March 10th

Why Israel jailed me for 'talking too much' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Jamal Juma' - (Opinion) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am East Jerusalem The Palestinian elected leadership is weak. And even with Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this week, the renewed Middle East peace process appears to be little more than a charade. Israel has taken this opportunity to crack down on Palestinians who advocate nonviolent protests against the Israeli West Bank segregation barrier and charged them based on questionable or false evidence. I know: I was arrested for talking too much. All we Palestinians want is a life free from racial discrimination. » Read more

Peaceful protest in Israel can lead to arrest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New Haven Register by Mazin Qumsiyeh - (Opinion) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am THIS week, when I return to my village in the occupied West Bank, I face possible arrest by Israel for engaging in nonviolent protests against abusive Israeli policies opposed by our own government. This prospect is difficult after 29 years of living in the United States, where such activities are fully protected. It was this openness that attracted me to the U.S. I became a proud citizen and pursued work not only in my profession but also as a human rights advocate. » Read more

Israel: End Crackdown on Anti-Wall Activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Human Rights Watch March 5, 2010 - 1:00am (Jerusalem) - Israel should immediately end its arbitrary detention of Palestinians protesting the separation barrier, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel is building most of the barrier inside the West Bank rather than along the Green Line, in violation of international humanitarian law. In recent months, Israeli military authorities have arbitrarily arrested and denied due process rights to several dozen Palestinian anti-wall protesters. » Read more

Palestinians postpone commemoration of militant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ali Sawafta - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 10 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority ordered on Wednesday the cancellation of a ceremony to honour a woman who led a 1978 hijacking of a civilian bus in Israel in which 35 people were killed. The cancellation of Thursday's ceremony coincided with a visit to the occupied West Bank by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who met with Palestinian leaders as part of Washington's efforts to revive the moribund Middle East peace process. » Read more

Biden says Palestinians deserve 'viable' state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Karin Laub - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Palestinians deserve a "viable" independent state with contiguous territory, seeking to reassure them of U.S. support after Israel announced plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem. The Israeli move has overshadowed Biden's visit, meant to promote a new round of U.S.-led negotiations, and drawn Palestinian accusations that Israel is not serious about peace. Israel apologized for embarrassing Biden with the timing of its announcement, but made clear it has no intention of reversing its plan. » Read more

Gazan hairdressers protest Hamas restrictions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman March 10, 2010 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza's male hairdressers have filed a complaint with a human rights group over a Hamas edict banning them from cutting women's hair. Gaza's Islamic militant rulers announced the ban last week. It affects only five coiffeurs but highlights Hamas' increasing attempts to impose a strict version of Islam in the already conservative Palestinian territory. » Read more

U.S. supports Palestinian state-building efforts: Biden ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Editorial) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday said Washington supports Palestinians in building their institutions for a "viable" Palestinian state. The United States "strongly supports the Palestinian (National) Authority's efforts to build its institutions and the develop the economy of the state," Biden told a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, referring to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's two-year state building plan. » Read more

Arabs withdraw support to proximity talks: PLO official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Editorial) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am Arab states have withdrawn their support to indirect proximity talks between the Palestinians and Israel after the latter approved plans to expand a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian official said Wednesday. "Some Arab countries told the U.S. administration that the Arab League (AL)'s decision regarding the indirect talks is no longer existed," Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Voice of Palestine radio. » Read more

Israel policy allows settlers to rampage unchecked ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am From a Palestinian perspective, it's hard to imagine better timing for U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won't have speak at great length nor lay on the charm to persuade Biden, White House staff or the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem that Netanyahu government is not serious when it says it wants peace. One must admit that the current diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians is not about reaching a peace deal - each side is convinced that the other is either not serious or incapable. » Read more

When Israelis degrade Israel by humiliating Joe Biden ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am Why would Israeli officials degrade Israel by humiliating the vice-president of the United States? What conceivable advantage is there in the Interior Ministry choosing the occasion of a high-profile visit by Joseph R. Biden, Jr., a mission aimed at soothing strained relations between Israel and the Obama administration, to announce the approval of 1,600 new homes for Israelis in East Jerusalem? Or to add, in insult to injury, that construction on the new homes could begin as soon as early May. » Read more