As part of a Q&A on the Palestinian bid for upgraded ststus at the UN, the BBC asks “Is this symbolic or will it change facts on the ground?”

In an interview with Toni Johnson, Robert M. Danin, Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the recent conflict in Gaza and its likely legacy.

Daniel Levy, writing in the Daily Beast, analyses the Israeli motivation for launching the current bombing campaign in Gaza.

With two high profile meetings between King Abdullah of Jordan and Hamas leaders in the last six months, Hamas no longer appears to have a future in Syria and they will have to look elsewhere for regional support, writes Ramzy Baroud in Gulf News.