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NEWS: Israelis are divided, others outraged, over new segregated bus lines for Jews and Arabs in the occupied West Bank. (New York Times/CSM) Pres. Abbas reportedly urges Sec. Kerry to pressure Israel on settlements at a meeting in Saudi Arabia yesterday. (Jerusalem Post) VP Biden and PM Netanyahu stress points of unity at the AIPAC conference. (New York Times) Netanyahu calls for a "credible military threat" against Iran. (Xinhua) UNRWA cancels a Gaza marathon after Hamas bans women runners. (AP) A settler rabbi who promoted peace has passed away. (AP) The PA says settlers have built a new wildcat outpost near Nablus. (Ma'an) Analysts believe Netanyahu probably can form a new government in his two week extended window. (Xinhua) PM Fayyad and Abbas issue conflicting statements about the resignation of finance minister Qassis. (Ma'an) Palestinians say some European labor unions may have agreed to boycott Israeli settlements. (PNN) A bill is introduced in Congress describing Israel as "a major strategic ally" and solidifying aspects of the relationship. (Jerusalem Post) Hamas scolds protesters that self immolation is "un-Islamic." (Al Monitor)

COMMENTARY: Dennis Ross suggests a series of unilateral and bilateral steps Israel and the Palestinians could take to improve conditions for peace. (New York Times) Noam Sheizaf offers his critique of Ross' suggestions. (+972) Moshe Arens says Israel should tear down the West Bank separation barrier. (Ha'aretz) Akiva Eldar looks at a new book by Elie Podeh that examines real opportunities for peace that have been missed and ones that were illusory. (Al Monitor) Octavia Nasr says that, to her, Ramallah sums up Palestine. (Al Arabiya) Ha'aretz says the new segregated bus lines in the occupied West Bank are the road to racism. (Ha'aretz) Anna Lekas Miller says the separate buses are only the latest in segregated public transportation in the occupied Palestinian territories. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Omar Shaban says there are large gas reserves off the coast of Gaza, but Palestinians aren't in a position to benefit from them. (Al Monitor) Michael Billington looks at a new play about Israel's occupation. (The Guardian) Ari Afilalo says newly released archives show PM Begin was right to fire DM Sharon over the 1983 Sabra and Shatila massacre. (JTA) Ben Lynfield asks if Israel is pressuring Palestinians to leave "Area C" in preparation for formal annexation. (The Forward) A Palestinian couple in California explain why they decided to open a Palestinian restaurant following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (San Francisco Chronicle) APN interviews Yossi Alpher on recent developments in Israel. (APN) Matt Hill says many people depict the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict in reductive, simplistic terms. (The Daily Telegraph)

NEWS: Israel opens a Palestinian-only bus line in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters) PM Netanyahu gets a two-week extension to continue to try to form a new government, which is not expected to press forward on peace issues. (New York Times/CSM) However, aides to Netanyahu say Israel will have to freeze construction outside of existing settlement blocs. (Ha'aretz) DM Barak again says Israel should consider unilateral separation measures should peace talks continue to fail. (JTA) The PA finance minister resigns over a budget dispute. (Reuters) Pres. Abbas unexpectedly met with Sec. Kerry in Saudi Arabia this afternoon. (Ha'aretz) Kerry scolds PM Erdogan for comments describing Zionism as a "crime against humanity." (Washington Post) Hamas rulers in Gaza launch a campaign to catch "spies." (AP) Gunfire erupts along the Gaza-Israel border. (New York Times) Israel blames Hamas for keeping a Gaza border crossing closed. (AP) Israel continues to insist that injuries to the body of a Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody are consistent with resuscitation efforts. (New York Times) Israeli police question a teenage settler girl in an attack on a Palestinian woman. (AP) Herbs grown in Gaza are being exported to Europe. (Xinhua) Reconstruction in Gaza is still impeded by the blockade. (NPR) Many are skeptical about an Israeli plan for an industrial park for Bedouins. (Los Angeles Times) Palestinians are continuing to work on improving their justice system. (The Media Line) Syrian rebels hang two Palestinians accused of collaborating with the Damascus government in a refugee camp. (The Daily Star) Philip Gordon has been appointed NSC Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf Region. (White House)

