News:
A three-hour meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ends without clear sign ofprogress. (Ma’an/Jerusalem Post/JTA/Times of Israel)
FM Lieberman says the package deal being discussed is not the same as it was two weeks ago. (Jerusalem Post/Ynet)
Israel appropriates Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank by recognizing another settlement outpost. (Reuters/PNN/Ha’aretz/The National)
A Fatah official says the Israeli government is committed to colonization. (PNN)
Israeli chief negotiator Livni says Economy Minister Bennett is stoking settler violence.(Ha’aretz/Ynet/Times of Israel)
Senior Israeli officials say they have transferred all the PA revenues they collected in March. (Ha’aretz)
British Party Labor leader Miliband criticizes expansion of Israeli settlements. (BBC)
A PLO committee will travel to Gaza for reconciliation talks. (Ma’an/Xinhua)
Israelis accuse Pres. Abbas of “terrorism.” (Ma’an)
Palestinian citizens of Israel protest in Nazareth against national service. (Ha’aretz)
Israel’s drive to export its new-found natural gas could help rebuild some strained relations.(Reuters)
Hamas will launch a satellite channel in Gaza. (Ma’an)
A trip to Auschwitz by Palestinian university students causes an uproar. (Washington Post)
Israel says Sec. Kerry’s remarks on Iran’s nuclear threshold is “not acceptable.” (Reuters/Jerusalem Post)
Syrian government forces seize two villages near the Lebanese border. (AP/Reuters)
Hezbollah is developing new tactics in the Syrian civil war. (AP)
American officials say they are looking into reports of another Syrian government chemical weapons attack. (AP/Washington Post)
Libya’s Interim PM al-Thani will step down after he was attacked by militias. (AP)
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will retire in October. (AP)
A series of bombings kills more than 20 across Iraq. (New York Times)
Iraqi secularists are reportedly under attack ahead of the elections. (Al Monitor)
Iran lodges a complaint against the US over the denial of visa for its UN Ambassador.(Reuters/Xinhua/The National)
Iranians see “little relief” as sanctions are eased. (New York Times)
Dubai seeks to become an “Islamic” economic hub. (New York Times)
Commentary:
Hussein Ibish says Professor Mohammed Dajani should be praised, not blamed, for teaching Palestinian students about the Holocaust. (The National)
The Jordan Times says the PA was right to join international treaties. (Jordan Times)
Jackson Diehl says over the past 25 years Israelis and Palestinians have made slow but enormous progress toward coexistence. (Washington Post)
Khaled Elgindy says the latest round of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians never had a chance to succeed. (Foreign Policy)
Nathan Jeffay asks why the recent Israeli land grab in the occupied West Bank is different than any other. (Jewish Daily Forward)
Ben Caspit says PM Netanyahu needs Pres. Obama more than ever if peace talks fail. (Al Monitor)
Ha’aretz says Israel should stop “shutting its eyes’ to what is going in the occupied West Bank. (Ha’aretz)
Moshe Arens says extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank are a fringe group that hates Arabs and has no respect for the State of Israel. (Ha’aretz)
Gideon Levy says Ron Pundak wanted peace for peace’s sake, without pathos or guilt. (Ha’aretz)
Oudeh Basharat says the struggle by Palestinian citizens of Israel against religious extremism is part of a wider Arab struggle. (Ha’aretz)
Amer Al Sabaileh says recent developments in Syria shows only a political solution is possible. (Jordan Times)
Yezid Sayigh says the Syrian conflict is drifting in favor of the government. (Carnegie)
Afraa Al-Hariri and Om El-Ezz El-Farissi debate whether women were at the forefront of the Arab Spring.(Asharq al-Awsat)
Rami Khouri says Lebanon finds itself a mirror of the Middle East. (Daily Star)
Hamza Mustafa says Iraqi militia are playing a key role in Syria. (Asharq al-Awsat)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says Arabs must unite before seeking a permanent seat at the UN. (Al Arabiya)
H.A. Hellyer says Egypt’s “war on terror” is doing more harm than good. (Al Arabiya)