NEWS: A Palestinian protester shot two weeks ago by Israeli troops at a protest in the occupied West Bank has died of his wounds. (AP) An East Jerusalem woman is injured by rubber bullets fired by Israeli border police. (Ha'aretz) The prisoner issue continues to inflame Palestinian public opinion. (Reuters) Palestinian officials say they have no intention of reviving peace talks with Israel before Pres. Obama's visit later this month. (Xinhua) The closure of smuggling tunnels by Egypt hits Gaza construction projects and businesses. (Reuters) Israeli occupation forces arrest two Palestinians in West Bank raids. (Ma'an) Pres. Abbas and senior Fatah leaders express condolences on the death of Pres. Chavez. (PNN/Ma'an) Palestinians accuse Israeli occupation forces of harassing women at a Jerusalem holy site. (PNN) Israel's police commissioner describes the wave of attacks against ordinary Palestinians as "despicable." (YNet) A Jewish American pro-Palestinian activist is denied entry to Israel. (Ha'aretz) The Israeli government agrees to dismantle four "unauthorized" settlement outposts. (Ha'aretz) Israel is continuing to maintain separate roads for settlers and Palestinians in occupied Hebron. (YNet) Pres. Obama will not speak at the Knesset during his upcoming visit to Israel. (Jerusalem Post) Sweden becomes the ninth European country to upgrade the Palestinian mission to the status of embassy. (AFP)

COMMENTARY: Nabila Ramdani says Hamas squandered a great opportunity by banning women from running in a Gaza marathon, resulting in its cancellation. (The Guardian) Gideon Levy says the atmosphere in Israel created by PM Netanyahu's tenure in office is responsible for the wave of attack against ordinary Palestinians. (Ha'aretz) J. J. Goldberg looks at the decline in Netanyahu's political fortunes. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Liam Hoare says Obama should address the Israeli public from Rabin Square. (The Forward) Efraim Halevy says Israel and Hamas are increasingly realizing they can provide each other with mutually-beneficial short-term arrangements. (The New Republic) Former Secretary of State Baker says informal representatives from Gaza could help Western and Israeli communications with Hamas. (Al Arabiya) Chemi Shalev says AIPAC is an impressive organization, but has a natural right-wing tendency. (Ha'aretz) Samuel Lebens says if diaspora Jews can't be critical of Israeli policies, they can't be successful in the battle of ideas. (Ha'aretz) Adnan Abu Amer says PM Erdogan is becoming increasingly popular among Palestinians. (Al Monitor) Douglas Bloomfield says Obama will promote, but not push hard for, peace. (Jerusalem Post),/p>

Obama is promoting, not proposing, peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

resident Barack Obama plans to go to the Middle East in two weeks, and the Israeli Left and the Palestinians are praying he’ll be bringing an American peace initiative. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Right are praying he won’t. Even if he wanted to, President Obama knows another US peace push wouldn’t work. All the rhetoric aside – and it really is little more than rhetoric – neither side is interested in, much less ready for, serious peace talks.

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Erdogan Wins Palestinian Hearts and Minds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Adnan Abu Amer - (Opinion) March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn't need to declare a connection between Zionism and racism to gain popularity among Palestinians.

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To win the war of opinions, Zionists must be critical friends of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Samuel Lebens - (Opinion) March 5, 2013 - 1:00am

The well-known columnist Melanie Philips once argued that there is a basic inconsistency between claiming to be a friend of Israel while engaging in public criticism of its government. She calls it “self-destructive stupidity”. I assume that Philips will agree that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a friend of Israel even when he was a very vocal leader of the opposition, vocally criticizing Israeli government policy. So what did she actually mean?

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AIPAC is an awe-inspiring organization, but the right-wing tilt is in its DNA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

Regardless of one’s political convictions - whether you believe Israel is warmonger or peace seeker, aggressor or defender, victim or victimizer, hero or villain, sinner or saint – the Annual AIPAC Policy Conference is a sight to be seen, a pageant to behold, a formidable spectacle that cannot be ignored.

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Hamas as ‘terrorist’ organization hampers peace process: James Baker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
March 5, 2013 - 1:00am

One solution to promote peace between Palestinians and Israelis is to have non-Hamas members from the Gaza Strip negotiating peace, a former U.S. official told Al Arabiya. “Israel and the United States will not work with Hamas because it is seen to be a terrorist organization,” James Baker, who served as the Chief of Staff in the final year of the administration of President George H.W. Bush said.

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The (Very) Quiet Peace Talks Between Israel and Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic
by Efraim Halevy - (Opinion) March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

The recent news out of the Middle East has been grim. But, if there's an atmosphere of pessimism in the international press, that's because the real story hasn't been earning any attention—intentionally so. We can all read about Hamas's daily maligning of Israel, and its promises to put an end to Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land, just as we can read about Israeli officials continuing to demand that Hamas recognize the right of Israel (including Jerusalem) to exist, knowing full well that no devout Muslim has ever done so, or can ever do so.

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Why Barack Obama Must Go to Rabin Square
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Liam Hoare - (Opinion) March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

When President Obama’s itinerary for his upcoming Israel trip was leaked to the press, it appeared to be noticeably safe. It is true that Obama will make a number of important gestures during the visit, chief among them laying wreathes in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem, as well as on the graves of Theodor Herzl and Yitzhak Rabin. But over the course of his 48-hour stay, Obama will remain mostly in Jerusalem, leaving only to have coffee with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and to visit an Iron Dome battery.

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Sweden upgrades Palestinian diplomatic status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Sweden on Wednesday became the ninth European country to upgrade the status of a Palestinian representative office to that of an embassy. Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to ratify a June 28 agreement between Sweden and Palestine on upgrading the Palestinian Authority’s mission here. The agreement gives the Palestinian Authority’s representation in Sweden “the same privileges, immunities, exemptions and privileges as embassies and their representatives.”

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Obama will not address Knesset during upcoming visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Lahav Harkov - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

US President Barack Obama will not speak in the Knesset on his visit to Israel later this month, a senior Knesset source said on Wednesday. According to the source, requests for Obama to address the Israeli people in its representative body were rejected, and the Knesset is not preparing for him to give a speech in the plenum. Obama plans to visit Israel on March 20.

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