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News:
Sec. Kerry will resume Middle East peace talks after a pause. (Reuters/Jerusalem Post/Ynet)
Experts counsel a “wait-and-see” approach after peace talks collapse. (JTA)
The Christian Science Monitor analyses the impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. (Christian Science Monitor)
UN Middle East Envoy Serry says Israel and the Palestinians must choose between a one-state reality and a two-state solution. (Ha’aretz)
Israeli and Palestinian UN Envoys accuse each other of sabotaging the peace process. (Reuters)
Palestinian Chief Negotiator Erekat says Israel never gave negotiations a chance to succeed. (PNN/Ha’aretz)
Palestinians are continuing with national unity plans. (AP)
PM Netanyahu is toying with unilateral measures. (New York Times)
Deputy DM Danon says Kerry’s “apartheid” comment calls the US role as an “honest broker” into question. (Ha’aretz)
Hamas says it will never recognize Israel. (The Media Line)
Israeli occupation forces demolish homes in a refugee camp in the West Bank. (Ma’an)
The municipality of Jerusalem blames Palestinians for their own lack of representation in municipal institutions. (Ha’aretz)
The Shin Bet allegedly uncovers a Hamas-affiliated cell in the occupied West Bank. (Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)
Jewish groups consider including J Street in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. (New York Times)
The UN says it needs the consent of the Syrian government for cross-border aid deliveries. (Reuters)
50 people are killed in bomb and mortars attacks in government-controlled areas of Syria.  (New York Times)
Egyptian blogger and activist Bassem Sabry dies. (AP)
The EU says Egypt’s mass death sentences are a breach of international law. (Reuters)
Iraqis vote in their first national election since US forces withdrew in 2011. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/Washington Post/The National)
Commentary:
Jeffrey Goldberg says Kerry used the word “apartheid” because he is worried about Israel’s future as a “Jewish state.”(Bloomberg)
Aaron David Miller says Kerry’s remarks about Israel becoming an “apartheid state” do nothing to advance the peace process. (Foreign Policy)
John Cassidy says Kerry was basically telling the truth. (New Yorker)
The Los Angeles Times says “intense engagement” by the US is unlikely to succeed if both the Israelis and Palestinians are not serious enough to make difficult decisions. (Los Angeles Times)
Rami Khouri says Israel’s decision to halt negotiations with the Palestinians is “inconsistent, insincere, and hypocritical.” (Daily Star)
Osama Al Sharif says it took more than twenty years for Pres. Abbas to “reinvent himself” as a Palestinian leader. (Jordan Times)
Alistair Burt says friends of the Palestinians and Israelis should encourage them to keep going with the peace talks. (Asharq al-Awsat)
Morning Editions interviews Israeli Amb. Dermer. (NPR)
Reuters interviews Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar. (Reuters)
Yossi Mekelberg asks if the Palestinian unity agreement is a danger or an opportunity for the peace process. (Al Arabiya)
Ha’aretz says Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian land is a “historic injustice.” (Ha’aretz)
Zvi Bar’el says Israel needs to recognize Palestine. (Ha’aretz)
Hussein Ibish says both the US and Egypt must adjust in order to continue repairing their strained relations. (The National)
Marwan Muasher says Arab societies need to embrace the politics of pluralism and inclusiveness. (Daily Star)
The National says PM Maliki is to blame for sectarian politics in Iraq. (The National)
David Ignatius says Syrian refugees in Jordan want to go home. (Washington Post)
The Jordan Times says all Syrian refugees should be granted the right to vote in the upcoming presidential elections. (Jordan Times)
The Christian Science Monitor says Syria’s denial of aid and use of starvation provides a legal right for UN workers to enter the country without permission. (Christian Science Monitor)
Ali Ibrahim says evading or postponing subsidy reforms in the Middle East impedes development. (Asharq al-Awsat)

News:

The New York Times analyses the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. (New York Times)

Some Israeli politicians are seeking to unilaterally draw new borders. (Reuters)

Peace Now says Israel increased settlement work four-fold during recent peace talks.(AP/Reuters/AFP/Jerusalem Post/Ynet/The National)

