March 8th

Vice President Biden on goodwill trip to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Vice President Biden on goodwill trip to Israel Biden is set to arrive Monday, with a goal of mending relations between U.S. and Israel after a tough first year in which Obama's demands in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict alienated many in Israel. By Edmund Sanders March 8, 2010 Reporting from Jerusalem - Vice President Joe Biden was due to arrive Monday in Israel on a mission to mend relations after a rocky first year for new administrations in both countries.

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Palestinian Sees Lesson Translating an Israeli’s Work
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Six years ago, when violence was the order of the day here, Elias Khoury’s 20-year-old son, George, was killed in a Palestinian terrorist attack. The Khourys are Palestinian, so the murder of George — who was out for a jog and shot from behind by gunmen in a car — produced an apology. Sorry, the killers said, we assumed the jogger was a Jew. Mr. Khoury was not only disconsolate, he was appalled. A prominent Jerusalem lawyer who often fights Israeli confiscations of land from Palestinians, he considered violence a toxin corroding his nation’s core.

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Biden Arrives in Israel on Trip to Restart Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. arrived in Israel on Monday, culminating a two-month procession of high-ranking Americans seeking to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and persuade Israel to help efforts to impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program rather than pursue military action. Mr. Biden is due to stay through Friday, meeting Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders and giving a speech at Tel Aviv University aimed at expressing American solidarity with Israel.

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March 5th

Hamas bans male hairdressers from women's salons, accuses the PA of arresting its members, denies Al Qaeda-like groups are operating in Gaza and says negotiations with Israel are a betrayal of the nation. Zion Evrony looks at how the Irish peace process can inform Middle East peace. The PA sends medicine to Gaza. The Irish Foreign Minister calls the Gaza blockade "medieval and inhumane." 60 Palestinians are injured in clashes at holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. VP Biden may kick off proximity talks next week, but widespread skepticism remains and Ha'aretz reports that the US has agreed to assign blame for any failure. PLO officials accuse Israel of stalling. Yoel Marcus says PM Netanyahu knows what is needed for peace. Yoni Eshpar looks at the track record of boycotts and sanctions in many contexts. Jewish Americans urge VP Biden to reach out to Israelis. Many Palestinian women have become family breadwinners due to the occupation. Ehud Yaari says a Palestinian-Israeli armistice is urgently required before any final agreement. Ziad AbuZayyad says Palestinians must increasingly adopt the tactic of nonviolent resistance.

The power of nonviolence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ziad Abu Zayyad - (Opinion) March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

There are signs of mounting distress among the Israeli police and other security forces in the way they are dealing with the Palestinians who stage weekly demonstrations in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. These protests, in which Palestinians are joined by foreign sympathizers and activists of the Israeli left, are intended to express opposition to the eviction of Palestinians from their homes, which are then inhabited by Jewish families.

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Armistice Now: An Interim Agreement for Israel and Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs
by Ehud Yaari - (Opinion) March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

More than 16 years after the euphoria of the Oslo accords, the Israelis and the Palestinians have still not reached a final-status peace agreement. Indeed, the last decade has been dominated by setbacks -- the second intifada, which started in September 2000; Hamas' victory in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative elections; and then its military takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 -- all of which have aggravated the conflict.

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Occupation Turns Palestinian Women Into Breadwinners
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - March 4, 2010 - 1:00am

The World Bank (WB) warned over a year ago that unless Israel eased its restrictions on movement and access in the West Bank the Palestinian economy would further deteriorate. In February the WB released another report, ‘Checkpoints and Barriers: Searching for Livelihoods in the West Bank and Gaza, Gender Dimensions of Economic Collapse’. The report outlines the devastating impact Israel’s occupation has caused to Palestinians financially, and women in particular.

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Jewish leaders to Biden: Reach out to Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
March 3, 2010 - 1:00am

Jewish leaders who met with Vice President Joe Biden stressed the need to convey the Obama administration's message to the Israeli public. Biden hosted a number of leaders at his residence Tuesday, a week ahead of his visit to Israel. Participants said the meeting, which included top White House Middle East staffers Dan Shapiro and Dennis Ross, lasted an hour -- well beyond the 20 minutes allotted.

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Dahlan against talks: Israel just wants to gain time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

Despite support from the Arab League for renewing indirect talks with Israel, more and more Palestinian voices are being heard opposing the move. On Thursday evening, Fatah Central Committee spokesman Mohammad Dahlan added his voice to the chorus. "In light of Israel's acts," he said, "in particular the continued settlement and aggression against holy sites, there is no point to direct or indirect negotiations with the Israeli government."

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Report: Biden to open indirect talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

Days before a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed optimism about the situation in the Middle East and said that "peace negotiations with the Palestinians will begin very soon." A Palestinian source told the al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper that indirect negotiations mediate by the United States may be launched next week upon Biden's arrival. According to the minister, he and his fellow Labor Party members "are making sure that the prime minister begins peace negotiations, day and night."

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