NEWS: DM Barak says that Israel never promised the United States not to attack Iran even while negotiations are being conducted. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel are going on hunger strike. The PA criticizes Pres. Ahmadinejad's visit to the island of Abu Musa, which is disputed territory between the UAE and Iran. Hamas is keeping the results of its politburo reshuffle secret. Palestinians mark “Prisoners Day.” Israel's cabinet is preparing to vote on recognizing three “unauthorized” settlement outposts. Precedent suggests the Israeli soldier who struck a Danish activist in the face with his rifle is unlikely to face any serious consequences. Israel is establishing a special unit to enforce the demolition of Bedouin homes. Bereaved Palestinian physician Izzeldin Abuelaish is pursuing a new life in Toronto working for peace. Occupation forces shoot and injure a farmer in southern Gaza. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel's leaders incite public hatred against peace activists. Moshe Arens says Palestinians are not welcome in Jordan. Herb Keinon says Palestinian talk of the letter to Netanyahu is theatrics, not diplomacy. Faysal Hijazeen and Ibrahim Shomali said Palestinian Christians desperately need an end to Israel's occupation. Amos Gilboa says Israeli leftists are trafficking in illusions about peace. Habib Fayad says, in spite of their bitter divorce, Hamas will eventually return to Syria. Daniel Levy says Benny Morris is completely wrong to blame "Palestinian rejectionism" for the lack of peace. Yossi Alpher says Israel's “antiterrorism” military actions in the occupied territories haven't brought it any closer to peace. Ghassan Khatib says most Palestinians believe Israel is content with the status quo and is working to maintain it, without being held to account by the international community. Mohammed Najib says Israel's "Operation Defensive Shield" offensive in the West Bank 10 years ago continues to define the basic realities of life under occupation for Palestinians and remains a source of mistrust between the parties.

Senior PA official: Iran is provoking region
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The secretary-general of the Palestinian Authority on Monday accused Iran of provoking regional strife by violating the sovereignty of the UAE. Tayyeb Abdul Rahim condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Abu Musa, one of three Gulf islands claimed by both the UAE and Iran. The PA rejects Iranian threats to the Gulf states "as we reject the Israeli occupation and resist it," the secretary-general said in a statement.

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A sea-change in trust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mohammed Najib - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Ten years after Operation Defensive Shield, the wide Israeli operation in the West Bank, a new reality has been created on the ground, whose impact deeply affects West Bank residents.

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How we got to here
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Ten years ago, Israel reoccupied the Palestinian Authority areas that had been designated in peace agreements as "Area A", i.e., areas under the civilian and security authority of the Palestinian Authority. That Israeli aggression, dubbed Operation Defensive Shield, dramatically changed the status quo that was created by the Oslo agreements, which was intended to be a transition to a permanent solution agreed on through final status negotiations.

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Lessons we must not ignore
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

There are important lessons to be learned from Operation Defensive Shield, the Israel Defense Forces' aggressive push deep into the West Bank beginning in late March 2002. Both Israelis and Palestinians ignore these lessons at their peril.

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Of Herrings and Elephants: Benny Morris and "Palestinian Rejectionism"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Daniel Levy - (Blog) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

In his recent column for Open Zion, Benny Morris predicts that nothing will come of next week’s planned meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Palestinian who goes by the same title, Salam Fayyad. It is a safe prediction and one with which I fully agree. Morris however, uses his column to suggest that it is a prediction that can hold for any negotiation with any Palestinian, at any time, due to what he describes as a “deep, basic Palestinian rejectionism.” At the same time, settlements are belittled (they can be “finessed” according to Morris). MIDEAST STONES OF EXILE

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Of Herrings and Elephants: Benny Morris and "Palestinian Rejectionism"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Daniel Levy - (Blog) April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

In his recent column for Open Zion, Benny Morris predicts that nothing will come of next week’s planned meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Palestinian who goes by the same title, Salam Fayyad. It is a safe prediction and one with which I fully agree. Morris however, uses his column to suggest that it is a prediction that can hold for any negotiation with any Palestinian, at any time, due to what he describes as a “deep, basic Palestinian rejectionism.” At the same time, settlements are belittled (they can be “finessed” according to Morris).

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Hamas and Syria’s Bitter Divorce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from As-Safir
by Habib Fayad - (Analysis) March 23, 2012 - 12:00am

The identity of the Hamas resistance movement cannot be limited to its relationship with the Syrian regime. Likewise, Damascus’ rejectionist strategy, which supports the Palestinian cause, cannot be reduced to its support for Hamas. Any rift between the two sides would undoubtedly affect the entire axis of resistance (Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran). However, a rift would not prevent Hamas from being the head of the Palestinian resistance, nor would it prevent the regime from being the hub of the axis.

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Israeli Leftists Peddle Illusions In the Guise of Foreign Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Amos Gilboa - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am




Israeli Leftists Peddle Illusions In the Guise of Foreign Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Amos Gilboa - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Recently, I have been seeing terrible visions in the morning before I open my eyes. Everything around me is destroyed, the wreckage reaches above my head. I crawl outside, hoping to be saved, but I see before me an abyss filled with corpses. This is it, all those intellectuals in the media were correct—those who decided long ago that our democracy is in shambles and has come to an end due to the iniquities of the state. That our society has descended to the lower limits of hell and has dissolved, due to the sins and transgressions of the state.

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