Sec. Kerry says he chose the wrong word in describing Israel’s potential future as an “apartheid state.” (AP/New York Times/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

Many Jewish-American groups criticize Kerry’s remarks. (Ha’aretz)

Pres. Abbas says there can be no peace with Israel without first defining the borders of a future Palestinian state. (AFP)

The PLO says its ready to resume negotiations if Israel freezes settlements and releases the fourth batch of prisoners. (Ha’aretz)

The White House says Hamas-Fatah reconciliation is not necessarily a “bad thing.” (Ha’aretz)

Hamas leader Abu Marzouk says the Palestinian unity government will be “technocratic not political.”(Ha’aretz)

Israeli occupation forces demolish a mosque in the West Bank. (Reuters/Ma’an)

Jewish “price tag” extremists vandalize a mosque in northern Israel. (AP/AFP/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post/JTA)

Officials warn that Jordan’s custodianship of the Al Aqsa Mosque is “in danger.” (Jordan Times)

Israel’s Jerusalem wall splits a Palestinian family. (AP)

Egypt opens the Rafah crossing for two days. (Ma’an)

PM Erdogan says normalization with Israel is a matter of “days or weeks.” (Jerusalem Post/Ynet/Times of Israel)

car bomb in Homs kills 36. (AP/Xinhua)

Militants pose a threat on the eve of national elections in Iraq. (New York Times)

Erdogan calls on the US to extradite his rival, the Muslim cleric Gulen. (Reuters)

Commentary:

Faisal Al Yafai says Kerry is seeking to shock Israel out of its complacency. (The National)

Christopher Fettweis says, to achieve peace, both Israelis and Palestinians must put aside their past. (Los Angeles Times)

The National looks at how the Palestinians view the Holocaust. (The National)

Zeina Barakat defends her visit to Auschwitz with Professor Dajani. (The Atlantic)

Thane Rosenbaum says Israel should welcome Abbas’ recent remarks about the Holocaust. (Ha’aretz)

Sharif Nashashibi says Palestinians should ensure that the PA sticks to its promise and joins the ICC. (Al Arabiya)

Ari Shavit proposes unilateral measures by Israel and the Palestinians. (New Republic)

Richard Cohen says Hamas’ anti-semitism must be repudiated for a lasting peace in the Middle East. (Washington Post)

Akiva Eldar says the peace process has failed due to Israeli recalcitrance. (Ha’aretz)

Matthew Longo, Daphna Canetti and Nancy Hite-Rubin they say peace must address the “daily facts on the ground” for most people. (Christian Science Monitor)

Ha’aretz says Israel must make the history of the Palestinians an integral part of every school curriculum. (Ha’aretz)

The Daily Star asks if Western supporters of the Syrian opposition will actually do something now that Pres. Assad is seeking reelection. (Daily Star)

Anne-Marie Slaughter says the solution to the crisis in Ukraine lies partly in Syria. (Daily Star)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says former PM Blair’s speech is a call to save “moderate Islam.” (Al Arabiya)

News:

Sec. Kerry says Israel risks becoming an “apartheid” state. (AFP/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel/JTA/The Daily Beast)

Pres. Abbas calls the Holocaust the “most heinous crime” of modern history. (AP/Reuters/New York Times/Washington Post/Ha’aretz/The National)

PM Netanyahu dismisses Abbas’ Holocaust condemnation. (Ha’aretz)

Israel pauses in silence for Holocaust Day. (AP/AFP/Xinhua/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

Netanyahu compares the Iranian nuclear threat to Nazi menace.(Times of Israel/Ynet)

The PLO plans to join 60 UN bodies and international agreements. (Ma’an/Ha’aretz)

The agreement between Fatah and Hamas might threaten US aid to the PA. (AP)

The US is not out of Middle East peace options. (Reuters)

Special Envoy Indyk leaves Israel as peace talks falter. (Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

Israeli Finance Minister Lapid says if Hamas meets the Quartet’s conditions, his party is ready to talk to them. (Ha’aretz)

Economy Minister Bennett calls on Israel to annex 60 percent of the occupied West Bank. (Times of Israel)

