• Trump Sends His Envoy to Meet Netanyahu, Abbas - Ruth Eglash
  Jason Greenblatt, appointed by President Trump as his special representative for international negotiations, sounded out Israeli and Palestinian leaders on prospects for Middle East peace during the first visit by a key Trump envoy to the region. A U.S. Embassy official said the goal of Greenblatt's visit was primarily "to hear their views and perspectives on the current situation and how progress towards peace can be made."
      Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren said, "What I hear from [Prime Minister] Netanyahu is that this president is open to different ideas. It is not about ideology but what stands a chance of succeeding....We have an opportunity now to regain a level of intimacy and trust [with the U.S.] that has been lost, that is vital for moving ahead with the peace process."  (Washington Post)
      See also Netanyahu: "Good, In-Depth Talks" with Trump's Envoy
  Prime Minister Netanyahu said Tuesday: "About my talks with Jason Greenblatt, I must say that they were good, in-depth talks. I cannot tell you that we finished. We agreed, we are in a process, but a process of genuine mutual, very frank dialogue, in the good sense of the word."  (Prime Minister's Office)
• U.S. to Seek Extradition of Hamas Member for 2001 Jerusalem Bombing that Killed Two Americans - Teresa Welsh
  On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice made public charges filed against Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi for her role in the 2001 bombing of a Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem, the first time a member of Hamas has been charged for the death of American citizens. Fifteen civilians, including seven children and a pregnant woman, were killed in the attack and 122 were injured.
      Tamimi pleaded guilty in an Israeli court in 2003 but only served eight years before being released as part of the Gilad Shalit prison swap between Israel and Hamas in 2011. Tamimi, who is currently a television host in Jordan, is unlikely to face trial in the U.S. since Jordan does not extradite its citizens. (McClatchy)
      See also Individual Charged in Connection with 2001 Terrorist Attack in Jerusalem that Resulted in Death of Americans (U.S. Department of Justice )
      See also Jerusalem Pizzeria Bomber: "I Was Disappointed Because I Had Hoped for a Larger Death Toll" - William A. Jacobson
  Among those killed in the Sbarro bomb blast were Judith L. Greenbaum (31) of New Jersey (who was pregnant at the time) and Malka Roth (15) who lived with her family in Jerusalem. Four other Americans were injured: David Danzig, Matthew Gordon, and Joanne (Chana) and Sarah Nachenberg. Chana Nachenberg - whose only child Sarah was then two-years-old - never regained consciousness. The writer is Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. (Legal Insurrection)
      See also Chana Nachenberg's Story - Sarah Nachenberg (One Family Fund)

• PA President Mahmoud Abbas Meets with U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt in Ramallah
  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Tuesday in Ramallah with Jason Greenblatt, U.S. President Donald J. Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations. Greenblatt underscored President Trump's commitment to working with Israelis and Palestinians to achieve a lasting peace through direct negotiations. He emphasized the importance of all parties working to de-escalate tensions. President Abbas committed to preventing inflammatory rhetoric and incitement. (U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem)
• Trump's Envoy Visits an Anxious Ramallah - Pinhas Inbari
  President Trump's special envoy, Jason Greenblatt, met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to sound him out on restarting peace negotiations. His visit comes amidst growing uncertainty about the very future of the Palestinian Authority.
      In recent weeks, violent demonstrations have taken place in the PA by secular leftist activists, the pro-Iranian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Fatah's Tanzim military wing. One Palestinian source said, "There are enough weapons in the refugee camps to storm the Muqata'a and topple the Palestinian Authority. It is only a matter of a decision."  (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
• Israel Shuts Down PA Agency Keeping Tabs on Arabs Selling Land to Jews - Roi Yanovsky
  A Palestinian Authority government agency secretly operating in Jerusalem that carried out surveillance and registration of Arabs who sold land to Jews was shut down on Tuesday by order of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan. The names of Arabs wishing to sell homes and land to Jews were given to the PA security services in Ramallah. "The activities of this Palestinian Authority agency are part of a plan to undermine our sovereignty in Jerusalem and terrorize Arabs who sell real estate to Jews," said Erdan. (Ynet News)