COMMENTARY: Eric Yoffie says Jewish Americans and their organizations should feel proud about the power and influence they have accumulated. (Ha'aretz) Larry Snider says the US should start working intensively with the rest of the world to create the framework for a two-state solution. (Jerusalem Post) Giora Eiland says Americans and others need to start thinking about alternatives to a two-state solution. (YNet) Amira Hass illustrates the absurdities of occupation with a tale of soldiers, a shepherd and two baby goats. (Ha'aretz) Daniella Peled says the suggested EU settlement boycott isn't really an economic measure, but intended to demonstrate European frustration with Israel's settlement activities. (Ha'aretz) Hunger striking Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi explains his actions. (The Guardian) Naela Khalil says Palestinian national reconciliation is still a long way off. (Al Monitor) Shlomi Eldar says Erdogan is a hypocrite. (Al Monitor) Anna Lekas Miller looks at 10 years of Israel's West Bank separation barrier. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Aeyal Gross says new ethnically-segregated bus lines in the occupied territories push Israel ever closer to Jim Crow and apartheid. (Ha'aretz) Paul McGeough interviews Hamas leader Mishaal. (Sydney Morning Herald)

NEWS: Israeli officials claim injuries to a Palestinian who died in custody are consistent with heart attack resuscitation attempts. (New York Times) The PA says it is going to try to ensure that an independent physician evaluates the case. (Ma'an) Israel's allies increasingly warn it that it is undermining its own security in the occupied Palestinian territories. (LA Times) A Hamas official predicts a third intifada. (Al Monitor) A local Fatah leader tells Israelis they must either make peace with his generation of leaders or face a future of open-ended conflict. (Ha'aretz) Israeli troops practice combating mass protests in the occupied West Bank. (Xinhua) Israel may be suspending highly controversial settlement construction in the occupied territories in advance of Pres. Obama's visit. (Washington Times) PM Fayyad joins a protest at a village deeply affected by Israel's West Bank separation barrier. (YNet) PM Netanyahu criticizes reported comments about Zionism by PM Erdogan. (Reuters) PM Erdogan is sharply criticized for comments equating Zionism with other trans-historical evils. (AP) Sec. Kerry will reportedly raise the issue with him. (Reuters) UNSG Ban calls the comments "hurtful." (YNet) A Fatah official says Israel is increasing "oppressive measures" in occupied East Jerusalem. (PNN) Republicans push a congressional bill ensuring the United States would support Israel in a confrontation with Iran. (AP) Syria protests an Israeli decision to go ahead with oil exploitation in the occupied Golan Heights. (AP) Palestinian doctors say three are wounded in Israeli shelling of Gaza, but Israel denies this. (Ma'an) Croatia says it's going to pull its peacekeeping troops from the border with the occupied Golan Heights. (AP) More Palestinian citizens of Israel are volunteering for National Service. (The Media Line) According to a new poll, most Americans sympathize with Israel, but want equal treatment for Israel and the Palestinians. (Real Clear World)

COMMENTARY: David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari say the rhetoric of leaders is crucial to laying the groundwork for renewing progress towards peace. (Washington Post) Gideon Levy and Alex Levac ask what really happened to Arafat Jaradat, the Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody. (Ha'aretz) Yossi Sarid says it's absurd that the issue of National Service for the ultra-Orthodox in Israel is overshadowing the question of the occupation. (Ha'aretz) Alon Pinkas says with Sec. Hagel, Israel has a friend in the Pentagon. (YNet) Yehuda Bauer says "Netanyahu doesn't know history." (Ha'aretz) Adnan Abu Amer says Israel is preparing for cyber warfare with Palestinians. (Al Monitor) Jonathan Schanzer says Palestinians aren't ready for a third intifada… Yet. (Foreign Policy) Peter Beinart asks if Pres. Obama has lost interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Daily Beast) Amos Harel says tensions between Israel and Palestinians are continuing to accumulate and simmer. (Ha'aretz)

NEWS: Two hunger striking Palestinian prisoners have agreed to end their fast as Israel says it will release them in May. (Reuters) Pres. Abbas says Israeli settlement construction in the "E1" area is a Palestinian "red line." (Jerusalem Post) PM Netanyahu demands "military sanctions" against Iran. (Reuters) Hamas addresses the Yasser Arafat Foundation in Cairo for the first time on the subject of reconciliation. (Ma'an) The PA economy minister welcomes an EU report recommending sanctions against Israeli settlement activity. (Ma'an) The Israeli press reports a breakthrough in Netanyahu's coalition negotiations to form a new government. (Xinhua) Israeli police insist that Palestinians fabricated a reported "price tag" arson attack on cars last week. (Xinhua) The PA says it has secured the release of four Palestinian teenagers detained by Israel on Wednesday. (Ma'an) Evidence continues to mount that Israeli-Turkish relations are improving, despite the fact that PM Erdogan has described Zionism as "a crime against humanity" at a UN meeting. (Xinhua/Ha'aretz) Israel is using the Bible to reach out to evangelical Christians as far away as Brazil. (CSM) The Oxford University Student Union votes down a measure endorsing a boycott against Israel. (Ha'aretz) Palestinian fishermen are mystified as hundreds of ray fish wash up on the shores of Gaza. (The Independent) Some Palestinians are trying to encourage food self-sufficiency. (IPS) Some Israeli experts see no real sign of change in Egypt's foreign policy towards Israel and the Palestinians under Pres. Morsi, despite some changes in rhetoric. (Jerusalem Post)