Abbas says Palestinians will never recognize Israel as a “Jewish state.” (JTA)

Israel is still pushing to join the US visa-waiver program. (AP)

Palestinians say Israel will transfer Palestinian tax revenues to the PA, but Israel denies this. (Xinhua)

Extremist settlers uproot more than 150 olive trees in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)

Pres. Assad says he will seek re-election in June. (Reuters)

Syria misses its self-imposed deadline for destroying chemical arms. (Reuters/New York Times/The National)

An Egyptian court sentences 683 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood to death, and commutes 100 of previous death sentences. (AP/Reuters/New York Times/Washington Post/The National)

An Egyptian court bans a left wing group that helped topple former Pres. Mubarak. (Reuters)

Iraqis vote for a new parliament. (AP/Reuters/Xinhua)

Commentary:

Amer Al Sabaileh says Jordan has to be prepared for growing chaos on its Palestinian and Syrian borders. (Jordan Times)

Orlando Crowcroft says the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal raises multiple questions. (The National)

The Daily Star says after the unity deal Fatah and Hamas need to follow up with “serious actions” that will not disappoint their people. (Daily Star)

Ha’aretz says Israel’s “discriminatory” planning policy in the occupied West Bank violates its most basic obligations. (Ha’aretz)

Gideon Levy says there is no comparison between the Holocaust and the occupation, but the act of resistance is “legitimate” in both cases. (Ha’aretz)

Oudeh Basharat says the world has learned the lessons of the Holocaust better than Israel. (Ha’aretz)

Benedetta Berti says the Syrian civil war is altering the dynamic relationship between Hezbollah and Israel. (Daily Star)

Khairallah Khairallah says the presidential election is Assad’s new front in the Syrian conflict. (Al Arabiya)

Amal Mousa says Arab political elites need to carry out an “intellectual revolution.”   (Asharq al-Awsat)

David Ignatius says “brutal” sectarian war has come again to Iraq. (Washington Post)

Diana Moukalled says Iraq’s female parliamentary candidates are still held back by “old paradigms.” (Al Arabiya)

News:

Israel suspends peace talks with the Palestinians. (Reuters/AP/New York Times/Washington Post/Ha’aretz/Times of Israel)

Pres. Obama says neither Israelis nor Palestinians have shown the political will to make tough decisions. (AP/AFP/Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)

Sec. Kerry is unwilling to give up on the Middle East peace process. (AP/Ha’aretz/Ynet)

Pres. Abbas reportedly assures the UN that any Palestinian government will be non-violent, recognize Israel and respect Palestinian commitments, as the PLO condemns Israel’s decision to withdraw from peace negotiations. (Ynet/Ma’an)

Palestinians are considering “all options” in response to Israel’s decision to halt talks. (The National)

Israel criticizes the US response to the Fatah-Hamas unity deal. (Ha’aretz)

“The Elders” welcome the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas. (Ma’an)

Rep. Lowey says she is ready to launch steps to defund the PA due to the agreement with Hamas. (JTA)

Christian leaders in Israel urge youth not to enlist in the military. (Ma’an)

Extremist Jewish settlers attack a seven year-old girl in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an)

Pres. Assad’s future may depend on keeping support within his own sect. (New York Times)

The International Tribunal dealing with the killing of former PM Hariri charges two leading Lebanese journalists. (New York Times)

Egypt is trying to save money on wheat subsidies by issuing a new smart card system. (AP)

Turkey’s most senior judge criticizes PM Erdogan. (AP)

Commentary:

Gwen Ifill interviews Hussein Ibish and Jeffrey Goldberg about the status of peace talks. (PBS)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed asks if Hamas will finally “bow” to Fatah. (Al Arabiya)

Bakir Oweida says the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas is an important first step to end the Palestinian infighting. (Asharq al-Awsat)

The Daily Star says the US reaction to the Palestinian unity deal is “disappointing.” (Daily Star)

Khaled Elgindy says the US should welcome the reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas. (Foreign Policy)

Jeffrey Goldberg says Israel’s decision to suspend peace talks with the PLO contains elements of “reasonableness, realism, hypocrisy and myopia.” (Bloomberg)

