• Hamas will join the Palestine Liberation Organization, the body that represents the Palestinian cause on the international stage. This could be a big deal. [AP/WP]
• Recent attacks against U.N. forces patrolling the Israel-Lebanon border came from Hezbollah, say Israel and France. Israel is concerned about the potential for escalation. [Haaretz]
• Iran plans to hold naval war games beyond the Strait of Hormuz, in international waters, not too far from U.S. ships. This’ll end well. [AP/WP]
• As the Arab League prepares its visit, 160 more were killed in Syria’s northwest. Or as Bashar Assad calls it, “Wednesday.” [NYT]
• In pleading the insanity defense, the lawyer for Levi Aron, accused killer of eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky, suggested that the inbreeding in that Brooklyn Hasidic community may have led to his client’s mental deficiencies. [NY Daily News]
• Jordan Zane Weiner, meet the world. [Page Six]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.