NEWS: At the upcoming UN meeting, Pres. Abbas is expected to suggest non-member observer state status for Palestine. Israeli officials, especially DM Barak, are mulling unilateral actions in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian leaders dismiss the ideas, and Israeli right-wingers also express strong opposition. Israeli officials say shells fired by the Syrian military accidentally landed in the occupied Golan Heights, without any reported injuries. More Hamas leaders say Khaled Misha'al has decided to step down as head of the Politburo. The fuel crisis in Gaza is intensifying as smuggling from Egypt is curtailed. The Syrian government denies it shelled a Palestinian refugee camp in Aleppo. Palestinians are becoming both two-time refugees and combatants in the Syrian conflict. A group of Jewish American leaders reportedly cancel a meeting with Abbas after pressure from PM Netanyahu. American Jewish Democrats are openly critical about Netanyahu's attitude towards the United States and Pres. Obama. Pres. Ahmadinejad reportedly says Israel will be “eliminated.” Americans for Peace Now establishes a campus wing. COMMENTARY: Karim Sadjadpour and Blake Hounshell ask what would happen if Israel actually bombed Iran. Patrick Tyler says Israel needs to abandon militarism in favor of negotiations and compromise. David Newman says the lack of a peace process is disastrous. Gershon Baskin says both publics need to know there is an alternative to war between Iran and Israel. Linda Gradstein looks at the complications surrounding ID cards for residents of occupied East Jerusalem. Ken Schechtman says Israel's real friends should be honest with it, not sycophantic. Rajab Abu Sariya says Abbas has another chance to achieve something useful at the UN this year.

NEWS: One year after failing to secure full UN membership, Palestinians are now considering seeking nonmember observer state status. PM Netanyahu's office claims this is a violation of the Oslo agreements. Egypt says it is working to promote Palestinian reconciliation. Experts are skeptical about Pres. Abbas' reported threat to resign. Palestinian security forces return three Israeli soldiers who strayed into Palestinian-controlled areas of the occupied West Bank. 30 international aid NGOs appeal to the Quartet to stop the ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes. Hamas says Egypt's disruption of tunnel trade is hurting the Gaza economy. Israeli forces kill three extremists in Sinai. Mitt Romney reportedly makes no mention of the peace process in a call with Jewish American leaders. The PLO says over 400 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict in Syria. A committee in the Irish parliament recommends a national ban on Israeli settlement products. COMMENTARY: Aaron David Miller asks how unsustainable the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians is. Yezid Sayigh says the Palestinians may renew their UN efforts this year, but show no signs of having better learned how to contain the fallout. David Rosenberg says, given the economic crisis, the PA can't even offer the Palestinians personal prosperity. Yossi Verter says if Netanyahu is reelected, his next term will probably be a repetition of his current term. Eva Illouz says Judith Butler is getting a taste of her own boycott politics. Danny Caravan says the reason Oslo failed is that the occupation persisted. Yoram Drori says because they have full citizenship and a homeland in the state of Israel, there are no Jewish refugees in the Middle East. Uri Savir says Bill Clinton should be the next Middle East envoy if Pres. Obama is reelected. Ben Capsit says Netanyahu had better begin preparing for the day after Obama is reelected. Ghada Karmi says Palestinians need a one-state solution. Zuheir Kseibati says Hamas might be gaining more from aligning with the Muslim Brotherhood than they did with Syria and Iran. Mohammad Salah says Egypt has got to get control over the Sinai Peninsula.