February 28th

Abbas: E1 building is 'red line' for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - February 27, 2013 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his opposition on Wednesday to Israel’s plan to build in the area known as E1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim. Abbas said that the Palestinians considered the plan a “red line” that should not be crossed. Abbas’s remarks came during a meeting he held in his office in Ramallah with Nigel Kim Darroch, the National Security Adviser for the British government.

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Zero Dark Zero
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am

A minister in the outgoing Israeli government put it to me bluntly during a recent visit to Israel: “For the first time in these elections, the Palestinians did not come into it.” Israelis for the most part are comfortable enough to ignore their neighbors. If they are on the Titanic they prefer not to think about it.

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Two Palestinians end hunger strike that fuelled protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Noah Browning - February 27, 2013 - 1:00am

Two Palestinian prisoners whose hunger strike stoked clashes in the West Bank have ended their protest after Israel agreed to release them in May, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday. The men were among four prisoners held without formal charge in an Israeli jail who have refused to eat for between three and six months.

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A Third Intifada?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Prospect
by Matthew Duss - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am

Over the past days, growing unrest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in response to the death of a Palestinian in Israeli custody has threatened the relative calm that has prevailed recently, a result of the considerable amount of cooperation between the Palestinian security services and the Israeli army.

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Israel Should Reconsider Administrative Law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Shlomi Eldar - (Opinion) February 27, 2013 - 1:00am

It was only after the death of Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradath, the violent demonstrations that erupted in its wake, and the fear that this could be the spark that ignites a Third Intifada that the Israeli media decided to expand its coverage of hunger strikes under way in Israeli prisons.

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Eight hundred thousand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am

Eight hundred thousand. That is the number of Palestinian residents arrested and imprisoned in Israeli jails since the beginning of the occupation, according to The New York Times. Almost a million people. That estimate could be a bit high; some say it's “only” 600,000. After all, there is no exact number.  But the general picture is clear and chilling: When people say that Israel imprisons the Palestinian people, this is what they mean: the physical, concrete, overcrowded and torturous imprisonment of people in jail.

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Abbas needs an heir apparent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Jonathan Schanzer - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am

President Obama's visit to the Middle East next month is widely billed as an earnest attempt to double down on diplomacy and revive the moribund peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against the president.

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Why the Middle East Needs America
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Allen Weiner - (Opinion) February 28, 2013 - 1:00am

Over the years, the contention that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict be solved only through “direct talks” has become almost a mantra, especially from the Israeli government and its allies. But direct talks between implacable foes, without active mediation, may be the worst possible way to try to settle the conflict. Facing one’s adversary directly across the table heightens psychological barriers even to a mutually beneficial deal.

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NEWS: The situation on the ground in the occupied territories calms somewhat, as experts say neither the PA nor Hamas are looking for an escalation. (Ha'aretz/Ma'an) Some experts believe both sides will continue to use contained, low-level disturbances to keep up the pressure until Pres. Obama's visit in March. (AFP) Israel hints that, in order to enhance credibility, it may include foreign observers in its own probe into whether a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody died due to torture. (Jerusalem Post) The Palestinian teachers union says it is calling off a planned general strike protesting non-payment of salaries. (Ma'an) The PA says it will pay the remaining half of January salaries today. (PNN) Pres. Abbas says any peace agreement must involve the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. (Ma'an) Hamas insists no rocket was fired from Gaza into southern Israel. (Xinhua) An Egyptian court rules that the government must destroy all smuggling tunnels to and from Gaza. (Reuters) Another Egyptian court throws out a case against the peace treaty with Israel, but the FJP says it's still wants to amend the agreement to allow more Egyptian forces in Sinai. (Al-Masry Al-Youm) Israeli officials say unexploded tank shells from Syria land in the occupied Golan Heights. (AP) Israel returns six wounded Syrians to their country after medical treatment. (AP) Palestinians welcome an EU report recommending sanctions against Israeli settlements. (Xinhua/The Media Line) Pres. Peres says he will lead an effort to urge Obama to release convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. (AP) A Jewish Israeli mob reportedly attacks a Palestinian woman at a rail station in Jerusalem. (Ma'an) A Palestinian American who lives in the occupied West Bank has been repeatedly denied entry into Israel despite having a valid visa. (Ha'aretz)

COMMENTARY: Yaakov Lappin says Israeli officials have concluded that ensuring Palestinian security forces are paid on time is essential for maintaining calm in the occupied West Bank. (Jerusalem Post) Dalia Hatuqa argues that, in the long run, there is an untenable tension between ongoing occupation and PA security coordination with Israel. (The National) Amira Hass asks why a third intifada hasn't broken out yet. (Ha'aretz) Paul Pilar says if there is a third intifada, the United States should take advantage of it. (The National Interest) Ben Caspit says it's not Abbas who is a weak leader, it's Israel's leadership that is weak. (Al Monitor) Carlo Strenger says Israel isn't being delegitimized, the settlements are. (Ha'aretz) Ori Nir says textbooks don't shape worldviews, lived reality of occupation does. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Zvi Bar'el looks at the role of Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen in the prisoner issue and Israeli security generally. (Ha'aretz) Asmaa al-Ghoul says among Palestinians demands are growing for third parties other than Hamas and Fatah to contest future elections. (Al Monitor) Shai Feldman looks at the tough task facing Obama, Sec. Kerry or anyone else who wants to launch a new Middle East peace effort. (The National Interest)

European Union Consuls Call for Economic Sanctions against Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - February 27, 2013 - 1:00am

  Charge Israel is Making a Two-State Solution Impossible

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