News:

PM Netanyahu says Israel is not obliged to agree to all of the terms of Sec. Kerry’s framework. (PNN/Ynet)

Israeli newspapers speculate on the soon-to-be-unveiled “Kerry plan.” (Ha’aretz/The Jerusalem Post)

A Palestinian official says Israelis are welcome to apply for immigration to the future Palestinian state. (The Media Line)

Fatah says Hamas has not yet replied to its reconciliation proposal. (Ma’an)

Israeli occupation forces kill a Palestinian man in the West Bank. (AP/Reuters)

Israeli occupation forces detain eight Palestinians in overnight raids across the West Bank. (Ma’an)

Israeli Economy Minister Bennett might lose his job over personal attacks against Netanyahu. (Xinhua/Ha’aretz)

Netanyahu postpones a ministerial meeting on the growing threat of boycotts and sanctions against Israel. (Ha’aretz)

Netanyahu expresses concern over alleged continuing anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian press. (Ha’aretz)

FM Zarif accuses Israel of using the nuclear issue to distract from its “crimes” against the Palestinians. (Times of Israel/Ynet)

Negotiators resume Syrian peace talks amid declining expectations. (AP/The New York Times)

Pres. Obama promises more support for the Syrian opposition. (AP)

The Al-Qaeda inspired ISIS group in Syria is selling oil to the Assad regime. (The New York Times)

15 are killed in Iraq as clashes continue in Anbar province. (Xinhua)

Obama threatens to veto new economic sanctions against Iran in his State of the Union address. (AP/JTA)

PM Erdogan visits Iran in an effort to mend ties. (Reuters/AP)

Tunisia’s parliament approves a caretaker government. (The National)

Libya’s interior minister Karim escapes an assassination attempt in Tripoli. (AFP)

Egypt refers 20 journalists from the Al Jazeera network to trial. (AP)

Commentary:

ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Israel’s future requires a peace agreement and a state of Palestine. (Huffington Post)

Thomas Friedman says Kerry would have to declare the end of the negotiated two-state solution if his plan fails. (The New York Times)

Herb Keinon says agreeing to the framework deal with the Palestinians will not bring down Netanyahu’s coalition. (The Jerusalem Post)

Debra DeLee says her love for Israel inspires her opposition to generalize boycotts against the country but staunch opposition to settlements and their products. (Forward)

Kara Bue says Kerry’s focus on Mideast peace is coming at the expense of other US strategic interests. (The Christian Science Monitor)

Peter Beinart says the Obama administration should stay away from this year’s AIPAC Conference. (Ha’aretz)

Yaron Friedman says cutting Arabic studies in Israel will harm both Israeli intelligence services and the chances of dialogue with Arabs. (Ynet)

Rime Allaf says drawn out talks in Geneva will only benefit the Assad regime. (Gulf News)

The Jordan Times says the Geneva II talks are destined for failure and the fighting in Syria will continue without direct intervention. (Jordan Times)

Hassan Hassan condemns controversial fatwas by noted cleric Qaradawi that encourage violence. (The National)

Alasdair Soussi says car bombs continue to be influential instruments of terror in the Middle East. (The National)

Horacio Falcao says American-Iranian negotiations will be a long process but has begun well. (Gulf News)

Michael Young says by implementing Iran’s strategy in Lebanon, Hezbollah is provoking a civil war. (The National)

Diana Moukalled says the Hariri Special Tribunal is improving the judicial standards in the region. (Asharq Alawsat)

The National says political developments in Tunisia and elsewhere show strong ongoing support  for secular ideals in the Arab world. (The National)

Max Strasser asks whether Gen. Sissi is “turning back the clock to the Nasser era in Egypt.” (Foreign Policy)

News:

Pres. Abbas says the Israeli military can stay for no more than three years in any part of Palestine if a peace agreement is signed. (The Jerusalem Post/The New York Times)

Palestinian negotiators are in Washington to seek further clarifications on the potential framework agreement. (Ha’aretz)

DM Ya'alon questions the PA’s ability to maintain security in the West Bank. (Ha'aretz/The Jerusalem Post/Reuters)

Hamas will allow 120 Fatah members to return to Gaza as a “goodwill gesture.” (Ma’an)

An additional seven Palestinian refugees die of hunger and lack of medical care at the Yarmouk camp in Syria. (Ma’an)

Israeli forces detain 22 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)

A Palestinian man leaves an Israeli prison with two university degrees. (AP)

A proposed extension of Israel’s separation barrier could split two Palestinian villages near Bethlehem. (AFP)

An Israeli contractor plans a “Jewish-only” residential project in Jaffa. (Ha'aretz)

Israel keeps Arab teachers out of Jewish religious schools. (Ha'aretz)

The PA is looking to offshore gas to increase its revenues. (Bloomberg)

Oxfam faces pressure to drop Scarlett Johansson as an ambassador over her SodaStream commercial. (Ha’aretz)

The Syria peace talks focus on transfer of power and humanitarian aid. (AP/Reuters)

The US accuses the Syrian regime of harming talks by denying aid. (Reuters)

A US ship will help destroy chemical weapons removed from Syria. (AP/The New York Times)

Lebanese FM Mansour expresses his support for a political solution to the Syrian conflict. (Xinhua)

Former Pres. Morsi appears in court and says he remains Egypt’s president. (AP/The Wall Street Journal)

Tunisia asks the international community for financial support. (Reuters)

Iraq will receive six leased American Apache helicopters in the summer, awaiting the sale of another 24. (Xinhua/Foreign Policy)

Iran says it will preserve and maintain its “peaceful” nuclear program. (Xinhua)

Commentary:

Miriam Awadallah says Israel can and should stop “price tag” attacks. (Huffingtonpost)

Barak Ravid says the Palestinians should accept Sec. Kerry’s framework to test PM Netanyahu’s seriousness. (Ha’aretz)

Sara Hirschhorn says settlers should be allowed to remain in the future Palestinian state. (Ha’aretz)

The Jerusalem Post says if the Palestinians are truly interested in peace then they should tolerate a Jewish minority in their state. (The Jerusalem Post)

Akiva Eldar says Netanyahu’s insistence on controlling the Jordan Valley is politically driven and linked to the settlers’ agenda. (Al Monitor)

Ron Ben-Yishai predicts more violence in the West Bank due to the PA’s “failing governance.” (Ynet)

Sharif Nashashibi asks whether Netanyahu is preparing for another war against Gaza. (Al Arabiya)

David Zonshine says thousands of hi-tech professionals could lose their jobs as result of  international outrage over Israel’s settlement activities. (Ha’aretz)

Faisal Al Yafai says the international community must not allow Geneva II to drag on endlessly. (The National)
 
The National says the Assad regime is positioning itself to claim the moral high ground when the talks fail. (The National)

Michael Glackin say the latest evidence of systematic torture should increase the likelihood of Pres. Assad facing a war crimes tribunal. (The Daily Star)

Camelia Entekhabi-Fard says Iran was more interested in Davos than Geneva II. (Al Arabiya)

The Gulf News says Ennahda may win popularity from their “constructive role” in the approval of the Tunisian constitution. (The Gulf News)

Mohammed Al Ardhi calls on the Gulf governments to invest in human development. (The National)