• The international community is getting ready to “admit defeat” in brokering a Syrian cease-fire. Presumably, after such an admittance, a more effective plan will follow. [WP]
• President Abbas’ recent efforts at censoring Palestinian media are actually a response to new, Arab Spring-prompted reporting on governmental corruption. [NYT]
• Slowly but surely, it has become okay to criticize the king of Jordan, and broader instability may soon afflict that country as well. [WP]
• A High Court judge criticized the Israeli government for failing to dismantle the Ulpana neighborhood in the settlement of Beit El, as the High Court itself ordered. [Haaretz]
• The Saudi ambassador returned to Cairo, re-establishing diplomatic relations following an unusual riot last week. [NYT]
• Al Qaeda released a video of Warren Weinstein, a Virginia-based contractor captured in Pakistan, pleading to President Obama for his life. [AP/Vos Iz Neias?]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.