• Al-Qaeda Extremists Are Leading the Syrian Insurgency - Shiraz Maher
  On Feb. 9, Syrian rebel commander Hashem al-Sheikh announced the creation of a powerful, extremist-dominated entity known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), or the "Committee for the Liberation of the Levant." One of the main groups that joined the new committee is Nur al-Din al-Zenki, once backed by the CIA as "vetted," though this designation was later revoked. Far more significant was the folding into HTS of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), which until July was known as Jabhat al-Nusrah - and which represented al-Qaeda on the ground in Syria.
      Capitalizing on ordinary Syrians' hatred of Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda has pursued an audacious line of messaging that seeks to portray the group in Syria as a responsible actor that follows a "middle path." Al-Sheikh, the HTS leader, declared Shias "the enemy," cursed Alawites (the sect to which Assad belongs) and called for hostilities against the "forces of Zoroastrianism" (used as a pejorative reference to Iran).
      This marks a dangerous pivot in the Syrian Revolution. The ascendency of HTS heralds an end for the opposition's backers in both the West and the Gulf, who will shy away from supporting an alliance that so brazenly incorporates a former al-Qaeda affiliate. Already, the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Turkey have suspended support to moderate rebel groups, fearing that supplies will fall into the hands of extremists. The writer is a senior research fellow at King's College London's International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. (New Statesman-UK)
• The PA-EU Plan to Seize Land between Jerusalem and Jericho - Josh Hasten
  Over the past decade there has been a huge upsurge in the number of structures going up in illegal Bedouin villages and encampments on both sides of Highway 1 from Jerusalem to Jericho. These aren't just small herding communities, but strategically placed mini-towns set up by the Palestinian Authority and financed by the European Union to the tune of hundreds of millions of euros, with the explicit goal of taking over strategic lands.
      By creating substantial facts on the ground, the PA with the support of the international community seeks to lay claim to those areas and demand that they be part of "Palestine." Over 1,000 illegal structures, with more being erected nearly daily, now proudly bear the EU flag.
      The Israeli government has repeatedly gone out of its way to offer permanent housing solutions for these Bedouin families. Blueprints for the establishment of a legal town to be called Ramat Nueimah near Jericho were drawn up, but that plan has been shelved due to the PA and EU refusal to accept a practical solution which would enhance the lives of these Bedouin but would lessen their grip on the strategic Jerusalem-Jericho corridor. The writer is the international director for Regavim. (Jerusalem Post)
      See also Understanding Israeli Interests in the E1 Area: Contiguity, Security, and Jerusalem - Nadav Shragai (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Jordanian Soldier Who Killed Israeli Schoolgirls Was No Madman - Reuven Berko (Israel Hayom)

• Ahmed Daqamseh, the Jordanian soldier who in 1997 killed seven Israeli schoolgirls and was released from jail on Sunday, is no madman. Many more like him grow in the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and worldwide.
• The footage of his release shows Daqamseh parading around like a peacock, surrounded by adoring fans. He told Arab media: Israel cannot be allowed to exist, normalization with it is forbidden, and Palestinian land cannot be divided into two states.
• Daqamseh epitomizes the creed of radical Islamists who justify the murder of Jewish civilians, including young girls, as part of the religious battle to eliminate Israel. "Jews in Israel are nothing but human garbage...and they will be removed by war or we will bury them," he said.
  
  Dr. Col. (ret.) Reuven Berko was an adviser on Arab Affairs to the Jerusalem district police.
  

• Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the Arab news website Al-Rai Al-Youm and former editor-in-chief of the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi, said that the entire Arab nation was celebrating the release of former Jordanian soldier Ahmed Daqamseh, who served a 20-year prison term for the murder of seven Israeli schoolgirls.
• "The entire Arab nation is celebrating (Daqamseh's release), not just the Jordanians. The vast majority of this nation considers Ahmed Daqamseh a national hero, an Islamic hero, and an Arab hero, in the full sense of the word. That man defended the honor of the Jordanian land and of the Arab nation," he told Hizbullah's Mayadeen TV.
• "He has become a beacon for many people, who yearn for the good old Arab days, when pan-Arab sentiments still existed, and most Arab regimes still considered Israel to be the enemy."