Avi Issacharoff says PM Netanyahu fears Palestinian reconciliation because it would force him to acknowledge that Abbas is a “true partner for peace.” (Times of Israel)

David Landau says Palestinian unity deal exposes Netanyahu’s “true face.” (Ha’aretz)

J.J. Goldberg says Israel’s decision to halt peace talks with the PLO is simultaneously “sensible, questionable and inexcusable.” (Jewish Daily Forward)

Ha’aretz asks how Netanyahu will address the “demographic threat” that he warned of, now that he does not talk to the PLO. (Ha’aretz)

Alan Philps asks if the world will listen to former PM Blair’s call for more commitment to the Middle East. (The National)

The New York Times says the decision by the Obama administration to resume military aid to Egypt is a “vote of confidence” to a military-dominated government.  (New York Times)

News:
Hamas and Fatah agree to form unity government and hold new elections. (AP/New York Times/Washington Post/Los Angeles Times/USA Today/Bloomberg)
The US says it is disappointed by the Palestinian unity deal. (Reuters/PNN/Ha’aretz)
FM Lieberman says a peace deal with the Palestinians is impossible after the unity deal. (AP/Jerusalem Post/Ynet/Times of Israel/AFP)
Israeli Chief Negotiator Livni calls the agreement between Fatah and Hamas a “bad deal.” (Times of Israel)
The Israeli Foreign Ministry reportedly believes that Palestinian reconciliation is not near implementation. (Ha’aretz)
Qatar and Turkey back the Palestinian unity deal. (Ma’an)
Pres. Abbas says there is no contradiction between negotiations with Israel and reconciliation with Hamas. (Ma’an/Xinhua)
A PA official says Hamas has accepted the two-state solution. (Ha’aretz/Jerusalem Post)
Hamas spokesperson says Abbas will visit Gaza if a unity government is formed. (Ma’an/Jerusalem Post)
Jordan and Palestine sign eight cooperation agreements. (Jordan TImes)
Women, who are Palestinians citizens of Israel, join a professional Israeli soccer team. (AP/Times of Israel)
The OPCW is considering launching a fact-finding mission in Syria to investigatereports of attacks with chlorine gas. (Reuters)
UNSG Ki-moon demands Security Council action in Syria. (Reuters)
British police will ask Muslim women to help persuade young people not to go to fight in Syria. (Reuters/AFP)
Egypt’s military says it has gained “complete control over the situation” in Sinai. (Reuters)
The US vows to help Libya tackle “rising violent extremism.” (Reuters)
Commentary:
Six commentators, including Hussein Ibish, opine on the new Hamas and Fatah agreement. (PBS)
David Horovitz says the Palestinian unity deal is “bad news for everyone” except the extremists. (Times of Israel)
Roger Cohen says the two-state solution can emerge only if the majority of Israelis and Palestinians will accept a “painful compromise” in the name of a better future. (New York Times)
Ari Shavit asks why Israelis are surprised every time Abbas fails to sign a peace agreement with Israel. (Ha’aretz)
Ha’aretz says, by inviting Christian Palestinian citizens of Israel to join the army, Israel is distinguishing between Arabs “on the basis of religion.” (Ha’aretz)
The Jordan Times says Pres. Obama is right in “admonishing various government agencies’ against contradicting the official stance of Washington on Jerusalem. (Jordan Times)
Jeffrey Goldberg blames extremist Islamist violence for the State’s Department unwillingness to review the identification of Jerusalem. (Bloomberg)
Aaron David Miller says Lawrence Wright’s “Camp David” indicates why there is no hope in the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. (Foreign Policy)
Joyce Karam says in the last 48 hours, US relations with Egypt have taken a “partial detour.” (Al Arabiya)
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says Pres. Assad is holding elections to buy more time. (Al Arabiya)
Ibrahim Saif says as the Syrian crisis enters its fourth year, the international community should increase burden sharing and better coordination of responses. (Jordan Times)
Michael Young asks how long will Lebanese Christians be ruled by figures from their past. (Daily Star)

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