March 30th

Listen to Marwan Barghouti
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 30, 2012 - 12:00am


Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent Fatah leader imprisoned in Israel, this week released an unusual statement from his cell. He called on his people to start a popular uprising against Israel, to stop negotiations and security coordination and to boycott it. Jerusalem would do well to listen to him.


Palestinian Leader Drops Key Threat to Dismantle Government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 29, 2012 - 12:00am


RAMALLAH, West Bank — Foreign diplomats say President Mahmoud Abbas has dropped a planned threat to dismantle his autonomy government to protest the deadlock in peace efforts with Israel. Abbas had been planning to deliver the threat in a letter to Israel. But, according to a copy of the letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the language has been dropped from the text. The diplomats who provided the letter said Abbas scrapped the threat at the urging of President Barack Obama. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the letter has not yet been sent.


Israel Defense Ministry plan earmarks 10 percent of West Bank for Settlement Expansion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am


For years Israel’s Civil Administration has been covertly locating and mapping available land in the West Bank and naming the parcels after existing Jewish settlements, presumably with an eye toward expanding these communities. The Civil Administration, part of the Defense Ministry, released its maps only in response to a request from anti-settlement activist Dror Etkes under the Freedom of Information Law. In some places the boundaries of the parcels outlined in the maps coincide with the route of the West Bank separation barrier.


Israel Defense Ministry plan earmarks 10 percent of West Bank for Settlement Expansion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am


For years Israel’s Civil Administration has been covertly locating and mapping available land in the West Bank and naming the parcels after existing Jewish settlements, presumably with an eye toward expanding these communities. The Civil Administration, part of the Defense Ministry, released its maps only in response to a request from anti-settlement activist Dror Etkes under the Freedom of Information Law. In some places the boundaries of the parcels outlined in the maps coincide with the route of the West Bank separation barrier.


March 29th

NEWS: Mofaz defeats Livni for leadership of the Kadima party. Pres. Abbas says the Hamas leadership has placed national unity efforts on permanent hold. A Palestinian court extends the detention of a journalist who alleged corruption at the PLO mission in Paris, and some Palestinian journalists say they will boycott a press freedom award in protest.The Palestine Exchange (PEX) plans to become a publicly traded stock itself. J Street is targeting its message towards Jewish Democrats this year. Israel may have acquired airbases in Azerbaijan. Fears are growing about the potential for a third Palestinian intifada. A new poll shows most Israelis and Palestinians support a two-state solution, but don't think it will happen.The State Department declines to include Jerusalem as a part of Israel in a new travel itinerary. COMMENTARY: Shmuel Rosner says Israelis should appreciate the support of right-wing American evangelicals. Palestinian Christians issue an open letter to Israeli Amb. Oren challenging his account of how Israel treats Christians. Israel Harel says the Israeli Supreme Court is impeding the settler movement. Amir Oren says any Israeli plans to attack Iran have been put on hold until next year at the earliest. Carlo Strenger says boycotting settlements won't save the two-state solution. Douglas Bloomfield says Arab states in the Gulf fear Iran's nuclear program but also the consequences of any Israeli attack. Arie Maliniak says Arab soccer players in Israel should go on strike against racism. Gal Beckerman reviews Peter Barnard's new book. George Hishmeh says that between procrastinating on peace and expanding settlements, Netanyahu is making a two-state solution impossible. Amnon Lord says the dismantling of the PA might produce new political opportunities. Gilad Halpern says Israel's political conversation is obsessed with the past and blind to the future.

The Quest for a 'Land for Peace'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Gilad Halpern - (Opinion) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am


It was 1969. Israel had just come jaw-droppingly victorious out of the Six Day War, where it had dealt a swift and fatal blow to three Arab armies and occupied territories that were three times its size. The United Nations Security Council had subsequently passed Resolution 242, which would pave the way to a settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict, coining the famous phrase "land for peace." Israel was about to see one of the underlying principles of Zionism realized: a Jewish state living in peace with its neighbors.


Arab soccer strike, now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Arie Maliniak - (Opinion) March 28, 2012 - 12:00am


The recent bout of rioting by Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans at a local mall started as a violent victory celebration, yet within a short while turned into a flurry of “death to Arab” chants and assaults. The Israel Police did not deal with the riot because “no official complaint was filed.” Meanwhile, the Israeli soccer association did not deal with the “death to Arabs” singing by fans of another team, SC Ashdod, during a game, because the referees did not see or hear anything. We’ve had enough of this.


New political opportunities?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Amnon Lord - (Opinion) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am


The disintegration of the Palestinian Authority--ultimately, an act by the Palestinian leadership to dismantle the PA--is certainly not in the interest of Israel, for quite a few reasons. It is also not in the interest of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian leadership, whether Fateh or Hamas. Here are some thoughts as to the diverse directions such a development might take.


Netanyahu walking a thin line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am


When Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington earlier this month, he startled his huge audience — over 10,000 American Jews, Congressmen and US officials led by President Barack Obama — at the three-day American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference with his unbalanced and sometimes exaggerated pronouncements.


Peter Beinart's Big Zionist Experiment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Gal Beckerman - (Book Review) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am


The Crisis of Zionism By Peter Beinart Times Books, 304 pages, $26



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