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News:

Israel's security cabinet approves extending the fortified fence along its Egyptian border into a section of the frontier with neighboring Jordan. (Reuters/Ynet/Jerusalem Post)

Israel blocks a boat leading a four-vessel protest flotilla of foreign activists from reaching Gazaand forced the vessel to sail to an Israeli port. (Reuters/AP/Washington Post/AFP/PNN/JTA/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

A Palestinian official says Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan jailed by Israel has agreed to end a 56- day hunger strike in exchange for a pledge that he would go free next month. (Reuters/AP/Ma’an/PNN/Ha’aretz)

A Palestinian woman stabs a female Israeli soldier at a military checkpoint in Bethlehem. (Ma’an/PNN/JTA/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades plans to invite PM Netanyahu and Pres. Abbas to speak before EU leaders. (Ha’aretz)

Senior Egyptian and Israeli officials meet in Cairo for the first time since 2011. (Times of Israel/Reuters)

Hamas orders the closing of the main office of Jawwal, the only cellular telephone company operating in Gaza, and demands that it pay taxes to the Gaza government. (Ha’aretz)

PM Hamdallah meets with a UN official to discuss reconstruction in Gaza, where thousands remain homeless. (Ma’an)

Qatar is to create work opportunities for up to 20,000 Palestinians. (Ma’an)

The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, is one of the few coexistence initiatives to weather the hatred and violence that have erupted on both sides over the past year. (New York Times)

DM Ya'alon says Israel has been forced recently to deal with preventing retaliation against Syrian Druze. (Ha’aretz)

Kuwait identifies the suicide bomber behind its worst militant attack as a young Saudi Arabian man. (Reuters/New York Times/AP/Washington Post/The National)

Crucial questions remain as Iran nuclear talks approach the deadline. (New York Times)

Analysts and officials say a final deal to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute could heighten domestic political tensions with two major elections looming in Iran. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish says Pres. Abbas  must reverse the travesty over Salam Fayyad’s organisation if he wants to protect his legacy. (The National)

Adnan Abu Amer says the many currents within Fatah are at war as to whom should lead the movement and succeed Pres. Abbas. (Al-Monitor)

Ira Stup looks at why students are turning to BDS. (The Forward)

Elhanan Miller looks at Israel’s Druze dilemma. (Times of Israel)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed looks at the deadlock in Yemen. (Asharq al Awsat)

Ray Takeyh looks at Iran’s payoff after a nuclear deal with the P5+1. (Washington Post)

News:

UNSG Ban urges Israel to protect the lives of Palestinian children. (AFP/JTA/Reuters)

PM Netanyahu accuses UNSG Ban of hypocrisy after he criticized Israel for the death and suffering of Palestinian children. (Ha’aretz/Times of Israel/Jerusalem Post) 

Palestinian leaders plan to submit their first file against Israel to the International Criminal Courtnext week. (JTA/AFP/Jerusalem Post)

PM Hamdallah says the fate of the Palestinian government will be decided on Monday. (PNN)

Israeli police detain and release 16 young Jewish settlers after an overnight arson attack damaged a revered shrine in northern Israel. (AFP/JTA)

The Join List calls for the dismissal of the israeli police chief after the church torching. (Ha’aretz)

Palestinian chief negotiator Erekat issues a 56-page report on Palestinian-Israeli relations, calling for a comprehensive review of the current status quo. (Ma’an/Times of Israel/Ynet)

Two people are killed in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon in a clash between hardline Islamists and members of Fatah. (AP)

Druze in the Israeli-held Golan fear for their Syrian brethren. (Reuters)

The Pentagon says the US effort to build a moderate Syrian opposition force that can stand up to ISIS is moving more slowly than expected. (Reuters)

ISIS-imposed fuel embargo is threatening Syria’s medical centers. (New York Times)

Al-Qaeda denies that jihadist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar had been killed in an American airstrike in Libya this week. (New York Times)

The Tunisian government says consular staff kidnapped in Libya have returned home. (Reuters/The National)

Former Pres. Morsi will appeal against a conviction for violence, kidnapping and torture imposed by a court. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Alan Philps says as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, there are some things that can be done as a priority. (The National)

The National says the long arm of Israel’s military occupation prevents Palestinian self-government. (The National)

Ahmad Melhem says Palestinians see no reason to negotiate as Israeli settlements continue. (Al-Monitor)

Efraim Halevy says Hamas has become Israel’s frenemy. (Ynet)

Barak Ravid looks at how former Amb. Oren sold out US-Israel ties to “sell a few more books.” (Ha’aretz)

Akiva Eldar says former Amb. Oren’s memoir drama hurts israel. (Al-Monitor)

J.J. Goldberg looks at why Amb. Oren’s blame game on Israel is so wrongheaded. (The Forward)

