a 600 member force to suppress rocket attacks against Israel. (Times of Israel)

Hamas says it hopes to maintain financial support from, and stable relations with, Iran under its new leadership. (Ma'an)

Hamas and Hezbollah play down their rift over Syria following talks in Lebanon. (The Daily Star)

Two Palestinian children face an unclear fate in Israeli detention. (Xinhua)

The UN says Palestinian refugee camps in Syria have become"theaters of war." (Ma'an)

Palestinians flee war-torn Syria only to encounter severe poverty in Gaza. (Xinhua)

Gaza's fuel shortage intensifies as Egypt tightens border restrictions. (Xinhua)

PM Hamdallah says the new PA cabinet will make Jerusalem a priority. (Ma'an)

A Palestinian delegation heads to Beijing to take part in a Chinese-sponsored peace conference. (Xinhua)

Eight Palestinian prisoners begin a hunger strike against solitary confinement. (Xinhua)

Israel passes new laws regarding extremist "price tag" Jewish vigilantes. (Xinhua)

A 75-year-old Palestinian woman says she was assaulted by Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem. (Ma'an)

Troops from Fiji will replace Austrian peacekeepers who left the Golan Heights. (YNet)

Gaza's Gypsies face racism on a daily basis. (Al Monitor)

A Palestinian soccer player who has found refuge in Scotland believes the game can be a key to peace. (The Herald)

Organ transplants bring Israelis and Palestinians closer. (Al Monitor)

COMMENTARY:

Daniel Barenboim says Israel has forgotten its moral courage and Jewish traditions by its occupation policies. (Ha'aretz)

Former IDF soldier Gil Hilel says, for occupation forces, there are no Palestinian civilians, only potential terrorists. (The Independent)

The Forward says Jewish-American leaders are ignoring Sec. Kerry's call for them to prod Israel on peace. (The Forward)

The Boston Globe says Kerry's economic investment plan is welcome, but no substitute for peace. (Boston Globe)

J.J. Goldberg says PM Netanyahu is deeply torn on the question of peace with the Palestinians. (The Forward)

Emily Hauser says Israeli leaders are ignoring the Arab Peace Initiative because most of them aren't interested in a two-state solution. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Ben Caspit says Netanyahu sounds like the Prophet Jeremiah, warning of constant doom. (Al Monitor)

German Amb. Michaelis says German and EU labeling of settlement products is simple fact and honesty to consumers. (Jerusalem Post)

Nathan Guttman says Samantha Power's commitment to Israel's security is well-established. (The Forward)

The BBC looks at the past six years of Hamas-Fatah division. (BBC)

Aluf Benn looks at a new book about David Ben-Gurion. (Ha'aretz)

Oudeh Basharat says it's time Jewish Israelis realize that it's in their interests for conditions for Arab citizens to improve. (Ha'aretz)

Mazal Mualem says Israel's Foreign Ministry feels completely shut out of policymaking. (Al Monitor)

NEWS:

Israel is seeking massive low-interest US bridge loans of billions of dollars for a Pentagon-proposed package of V-22 Ospreys, F-15 radars and precision-strike weaponry. (Defense News)

American lawmakers are proposing to triple US aid for Israeli missile defense programs. (Jerusalem Post)

The State Department calls Israel's new settlement projects "unhelpful," but says it remains hopeful about the prospects for new negotiations. (Times of Israel/KUNA)

Israel's right-wing housing minister claims there has been a de facto "settlement freeze" in occupied East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year, and says settler complaints should be targeted at the PM's office. (Xinhua/Jerusalem Post)

FM Al-Malki denounces comments from Deputy DM Danon that "there will never be a Palestinian state." (Ma'an)

A senior Palestinian official says PM Netanyahu "is not an extremist," but that he must freeze settlement activity before negotiations resume. (Times of Israel)

UK Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, says "a Palestinian state without Gaza is inconceivable." (PNN)

Report suggests Sweden may cut aid to Palestinians, given the lack of progress on negotiations with Israel. (PNN)

Israeli police say Jewish extremists have torched two Palestinian cars in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem, and vandalized a Christian cemetery in Jaffa. (AP/Xinhua)

Thousands of Bedouins protest Israeli plans for their eviction from the southern Negev desert. (Xinhua)

The Israeli military denies allegations soldiers forced a Muslim Palestinian to drink wine at gunpoint. (Ma'an)

The Israeli military says it has discovered two tunnels under its West Bank separation barrier (Ma'an)

Palestinian lawyers say they will stage a one-day strike to protest an alleged assault on one of their members by anti-drug police in Bethlehem. (Ma'an)

