Palestinian incitement letter garners 27 senators
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

A bipartisan slate of 27 U.S. senators signed on to a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press the Palestinian Authority to address incitement. The letter, sent Tuesday but initiated two weeks ago by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), focuses on the March 11 massacre of five members of a Jewish family in Itamar, a settlement in the northern West Bank, and suggests that the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, has not done enough to stem incitement.

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A New Palestinian Movement: Young, Networked, Nonviolent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Joe Klein - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Fadi Quran is the face of the new Middle East. He is 23, a graduate of Stanford University, with a double major in physics and international relations. He is a Palestinian who has returned home to start an alternative-energy company and see what he can do to help create a Palestinian state. He identifies with neither of the two preeminent Palestinian political factions, Hamas and Fatah. His allegiance is to the Facebook multitudes who orchestrated the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and who are organizing nonviolent protests throughout the region.

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Fed-up Palestinians turn from US to find other providers of answers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi, Hugh Naylor - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

With the American administration consumed by popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, US efforts to push forward a Palestinian-Israeli peace process, already stalled, have receded further into the background. Palestinians, despondent with Washington's efforts, are in turn trying to energise their pursuit of alternatives to their overreliance on US meditation. In the process, the Palestinians risk angering not only Israel, but also the US, which remains an important donor to the Palestinian Authority.

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Netanyahu digs his grave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab tsunami that has come in the wake of the Arab spring that saw the downfall of two autocratic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt is still blowing hard in other Arab countries, especially in Libya, where the days of its hallucinating ruler Muammar Gaddafi are believed to be numbered. What has been equally agonising has been the failure, if not refusal, of western governments to help correct this tragic Arab course. But then it can be argued that most western nations have benefited from this lackadaisical situation in various Arab states.

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Next, an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) March 29, 2011 - 12:00am

Last night, rejecting criticism of his actions in Libya, President Obama outlined a standard for civilized multilateralism: “Sometimes, the course of history poses challenges that threaten our common humanity and common security,” he said. “Real leadership creates the conditions and coalitions for others to step up as well; to work with allies and partners ... to see that the principles of justice and human dignity are upheld by all.” If you should act, act where you can, and act together.

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Militants Put Gazans in Danger, Group Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian human rights group in Gaza took the unusual step this week of condemning the building and storage of anti-Israel rockets in densely populated areas, a practice that has led to injuries and deaths of civilians. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that it had investigated recent rocket explosions and found that locally produced projectiles had fallen on homes in Gaza or exploded in factories where they were made or stored. Shrapnel severely wounded several people, including a 22-year-old woman and her 7-month-old baby.

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Militants Put Gazans in Danger, Group Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian human rights group in Gaza took the unusual step this week of condemning the building and storage of anti-Israel rockets in densely populated areas, a practice that has led to injuries and deaths of civilians. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that it had investigated recent rocket explosions and found that locally produced projectiles had fallen on homes in Gaza or exploded in factories where they were made or stored. Shrapnel severely wounded several people, including a 22-year-old woman and her 7-month-old baby.

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March 30th

Facebook removes a page calling for a new Palestinian intifada. Mohammed Dajani Daoudi and Robert Satloff say it’s important that Palestinians learn about the Holocaust. Critics say Israel is undermining its democracy. Neither Hamas nor Israel seem to want a new war. Deputy FM Ayalon says Israel welcomes Arab democracy. Palestinians commemorate land day, and burn photos of FM Lieberman. A Hamas court sentences man to death for treason. One Palestinian is killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. Israel is considering building an artificial island off the coast of Gaza. An arrested Palestinian calls Israel’s charges against him “a farce.” PM Netanyahu sues some media for libel. Israel makes it clear it supports the continuation of Pres. Assad in power in Syria. Palestinians ask for UN recognition in September. Israeli forces and settlers clash at a West Bank outpost. Analysts say the future of the peace process is ambiguous. Aluf Benn says Netanyahu spends all his time making excuses and avoiding peace. UNSG Ban calls the occupation “morally, politically unsustainable.” Four Palestinians are released after a boy admits lying they raped him. Amos Oz says Israel must talk to Marwan Barghouti. Jews in Arab countries facing unrest decline offers to go to Israel. Hamas believes it’s making progress with Egypt. Newt Gingrich claims the US is run by an “anti-Israel elite.”

Peace process between Israel, Palestinians ambiguous
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

In recent days, the political threats between Israel and the Palestinians have mounted as the two sides are far away from the negotiation table due to complicated differences that made the future between them ambiguous. Although the United States had repeatedly attempted to bring the two sides together, the disputes over Jewish settlement still an obstacle before resuming the talks, which the Palestinians applied to the UN Security Council to condemn and finally vetoed by the U.S..

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Netanyahu has time for excuses, but not for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Some people collect stamps or butterflies, some people grow orchids, others go skydiving or surfing. What Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu like to do is stay at luxury hotels at the expense of others. It's their hobby. Less dangerous than bungee jumping, less cruel than partridge hunting, less kinky than trading partners with other couples. At worst, they harm the environment by getting too much dry cleaning done.

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