News:

Sec. Kerry will arrive in Israel today for more talks on negotiations with the Palestinians. (Xinhua)

Kerry will reportedly present Israel with a plan for security arrangements with a future Palestinian state. (Ha'aretz)

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators hold another round of talks before Kerry's visit. (Xinhua)

A resigned Palestinian negotiator says a deal with Israel under present circumstances is"impossible." (AP)

The EU says it may consider ending all aid to the PA if peace talks fail. (Ha'aretz)

The EU says half it states support clearly labeling Israeli settlement products. (Jerusalem Post)

Israel reportedly clears West Bank land for new settlement housing units. (PNN)

Reports suggest Israel is planning to transfer a parcel of land to the PA from "Area C." (Ma'an)

The Israeli government says it won't be able to enforce Israeli labor laws for Palestinian workers in spite of a court order. (Jerusalem Post)

French scientists say they don't see any evidence the late Pres. Arafat was poisoned. (New York Times/CNN/AP/Los Angeles times)

Palestinians say they haven't yet received the French report on Arafat's death. (Xinhua/Ma'an)

A Hezbollah leader is assassinated in southern Beirut, and the group blames Israel which denies all responsibility. (New York Times/AP/AFP/Xinhua)

Hezbollah blames Saudi Arabia for the recent bombing of its embassy in Beirut. (AP)

One person is killed and four injured in a blast at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. (Xinhua)

Poverty exacerbates challenges faced by disabled Palestinians in Gaza. (Xinhua)

Palestinian teachers say they will continue a strike despite a court ruling it is illegal. (Ma'an)

Jordan is set to import more coal from Israel due to the closure of its border with Syria. (Ha'aretz)

Western counterterrorism officials are afraid that Al Qaeda may take advantage of chaos in Syria and other Middle Eastern states to establish bases that could threaten the West and its interests. (New York Times)

Hezbollah fighters may be gaining valuable experience in combat in Syria. (Christian Science Monitor)

The UN says the Syrian humanitarian crisis is intensifying. (New York Times)

Israel says it is providing humanitarian aid for Syrians. (Xinhua)

Iran's top diplomat holds talks with senior UAE officials. (AP)

Iraq's Prime Minister is visiting Iran to discuss Syria. (AP)

A US court orders Iran to pay $9 million to victims of a 1997 bombing in Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post)

The Libyan government is enforcing a ban on militias in Benghazi. (Xinhua)

Libya expects to be back at full oil production within two weeks. (Reuters)

Egypt says it is expecting more Gulf aid. (Reuters)
 

Commentary:

ATFP Executive Director Ghaith Al-Omari looks at questions arising from the Iran nuclear deal. (The Forward)

Thomas Friedman says PM Netanyahu and Pres. Obama have a counterintuitive moment of opportunity to achieve great things. (New York Times)

Yehuda Ben-Meir says right-wing Israeli opposition to the Iran nuclear deal is "unfair and foolish." (Ha'aretz)

Jeffrey Goldberg lists six reasons to be worried about the Iran agreement. (Bloomberg)

Noam Neusner says Democrats in Congress are strangely silent about the Iranian agreement. (The Forward)

The National says apartheid-like conditions in the Galilee show how silly utopian dreams of a one-state solution really are. (The National)

Maysoon Zayid says it's time for Pres. Abbas to retire. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)

Avi Issacharoff asks who had most to gain from the assassination of Hezbollah's military chief. (Times of Israel)

Elie Friedman says Netanyahu demands Palestinian recognition of Jewish rights but doesn't recognize the Palestinian people. (YNet)

Barak Ravid says Israel's ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, is being met with "smiles and suspicion." (Ha'aretz)

Ben Caspit interviews newly reinstated Israeli FM Lieberman on many issues. (Al Monitor)

Boaz Okon says non-Jews in Israel often face discrimination on false grounds of "security." (YNet)

Rawia Aburabia demands to know if Bedouins and other non-Jews are citizens of Israel or not. (Jerusalem Post)

Rafique Ganga profiles the Gypsy population in occupied East Jerusalem. (Gulf News)

Rye Druzin says Mount Scopus in occupied East Jerusalem is starting to look like a battlefield. (The Media Line)

Hassan Hassan says the formation of the "Islamic Front" in Syria is bad news for Al Qaeda. (The National)

Osama Al Sharif says the outcome of Geneva II peace talks will be decided on Syria's battlefields. (Jordan Times)

Sahar Aziz and Shahira Abouelleil say the right to protest Egypt is indispensable. (New York Times)

Orla Guerin says police brutality in Egypt is continuing "unchecked." (BBC)

News:

Palestinians are appealing for international help as peace talks appear at an impasse. (Xinhua)

Palestinian negotiators suggest the US and Russia hold "Geneva talks" on the Israeli-Palestinian question. (Ha'aretz)