Former Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails recount their experiences. (Al Monitor)

Some Israeli parents object to their children visiting an amusement park accused of "apartheid" policies against Palestinians. (Ha'aretz)

The West Bank’s only ballet school offers a refuge for Palestinian kids. (PRI)

Palestinian refugee elders in Lebanon keep traditions alive by various means including hosting traditional weddings. (VOA)

COMMENTARY:

Abdulmajeed Swelem says former PM Fayyad was, and will continue to be, a "warrior" for Palestine. (Al Ayam, translated by ATFP)

David Makovsky says Europe should get tough with the Palestinians, and the US get tough with Israel, for the sake of peace. (New York Times)

The Jerusalem Post says there is a troubling incoherence in the Israeli governments conflicting comments about policy towards a two-state solution. (Jerusalem Post)

Akiva Eldar also says the Israeli government needs to decide once and for all if it's for a two-state solution or not. (Al Monitor)

Uri Dromi also says Israel needs clarity regarding its position on Palestinian statehood. (Miami Herald)

Lorenzo Kamel points out that the alternative to a two-state solution is more conflict, not a one-state solution of any kind. (Al Monitor)

Matthew Kalman lists seven ways he thinks Netanyahu is destroying Israeli diplomacy. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Daniel Levy says it's ridiculous to call European labeling of Israeli settlement products "anti-Semitic." (Ha'aretz)

Mira Sucharov says Jewish youths need to learn that ending the reoccupation and allowing a Palestinian state is a win-win scenario. (Ha'aretz)

Ha'aretz says Israel must close the huge gaps in standard of living between Jewish and Arab citizens. (Ha'aretz)

Salman Masalha says Islamic movements are dangerous for Palestinian citizens of Israel, just like Jewish extremism is for Jewish Israelis, and Israel should simply ban all religious parties. (Ha'aretz)

Oded Even-Or says both Israeli and Palestinian groups train youngsters for violence. (YNet)

David Weinberg says Jewish refugees from Arab states need justice too. (Jerusalem Post)

Jeanette Horowitz says even though Boulder decided not to become a sister city with Nablus, real progress was made in the process. (JTA)

Mohammed Suliman describes the difficulties of crossing from Gaza to Egypt. (Al Monitor)

Ha'aretz interviews Mohammed Dajani, who is convinced his moderate movement will ultimately become a dominant Palestinian political force, but not in his lifetime. (Ha'aretz)

NEWS:

Israel says it's going forward with plans for 1,000 new settler housing units in the occupied West Bank. (AP/Xinhua/AFP)

Deputy DM Danon says there will never be a Palestinian state, and Palestinians must be governed by Jordan. (Ma'an)

Another Likud party MK says Palestinians are "not ready for a state," and Israel should seek an interim, rather than a final status, agreement. (Jerusalem Post)

Likud MK Levin becomes the head of the annexationist, "greater Israel," caucus in the Knesset. (Times of Israel)

PM Netanyahu calls for renewed peace talks "immediately." (AP/Times of Israel)

Palestinian officials say their only "precondition" is that talks be based on the 1967 borders. (YNet)

Palestinian officials say they fear extremists in the Israeli government will make progress on peace impossible, and say they can't guarantee there won't be another intifada. (Jerusalem Post/YNet)

A Yesh Atid party MK warns that the occupation will turn Israel into another South Africa. (YNet)

The PA strongly objects to Israeli construction plans at Jerusalem holy sites. (Jerusalem Post)

Israelis and Palestinians have radically different perspectives on the notorious Tarqumiya crossing, used mainly by Palestinian workers going to jobs in Israel. (Ha'aretz)

The UN says it is urgently seeking new peacekeeping forces for the Golan Heights. (New York Times)

Netanyahu opens a new educational pavilion at Auschwitz, and says Iran threatens a second Holocaust. (AP)

Israeli police say suspected Jewish extremists have desecrated a Christian cemetery in Tel Aviv. (AP/AFP)

Israeli police arrest Jewish teenagers suspected of attacking an Arab taxi driver. (Xinhua)

Israel denies press reports it sold weapons to Pakistan. (Xinhua)

A Palestinian man is indicted for the murder of an Israeli settler. (Times of Israel)

Hamas says it intends to execute two Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Singer Mohammad Assaf thanks his fans in Palestine for supporting him in the final stages of the Arab Idol TV singing competition. (Ma'an)

The Palestinian consumer price index rises very slightly over the past month. (PNN)

Jordanian and Israeli medical students complete their first joint emergency medicine training program. (YNet)

Some Gaza farmers want to increase exports to Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Couples continue to be frustrated by thelack of civil marriage in Israel. (The Media Line)