Ha’aretz says Israel must help Syria’s Druze. (Ha’aretz)

Raed Omari asks if Pres. Assad’s downfall is imminent. (Al Arabiya)

Charles Krauthammer looks at a new strategy for Syria and Iraq. (Washington Post)

Ali Ibrahim looks at why the West misread Egypt. (Asharq al-Awsat)

Koert Debeuf and Ayman Abdelmeguid say the generation that launched the Tahrir Square revolution in 2011 is changing Egypt again. (Foreign Policy)

News:

Hamas rejects any unilateral dissolution of the Palestinian unity government. (Ma’an/AFP) 

A Hamas leader says he expects that it will soon be possible to extend the temporary truce with Israel to a period of 5 years. (PNN/AFP)

FM Fabius will meet with PM Netanyahu to discuss plans to push UNSC resolution on Palestinian statehood.(Jerusalem Post)

US Amb. to Israel Shapiro says Amb. Oren’s claims about Pres. Obama “don’t reflect the truth.” (Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli civil rights group has called on the Coca Cola company to sever its ties with its Palestinian subsidiary over calls by its head to boycott Israel. (JTA)

The PA hasn’t applied for full membership to the UN’s World Tourism Organization and is still an observer member, says UNWTO Sec. Talab al-Rifai. (Ma’an)

The Knesset extends for another year the law that allows the government to avoid granting Israeli citizenship or residency status to Palestinians married to Israelis. (Ha’aretz)

The Israeli government has frozen funding for an Arab theater over controversial play. (JTA)

Israel’s High Court rules that a room in the home of a Palestinian family residing in the al-Thuri neighborhood of Jerusalem must be sealed. (Ma’an)

Amb. Power assures Congress that Washington was committed to combating efforts to “delegitimize” Israel. (Times of Israel)

Sec. Kerry says he discussed Syria's use of chemical weapons with Russia and the international community's patience with Pres. Assad's behavior is wearing thin. (Reuters)

Syrian rebels announce a major offensive to capture remaining positions held by the Syrian military in Quneitra province. (Reuters)

Yemen's warring parties have agreed at UN-sponsored peace talks on the need for a ceasefirebut the details remain under discussion. (Reuters)

Iran and the P5+1 are reportedly still apart on all main elements of a nuclear deal and will likely have to extend their negotiations. (AP)

Def. Sec. Carten and Gen. Dempsey will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the Middle East.(AP)

Commentary:

Yossi Mekelberg says the recent “born in Israel” ruling by the Supreme Court is in many ways a lifeline to Obama. (Al Arabiya)

Raphael Ahren interviews Jordanian Amb. to Israel Walid Obeidat. (Times of Israel)

Ron Kampeas asks if former Amb. Oren’s call for no surprises in US-Israel ties possible. (JTA)

Akiva Eldar says Netanyahu must prove “good faith” to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. (Al-Monitor)

The Daily Star looks at the new “Geneva blockbuster” on the Yemen peace talks.  (Daily Star)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed asks if all secrets regarding the P5+1 talks with Iran have been exposed. (Al Arabiya)

Caleb Lauer looks at power politics in Turkey after the country's recent parliamentary elections. (The National)

News:

During his visit to South Africa, Pres. Abbas urges African countries to boycott goods produced by Israeli-owned companies in the occupied West Bank. (PNN)

According to a new report Israel says it was “justified under international law” for launching its operation in Gaza last summer. (JTA/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel/Ynet)

PM Netanyahu says reading the UN Human Rights Council's report on Israel's alleged war crimes during last summer's war in Gaza was a "waste of time." (Ha’aretz/Reuters/Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli army jeep strikes and kills a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, with the military and locals giving conflicting accounts of the circumstances. (Reuters/Ma’an/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel/The National)

Israeli ministers approve a bill that would allow prisoners on hunger strike to be force fed if their life is in danger. (AFP/PNN/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel/Reuters)

The Israeli army says soldiers seen on video beating an unarmed Palestinian receive punishment ranging from confinement to base to a verbal rebuke. (AFP/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

Egypt opens the Rafah crossing in both directions, and is expected to keep the crossing open for the next three days. (Ma’an)

A $35 billion Norwegian insurance firm has excluded two cement companies from its investment portfolio over their business in the occupied West Bank. (JTA)

An organization of former Israeli soldiers, Breaking the Silence, is coming increasingly under fire.(AP)

17 people were killed in Iraq in clashes between ISIS militants and pro-government forces in a town close to the biggest refinery. (Reuters)

Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition bomb Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa overnight as the country's warring factions prepared for talks. (Reuters)

UNSG Ban calls for a two-week truce in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid. (Reuters/AP/New York Times)

