News:

Palestinian officials condemn Israeli proposals for a 40-year military presence in the Jordan Valley following a peace agreement. (AP)

Palestinian officials say Israeli demands may scupper ongoing peace talks. (AFP)

Palestinian public employees cancel strikes planned for next week. (Ma'an)

The PA will ask for $500 million in international aid in meetings next week. (Xinhua)

Canada pledges C$5 million towards Palestinian economic growth. (Xinhua)

Egypt sentences five Palestinian fishermen to a year in prison for violating its territorial waters and fishing rules. (Ma'an)

Arab states may be again preparing to focus international attention on the question of Israel's nuclear weapons. (Reuters/Times of Israel)

Pres. Peres is planning to visit the Netherlands. (Jerusalem Post)

Iran is reportedly seeking a broad accord with the West on nuclear matters in order to end sanctions. (New York Times)

Mainstream Syrian rebels strongly condemn Al Qaeda. (AP)

Israel's internal security service warned some Palestinians may be joining Al Qaeda. (YNet)

Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria are being denied entry into Lebanon. (IRIN)

The US and its allies are targeting Hezbollah assets in Africa. (Reuters)

Commentary:

The PLO issues a report on "Israel's annexationist policies in the Jordan Valley." (PLO)

Gamil Matar says the new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks doesn't have much to build on. (Al-Ahram Weekly)

Lara Friedman says Israelis and Palestinians should face reality and not indulge in "magical thinking." (APN)

Saud Abu Ramadan says Hamas finds itself stranded in isolated in an economic and political nightmare. (Xinhua)

Avi Issacharoff says Hamas has become so desperate it may lash out against Israel. (Times of Israel)

Linah Alsaafin says Pres. Abbas' high poll numbers better reflect the lack of an alternative than his real popularity. (Al Monitor)

Shlomi Eldar says Israeli dissident artists pay a price for their political views. (Al Monitor)

Ron Pundak says all the parties have their share of the blame for the failure of the Oslo Accords. (Ha'aretz)

J.J. Goldberg says both Israelis and Palestinians feel betrayed by the outcome of the Oslo Accords. (The Forward)

Liat Collins says Oslo may not have worked, but ignoring Palestinians and boycotting Israel achieves nothing. (Jerusalem Post)

Haim Bresheeth says the Oslo accords were a disaster for the Palestinians. (Ahram Online)

Ha'aretz says there must be a thorough investigation into the death of an injured Palestinian worker. (Ha'aretz)

Shlomo Avineri says it's unreasonable to expect Arab states to resemble Western democracies. (Ha'aretz)

Pres. Rouhani appeals for more dialogue with the West. (Washington Post)

Ray Takeyh says Rouhani must be judged by deeds, not words. (Los Angeles Times)

Uri Savir says Pres. Obama has recognized the limitations of American power. (Jerusalem Post)

Alan Phillips says Pres. Assad is likely to survive in power for the meanwhile. (The National)

Michael Young says the real question now is what will come after Assad. (The Daily Star)

Maysoon Zayid praises TV personality and chef Anthony Bourdain's visit to Israel and Palestine. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)
 

News:

The IMF urges Israel to ease restrictions on the struggling Palestinian economy. (AFP)

Pres. Abbas meets with US envoy Indyk to discuss peace talks progress. (Jerusalem Post)

The PA reportedly says Israel has agreed to release another 250 Palestinian prisoners. (YNet)

Israel's finance minister Lapid hints at support for an interim agreement with the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli Bedouins call a pending mass relocation plan "another Nakba." (Christian Science Monitor)

Palestinians demand the removal of 100 Israeli cellular towers in the occupied West Bank. (Times of Israel)

The family of the Jenin man killed by Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday says he was shot "in cold blood." (Ma'an)

A PA meeting designed to form a new cabinet ends without any decision. (Ma'an)

Israel closes the al-Aqsa mosque compound and denies entrance to Muslim worshipers.  (Ma'an)

The PA cabinet condemns Israel's policies towards the al-Aqsa mosque. (PNN)

Hamas says it will make a film about capturing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and the prisoner swap with Israel. (Xinhua)

Two people are injured in clashes in a major Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. (Xinhua)

The war in Syria has reignited divisions among Palestinians over regional alignments. (Al Monitor)

In his upcoming UN speech, PM Netanyahu will reportedly focus on Iran. (New York Times)

A senior Israeli general says Pres. Assad could survive "for years." (Reuters)

Pres. Obama says it's hard to imagine the Syrian war ending with Assad in power. (Reuters)

Following the US-Russia deal on Syria, pro-Israel groups in Washington suspend lobbying on Syria. (JTA)

PM Netanyahu will visit the White House on September 30. (Xinhua)

Obama reportedly orders the distribution of nonlethal, anti-chemical weapons supplies to Syrian rebels. (Jerusalem Post)

Iran is reportedly increasing its aid to the PFLP to reward its pro-Syria policies. (Al Monitor)


Commentary:

Hussein Ibish and Saliba Sarsar say Israelis and Palestinians need two states, not "blood and magic," to resolve their conflict. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

David Mikics also critiques Ian Lustick's dismissal of a two-state solution. (Tablet)

Suhail Khalilieh thinks the legacy of the Oslo Accords may be better than many Palestinians feel. (Ma'an)

Abdulrahman al-Rashed says the Oslo Accords need to be carefully re-examined. (Al Arabiya)

Gershon Baskin says both sides are aware that a failure to reach an agreement could unleash another round of terrible violence. (Jerusalem Post)

Oudeh Basharat says Palestinians understand the importance and the limitations of the right of return much better than Israelis think. (Ha'aretz)

Zvi Bar'el thinks Iran may be genuinely seeking a new opening to the West. (Ha'aretz)

Avi Shilon says the US-Russian deal on Syria proves the success of Netanyahu's Iran policy. (Ha'aretz)

Ben Caspit says the Israeli right is increasingly worried Netanyahu might be willing to do a deal with the US involving concessions to the Palestinians in exchange for tougher US policies towards Iran. (Al Monitor)

Ariel Ben Solomon says following the US-Russia deal on Syria, Iran will seek a similar arrangement. (Jerusalem Post)

Mitch Ginsberg looks at Israel's stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. (Times of Israel)

Jonathan Cook says Israel wants to focus on chemical weapons not the war in Syria. (The National)

Rami Khouri thinks a new global order may be being born in the Geneva talks on Syria. (The Daily Star)

Hazem Saghieh says the Syrian regime's pan-Arab rhetoric has been exposed as self-serving bunk. (Al Hayat)

Hussam Itani says Syrian refugees now worry Lebanese more than Palestinians, but attitudes to both undermine the country's "civilized image." (Al Hayat)

Osama Al Sharif says restoring order to Sinai is now Egypt's main security test. (Gulf News)

Anwar Sadat's nephew Esmat al-Sadat says Egypt will keep the peace treaty with Israel even if the country is in "total chaos." (Al Monitor)

Harith Hasan says Saudi Arabia is vying with Iran for influence in Iraq. (Al Monitor)

Jonathan Schanzer looks at the activities of a key Hamas operative in Turkey. (Foreign Policy)