Israel’s Mossad chief Pardo meets the head of Turkish intelligence. (Hürriyet)

The campaign for Palestinian civil rights in Lebanon finds itself in limbo. (Daily Star)

COMMENTARY:

Ari Shavit says Israel's new settlement surge threatens the two-state solution, a Jewish and democratic state, and "the Zionist dream." (Ha'aretz)

Mazal Mualem interviews former Meretz leader Oron, who worries about "the collapse of the Zionist enterprise." (Al Monitor)

Gershon Baskin says the main challenge facing peace at the moment is the depth of despair and dearth of optimism. (Jerusalem Post)

Roy Isacowitz says Israeli leaders should learn empathy, courage and compromise from Nelson Mandela. (Ha'aretz)

Dalia Hatuqa says the appointment of PM Hamdallah will change little. (The National)

Ha'aretz says Israel cannot continue without an actual Foreign Minister. (Ha'aretz)

Alex Fishman says Israel should avoid military actions given the volatility of the Middle East. (YNet)

Lily Galili looks at how Russian immigrants to Israel view the conflict with the Palestinians. (Al Monitor)

Jacob Heilbrunn insists the US-Israeli relationship is in flux, and hopes Sec. Kerry's efforts succeed despite all the obstacles. (The National Interest)

AP interviews the new Palestinian economics minister Mohammad Mustafa, who says the outlook is bleak. (AP)

Hani Almadhoun looks at the Mohammad Assaf cultural phenomenon among Palestinians. (Huffington Post)

NEWS:

PM Netanyahu distances himself from a joint statement with Poland that endorses "a two-state solution" and says "unilateral steps by either party are counterproductive." (Ha'aretz/Times of Israel)

Meretz MK Gal-On says Netanyahu's backtracking on the statement with Poland shows he's no partner for peace. (Jerusalem Post)

UK officials warn Israel faces increased international isolation if new US peace efforts fail. (Jerusalem Post)

Netanyahu forbids Likud ministers from attending the launch of a Knesset pro-settlement caucus. (Ha'aretz)

For years Britain has refused to provide Israel with some military equipment, on the grounds it might add to "internal repression" and damage regional stability. (Ha'aretz)

The new Palestinian cabinet discusses the deepening PA financial crisis. (Xinhua/Jerusalem Post)

A "temporary" ban on Palestinians living in Israel with their spouses enters its 10th year. (AP)

The UN human rights investigator for the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, rebuffs calls for him to resign over criticism of Israel's abuse of Palestinians "on a massive scale." (Reuters/BBC)

Palestinians claim Israeli occupation forces made a Muslim Palestinian drink wine at gunpoint. (Ma'an)

Austrian UN peacekeepers begin their pullout from the Golan Heights, although the UN asked them for more time to prepare. (AP/Reuters)

The Israeli military says, with arms from Iran being withheld, Hamas is looking for new sources of weapons. (Times of Israel)

PA and Egyptian officials discuss Hamas' alleged involvement in prison breaks during the Egyptian uprising in 2011. (Ma'an)

Sec. Hagel and DM Yaalon will meet this week. (JTA)

The City Council of Boulder, Colorado, rejects a proposal to become a sister city with Nablus. (JTA)

COMMENTARY:

Ali Ayyad says, as with many other Palestinians, Israel is using its 1950 Absentee Property Law to steal his land. (Ha'aretz)

Shlomo Sand says he remains committed to a two-state solution despite allegations to the contrary. (Ha'aretz)

Bradley Burston says the end of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state might be nearer even than Leon Wieseltier fears. (Ha'aretz)

Shimon Shiffer says Tzipi Livni will eventually realize she can't be the fig leaf for the current Israeli government's pretense of wanting a two-state solution. (YNet)

Brent Sasley says Livni's threat to leave the government is misguided and empty. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Brent Sasley also says Israel's "kitchen cabinet" style internal negotiations lead to foreign-policy blunders. (The Atlantic)

Asmaa al-Ghoul says Hamas is struggling to balance its ideology with the practical realities of governance. (Al Monitor)

Elhanan Miller says Israel's peace with Egypt and Jordan is growing even colder. (Times of Israel)

Gil Troy says Samantha Power’s nomination for UN Amb. is another indication of the Obama Administration's new "tough love" approach to Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Stuart Reigeluth says Israel is too committed to war to accept a promising new chance for peace. (Gulf News)

Timon Dias says the EU doesn't understand it's actually the Palestinians who don't want peace. (Jerusalem Post)

Abeer Ayyoub says Israeli travel restrictions keep Palestinian couples apart. (Al Monitor)

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