Iran's deputy FM will discuss Yemen's conflict at a meeting of a pan-Islamic body hosted by its regional rival Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

The US military says it launched weekend airstrikes targeting and likely killing an al-Qaeda linked militant leader in eastern Libya. (AP/New York Times/AP/The National)

Pres. Rouhani says that he expected relief from economic sanctions within a “couple of months” after an agreement with the P5+1  was signed. (New York Times)

Commentary:

Hussein Ibish says Jerusalem is a final status issue to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians. (The National)

Gideon Levy says the IDF should have been the first to press for a true investigation of the death of three boys shelled on Gaza's coast - instead it blamed Hamas. (Ha’aretz)

Ha’aretz says Israel’s Supreme Court is sponsoring anti-Palestinian discrimination. (Ha’aretz)

Haviv Rettig-Gur looks at Lapid’s recent trip to Washington. (Times of Israel)

Mohammed Othman says professional Palestinian soccer players, especially those in Gaza, are bound by restrictive contracts and low pay. (Al-Monitor)

Brian Klaas and Jason Pack say Western diplomacy is mistakenly focused on who we want to have in power rather than who actually wields it. (New York Times)

Jeffrey Lewis says Fareed Zakaria is wrong and Saudi Arabia can build a bomb whenever it wants. (Foreign Policy)

Salman Al Ansari asks if a nuclear Saudi Arabia is inevitable if Iran acquires the bomb. (Al Arabiya)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says criticizing Shiite militias does not express Sunni sectarianism as long as we hold both sides to the same moral standards. (Al Arabiya)

Sharif Nashashibi says the Lebanese people should not be held hostage to the rivalry between Israel and Iran. (Al Arabiya)

 

News:

The Israeli military issues an update on its internal inquiries, saying neither Israeli nor international laws were broken in several deadly clashes during last summer’s war in Gaza.(New York Times/AFP/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

The relatives of one of four Palestinian children killed on a Gaza beach during last summer’s war are outraged that the investigation into their deaths has been closed.(AP/Times of Israel)

PM Netanyahu will meet with the chief executive of French telecom giant Orange SA to discuss the CEO's recent comments on pulling out of Israel. (AP/AFP/JTA/Times of Israel)

Palestinians in Gaza fire a rocket toward southern Israel but it lands inside the Palestinian territory. (AFP/JTA/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

Pres. Abbas inaugurates the headquarters of the Palestinian embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. (Ma’an/PNN)

Israel’s Supreme Court dismisses a petition that seeks to give Palestinians local planning rights in the occupied West Bank. (JTA/Times of Israel)

The Washington Post asks whether Israel can stop international boycotts. (Washington Post)

Gen. Dempsey says the US is considering building more military bases in Iraq. (Reuters/New York Times/AP)

The Syrian government says it has faced worse times and is confident its army can hit back with the help of its allies. (Reuters)

Syrian Druze are reportedly reconsidering their alliances after a deadly attack. (New York Times)

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed will hold separate "proximity" talks with Yemen's two main warring parties in Geneva on Sunday. (Reuters)

Tourist sites are on alert as militants go for Egypt’s economic lifeline.(Reuters/AP)

Commentary:

Akiva Eldar explains why Israelis should pay attention to the recent US Supreme Court decision. (Al-Monitor)

Robert Swift says photography seeks to show the good and the bad in Gazan children’s daily lives. (The Media Line)

Shmuel Rosner says Pres. Rivlin is a great conciliator, but he’s been a miserable failure when it comes to relations with non-Orthodox Jews. (New York Times)

Ron Kampeas says a speech at a Washington synagogue and other Jewish outreach efforts have done little to boost Pres. Obama’s approval ratings among Jewish-Americans. (JTA)

Zack Gold says Egypt will not declare Hamas a terror group and looks at what does that mean for Israel. (Ha’aretz)

Ha’aretz interviews opposition leader Herzog. (Ha’aretz)

David Horovitz and Raphal Ahren interview former FM Lieberman. (Times of Israel)

David Ignatius asks who has a tougher plan for Iraq. (Washington Post)

Alan Philps says the US's policy on combating ISIS seems geared more at helping fellow Democrats in US elections rather than the citizens of Iraq and Syria. (The National)

The New York Times says deploying American troops in Anbar Province may accomplish little in the long run, if past is prologue. (New York Times)

Fareed Zakaria looks at why Saudi Arabia will not get atomic weapons, (Washington Post)

Daniel Sobelman says Hezbollah’s friends in Yemen are trying to lure the Saudis into a ground war. (Foreign Policy)

Osman Mirghani says Libya must not be left to ISIS. (Asharq al-Awsat)

Abdallah Schleifer says this week’s terrorist attack in Egypt may herald the beginning of a more murderous phase of Islamist warfare against both the Egyptian state and society.



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