COMMENTARY: Allen Weiner says Israel and the Palestinians need American mediation. (New York Times) Jonathan Schanzer says Palestinians need a succession plan and Abbas needs an heir apparent. (LA Times) Gideon Levy says it's ironic that Israelis, who were so upset by the captivity of a single soldier, seem incapable of understanding Palestinian outrage about thousands of detainees in Israeli jails. (Ha'aretz) Shlomi Eldar says Israel needs to reconsider its policy of administrative detention of Palestinians. (Al Monitor) Matthew Duss looks at the prospects for a third intifada. (The American Prospect) Roger Cohen says although a single state is not going to emerge, the prospects for two states for Israel and the Palestinians are dwindling fast. (New York Times) Eitan Haber says, whether he admits it or not, Pres. Obama is coming to the region with an agenda. (YNet) Sara Hirschhorn says Israelis have to rid themselves of the notion that settlements are irreversible or face a one-state future. (Ha'aretz) Shlomo Cohen says Israel is unfairly taking advantage of Diaspora Jewry. (Ha'aretz) Andy Bachman says BDS rhetoric should be challenged, but not censored, but Martin Raffel says it amounts to hate speech. (JTA) Nathan Guttman looks at different advice offered to Obama in new books by Daniel Kurtzer and Elliott Abrams. (The Forward) George Hishmeh says Obama has a duty to tell Israel it cannot continue with business as usual towards the Palestinians. (Gulf News)

NEWS: The situation on the ground in the occupied territories calms somewhat, as experts say neither the PA nor Hamas are looking for an escalation. (Ha'aretz/Ma'an) Some experts believe both sides will continue to use contained, low-level disturbances to keep up the pressure until Pres. Obama's visit in March. (AFP) Israel hints that, in order to enhance credibility, it may include foreign observers in its own probe into whether a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody died due to torture. (Jerusalem Post) The Palestinian teachers union says it is calling off a planned general strike protesting non-payment of salaries. (Ma'an) The PA says it will pay the remaining half of January salaries today. (PNN) Pres. Abbas says any peace agreement must involve the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. (Ma'an) Hamas insists no rocket was fired from Gaza into southern Israel. (Xinhua) An Egyptian court rules that the government must destroy all smuggling tunnels to and from Gaza. (Reuters) Another Egyptian court throws out a case against the peace treaty with Israel, but the FJP says it's still wants to amend the agreement to allow more Egyptian forces in Sinai. (Al-Masry Al-Youm) Israeli officials say unexploded tank shells from Syria land in the occupied Golan Heights. (AP) Israel returns six wounded Syrians to their country after medical treatment. (AP) Palestinians welcome an EU report recommending sanctions against Israeli settlements. (Xinhua/The Media Line) Pres. Peres says he will lead an effort to urge Obama to release convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. (AP) A Jewish Israeli mob reportedly attacks a Palestinian woman at a rail station in Jerusalem. (Ma'an) A Palestinian American who lives in the occupied West Bank has been repeatedly denied entry into Israel despite having a valid visa. (Ha'aretz)

COMMENTARY: Yaakov Lappin says Israeli officials have concluded that ensuring Palestinian security forces are paid on time is essential for maintaining calm in the occupied West Bank. (Jerusalem Post) Dalia Hatuqa argues that, in the long run, there is an untenable tension between ongoing occupation and PA security coordination with Israel. (The National) Amira Hass asks why a third intifada hasn't broken out yet. (Ha'aretz) Paul Pilar says if there is a third intifada, the United States should take advantage of it. (The National Interest) Ben Caspit says it's not Abbas who is a weak leader, it's Israel's leadership that is weak. (Al Monitor) Carlo Strenger says Israel isn't being delegitimized, the settlements are. (Ha'aretz) Ori Nir says textbooks don't shape worldviews, lived reality of occupation does. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Zvi Bar'el looks at the role of Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen in the prisoner issue and Israeli security generally. (Ha'aretz) Asmaa al-Ghoul says among Palestinians demands are growing for third parties other than Hamas and Fatah to contest future elections. (Al Monitor) Shai Feldman looks at the tough task facing Obama, Sec. Kerry or anyone else who wants to launch a new Middle East peace effort. (The National Interest)

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