Pres. Peres reportedly recently addressed 29 Arab foreign ministers. (YNet)

With four Israelis and 24 Palestinians killed recently, a surge in West Bank violence is being called "individual." (Washington Post)

A Palestinian citizen of Israel pleads guilty to planting a bomb on a bus last year. (Reuters)

The Foreign Press Association accuses Israeli occupation forces of "deliberately targeting"journalists. (AFP)

Bedouin citizens of Israel protest forced mass relocation plans. (New York Times/AP/Los Angeles Times)

The Israeli government claims 80% of Bedouins have agreed to the plan. (Ha'aretz)

Palestinian citizens of Israel react with anger to proposals to "Judaize" the Galilee. (Ha'aretz)

Israeli police say one of their volunteers killed a Palestinian inside Israel during a raid. (AP/Xinhua)

An exhibit of photographs in Jerusalem tells the long story of Palestinian history. (New York Times/BBC/AFP)

Hamas cancels its annual anniversary celebration in Gaza due to deepening economic woes. (AP/The Guardian)

Egypt is continuing to revoke the citizenship of Hamas leaders. (Jerusalem Post)

Israel's new Labor Party leader Herzog meets with Pres. Abbas. (AP/Xinhua/Jerusalem Post)

Christmas season in Bethlehem gets an early start this year. (AP)

PA police arrest 20 Salafists affiliated with Al Qaeda in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

Israeli occupation forces arrest 15 Palestinians in the West Bank. (Ma'an)

The Palestinian Teachers' Union says it will strike in the West Bank on Monday. (Ma'an)

Newly reinstated Israeli FM Lieberman seems to have toned down his political style somewhat. (New York Times)

PM Netanyahu is once again under fire for extravagant expenses. (AP)

Former PM Olmert says Netanyahu has severely damaged relations with the US, including byinterfering in American elections. (AP/Ha'aretz)

The Palestinian ambassador to Nigeria calls for economic sanctions against Israel. (Xinhua)

Israel is reportedly trying to identify Iranian violations of its recent nuclear agreement. (Xinhua)

659 people were killed in Iraq in November. (Xinhua)

Iraqi café owners begin to get seminars on how to stop suicide bombers. (AFP)

Blasts kill at Least 12 mourners at the funeral of an Iraq Sunni leader. (New York Times)

18 Sunnis kidnapped in Iraq are found shot. (AP)

Nine are killed in sectarian clashes in northern Lebanon. (AP)

Egypt's draft new constitution enshrines greater rights but promises little change from traditional government. (AP/New York Times)

As it pushes for a tougher foreign policy, Saudi Arabia seems to have few options. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Former PM Fayyad discusses justice, Palestinian rights and the legacy of Nelson Mandela. (New York Times)

Hussein Ibish says core of the Palestinian struggle is one for basic human equality. (The National)

Akiva Eldar says negotiators must begin to treat Israeli settlements as obstacles to peace. (Al Monitor)

Samih Shabib says Palestinians shouldn't withdraw from negotiations, but Khalil Shaheen says they should. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Alon Tal and Yousef Abu-Mayla say there is no reason or excuse for Gaza to be turned into a sewer. (New York Times)

The Economist looks at the plight of Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria. (The Economist)

Yossi Shain says the weakened US position in the Middle East means Israel must push harder for peace. (YNet)

Oudeh Basharat says the mass relocation of Israel's Bedouins is typical of the present government's racism. (Ha'aretz)

Sami Michael says the silencing of protests against the planned mass relocation of Israeli Bedouins is unconscionable. (YNet)

Joel Golovensky says the Bedouins are Israeli citizens with a particular culture and bitter experience. (Jerusalem Post)

The Jerusalem Post says Israel must impose "law and order" on the Bedouins. (Jerusalem Post)

Ha'aretz says the plan for "Judaization" of the Galilee means racism. (Ha'aretz)

Ma'an interviews Cecilia Baeza on the history of Palestinian immigration to Latin America. (Ma'an)

Norman Solomon and Abba A. Solomon say Israel is trying to wreck the nuclear agreement with Iran. (The Daily Star)

John Hannah says the Iran nuclear agreement is likely to start an arms race in the Middle East. (Foreign Policy)

Hassan Barari says there hasn't really been an actual nuclear deal with Iran yet. (Arab News)

Shlomi Eldar says Israel's Foreign Ministry is continuing to lose relevance. (Al Monitor)

Bruce Riedel says an Israeli-Saudi axis against Iran is unlikely. (Al Monitor)

Fred Hiatt says Syria could prove to be Pres. Obama's "Rwanda." (Washington Post)

Rami Khouri says Egypt is the harbinger for the future of much of the Arab world. (The Daily Star)

The National says the draft Egyptian Constitution is getting a surprisingly warm welcome from the public. (The National)