* Thousands attend Fatah's Arafat memorial rally in Gaza Hamas allows Fatah to hold rally in Gaza Strip commemorating 13th anniversary of death of former leader Yasser Arafat, tens of thousands attend; in speech via satellite, Abbas reiterates future state must include Gaza, Fatah monopoly on security forces; Abbas warns abandonment of two-state solution will lead to one-state over entire 'historic Palestine' territory.
* Erdogan: The aim of the term "moderate Islam" is to "weaken Islam" "The term 'moderate Islam' is being lathered up again."
* US joins calls for Lebanese PM's return from Saudi Arabia Tillerson warns against using Lebanon as 'a venue for proxy conflicts,' as Hezbollah chief accuses Saudis of declaring war on country.
* Kremlin: Putin, Trump Agree Political Solution Needed For Syria Moscow and Washington agree there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict, according to the text of the joint statement published on the Kremlin's website.
* Report: Iranians Built New Military Base In Syria Israel has repeatedly warned against Iran's plans for planting more roots close to the northern border.
* Iraq begins fight for final IS-held town, Rawa Iraqi forces have launched an offensive to recapture Rawa, the last town controlled by so-called Islamic State.
* Syrian drone over Golan followed Trump-Putin disagreement on Syrian buffer zones The Syrian UAV was sent over the Golan, likely with Russian approval, to probe Israel's flexibility on the buffer zones for keeping Syrian/Iranian/Hizballah forces far from its borders.
* Hayward: China's Xi Says 'Economic Globalism' Is 'Irreversible Historical Trend' Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping embraced "economic globalism," calling it an "irreversible historical trend."
* Sisi: Islamic State Collapse in Syria, Iraq Could Cause Flow of Jihadis into Egypt Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has expressed fear that Islamic State terrorists will flee to Egypt as the caliphate continues to crumble at the hands of the U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Iraq.
* John Bolton, Morton Klein Rally Congress to Move U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem The national security subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee held a congressional hearing Wednesday, chaired by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), with testimony about whether the United States should move its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.