Jordan partially closes borders with Israel, West Bank amid virus fears
Times of Israel

‘Jordan said it would partially shut down its border crossings with Israel and the West Bank Tuesday as it attempts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Jordanian Cabinet also decided to close crossings to and from Lebanon and to halt traffic to and from Syria with the exception of trucks carrying goods. Sea crossings to Egypt will also be closed. The closures were made at the recommendation of Jordan’s health minister, Saad Jaber, who said the Kingdom would also bar entry to travelers coming from France, Germany and Spain.” 

Image: The Allenby Crossing, the main route from the Palestinian West Bank into neighbouring Jordan, is pictured on March 10, 2020 after it was partially closed over coronavirus fear. (Abbas Momani/AFP)

25 years after the Oslo Accords: time for a new narrative (PDF)  
AIDA

“A quarter of a century has passed since the first of the Oslo Accords, a beacon of hope to end conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, was signed…. Fast forward to 2018 and those words sound tragically hollow. The Oslo Process has manifestly failed to deliver the ‘just, lasting and comprehensive’ peace it promised.”

Image: AIDA Logo

UK Lawyers for Israel forced to retract 'terror' smears against Palestine children’s NGO
Middle East Monitor

“UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), an activist organisation which focuses on attacking supporters of Palestinian human rights, has been forced to retract allegations against children’s rights NGO, Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), following legal action. The news comes as DCIP reached a settlement in a defamation case against UKLFI.” 

Image: UKLFI Logo

U.S. and coalition troops killed in rocket attack in Iraq, potentially spiking tensions with Iran
Washington Post

“Two Americans and one other coalition member were killed in a rocket attack on a base in Iraq on Wednesday night, a U.S. military spokesman said, potentially spiking tensions with Iran about two months after a series of bloody events that were capped by the death of an Iranian general in a U.S. drone strike.” 

Image: A UH-60 Blackhawk carrying U.S. Soldiers lands at Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 7, 2020. Soldiers aboard the aircraft arrived at Camp Taji due to heightened security measures. (Spc. Caroline Schofer)

Orly Levy's flipflop kills minority government
J-Post

“Blue and White leader Benny Gantz’s chances of building a coalition took a blow on Tuesday, when Gesher leader Orly Levy-Abecassis left the Labor-Gesher-Meretz alliance and announced she would not back a minority government dependent on the Joint List of Arab parties. Levy-Abecassis said publicly during the campaign that she had no problem supporting a minority government backed by the Joint List, but revealed on Facebook Tuesday that she had said the opposite privately ahead of the race."

Image: Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman [C] with Blue and White top ranking officials [from Left to Right] Moshe Ya'alon, party leader Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, Gabi Ashkenazi. (Elad Malka)

Israeli president urges deadlocked blocs to consider unity
AP News

“Israel’s largely ceremonial president on Wednesday urged the country’s opposing blocs to find a way to come together in the wake of Israel’s third inconclusive election in less than a year. The president is responsible for choosing the prime minister-designate he thinks has the best chance of forming a stable government. Upon officially receiving the results of last week’s vote, Reuven Rivlin said he was open to any proposal brought forward but made a point to suggest that his framework from the previous round of failed negotiations was still relevant. Rivlin, who will begin formal consultations with party leaders next week, took an active role in the previous round of talks and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and challenger Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party to join together in a unity government.”

Image: Israel's President Reuven Rivlin delivers his speech during a special meeting of the German Parliament Bundestag commemorating the victims of the Holocaust in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)