March 2nd

Israel eases Gaza blockade, permits tomato exports
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel further eased its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday by permitting a first truckload of cherry tomatoes destined for Europe to pass through their common frontier, officials said. Raed Fattouh, a liaison coordinator with Israel, said the truck had passed through a main crossing and its produce was to be shipped to Europe. Israel's Defence Ministry had said on Sunday the shipment was to go through with the produce scheduled to be sent to Europe, in coordination with the Dutch government.

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Realism and State Building in Palestine: Interview with Hussein Ibish
Interview with Hussein Ibish - Prospect - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

As another decade is added to the over half-century of conflict in Israel and Palestine, optimism continues to be crushed under the weight of time. The breakdown of direct negotiations last September that resulted from Israel’s refusal to continue the freeze on settlements only made the future bleaker. No matter what side of the issue one sits on, it is clear that the approaches of both sides have failed to produce real solutions. New ideas and approaches are necessary if the conflict is going to be resolved in the foreseeable future.

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Israel army tests advanced tank weapon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

A state-of-the-art anti-rocket system designed to protect tanks had its baptism of fire on Tuesday as Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian gunmen on the Gaza border, the army said. The military said an Israeli tank on border patrol was attacked by an anti-tank missile, but used the new equipment to neutralize the attack and did not return fire.

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Hamas govt urges children not to study Holocaust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Gaza government officials on Tuesday urged school children to leave classrooms if human rights lessons included information about the Holocaust. The Hamas-led government said it would do everything it could to prevent children being taught about the Holocaust in UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip. It accused the UN agency of overstepping its humanitarian and relief role. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness explained that human rights education has been part of the agency's curriculum in schools across the region since 2002. In Gaza, the agency runs 228 schools, educating over 200,000 children.

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Return Gaza to Egypt: It will help Israel – and the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Dashiell Shapiro - (Editorial) March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

The departure of Hosni Mubarak generates fear in Western capitals, and for good reasons. Egypt has been a steadfast ally of the West for decades, as it maintained peace with Israel and worked against Iranian influence in the region. Many Western leaders are frightened to realize that all this may evaporate if anti-Western forces, including the Muslim Brotherhood, gain power in a new government. But a new reality in Egypt may also present opportunities for peacemaking in the region that would have been unthinkable only weeks ago.

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March 1st

The National praises PM Fayyad's state-building program. PM Netanyahu warns that settlement building cannot continue unrestrained. H.D.S. Greenway says peace is in sight. Questions are raised by the PLO dissolving of its negotiations unit. A Jerusalem conference is closed by Israel. The PA says an Israeli investigation into an attack in 2002 makes excuses for murder. Israel may recognize many outposts. Israel is concerned about the emerging new Arab order. Pres. Abbas points to an international consensus against settlement building. Hamas accuses Israel of escalating tensions. Settlers attack Palestinian villages. Bradley Burston asks what if Israeli forces treated settlers as they do Palestinians. Alon Idan says Netanyahu does not recognize his weakened position. A new poll shows favorable American attitudes towards Israel. Dennis Ross tells the J Street conference that time is running out for peace. DM Barak says Israeli citizens cannot take the law into their own hands. Gershon Baskin says Israelis can learn from J Street. The Swedish FM spends a night in Nablus. Hamas demands UN schools in Gaza stop teaching about the Holocaust. Fayyad says he's offered Hamas a pragmatic agreement, and seeks public input through social media.

Dennis Ross: Time running out for peace; status quo unsustainable
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - February 28, 2011 - 1:00am

The Obama Administration's "ongoing strategic discussions with the Israelis have taken on a character, a range of issues, intensity, and a frequency that is simply unprecedented," Dennis Ross told J Street's annual conference on Monday. The White House adviser on Middle East peace issues said that one of the Obama Administration's principles was “an unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security.”

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Poll: Americans still favorable towards Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu 's relationship may be shaky, the peace process is deadlocked – but Americans still have our backs. The latest Gallup Poll reveals that the majority of Americans, about 63%, continued to rate Israel favorably in 2011. Nearly 17% of Americans favor the Palestinians and 20% are impartial – supporting both sides equally or indifferently. Americans have not been affected by European and global de-legitimization efforts, not even by the apartheid week organized by Israel's adversaries in campuses around the world.

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Barak: We can't let citizens take law into their own hands
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

In reaction to clashes that took place a day earlier in the Gilad Farm outpost in Samaria, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday said that "We can not let citizens take the law into their hands." "These disturbances damage the rule of law in the country," Barak said during a tour of the Givati Brigade's training in the Negev.

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Netanyahu has failed to recognize his weakened status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Alon Idan - March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He phoned to say he was disappointed that Germany's had voted for a UN Security Council condemning the settlements. Merkel reportedly responded: "How dare you. You are the one who disappointed us. You haven't made a single step to advance peace." In response to Merkel's aggressive remarks, Netanyahu promised to deliver a new speech about the peace process within two or three weeks.

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