06/26/13

* Netanyahu says Israel will withstand any challenge to its security Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon attended a Golani Brigade war drill on the Golan Heights on Wednesday.

* US Supreme Court in historic rulings on gay marriage The US Supreme Court has struck down a law denying federal benefits to gay couples and cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California.

* Russia said to withdraw military staff from Syria Russia has withdrawn all its military personnel from Syrian soil.

* Abbas: We will only negotiate based on 1967 lines Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Al Jazeera Wednesday that the Palestinians would return to the negotiating table only if Israel accepts the vision of two states based on the 1967 borders.

* Israel's Arabs growing more extreme in views on state Three-quarters of Israeli Arabs believe Arab leaders should deal with daily issues and not the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

* Turkey protests restrict Erdogan's foreign activism The unrest in Turkey is forcing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to expend his political capital at home.

* King Abdullah warns of Palestinian Arab Spring styled revolt Jordan's King Abdullah said Palestinians could launch an Arab Spring-style revolt if they felt prospects for a peaceful settlement of their conflict with Israel had reached a dead end.

* Haniyeh: PA Arabs Won't Recognize Israel Hamas's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday that Palestinian Authority Arabs would never recognize Israel.

* McDonald's not lovin' the settlements McDonald's Israel on Wednesday said it would not open a branch in the city of Ariel, located beyond the Green Line.