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Daybreak: New Syria Plan Needed

Plus Egypt prisoner swap in the works, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
April 19, 2012
U.N. monitors in Damascus yesterday.(Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)
U.N. monitors in Damascus yesterday.(Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)

• Syria is close to allowing up to 250 U.N. observers, though possibly with restrictions. [NYT]

• The Obama administration has reportedly all but given up on the current “plan” for Syria, and is casting about for alternatives. [FP The Cable]

• And U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared that Syria “has yet to fully implement its initial obligations” under the ceasefire. [Reuters/JPost]

• Israel is reportedly negotiating another prisoner swap with Egypt, trying to return an Israeli jailed for 13 years as a spy. [DPA/Vos Iz Neias?]

• Settlers have built 20 homes as part of a West Bank outpost on land the Israeli government says is privately owned by Palestinians. So far, no action has been taken to stop them. [Haaretz]

• Jordan’s King Abdullah is in the process of banning the Muslim Brotherhood. [Times of Israel]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.