Needed: An Israeli peace plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 31, 2010 - 12:00am While in Washington the U.S. administration is trying to reduce tensions with Israel, in Jerusalem they go out of their way to depict in war paint the demands President Barack Obama put to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Political sources in Jerusalem told Haaretz's Ari Shavit this week that hiding behind the American demands is an intention to impose a permanent settlement on the two sides in less than two years. This is being presented as a troubling change in U.S. » Read more

U.S. seeks 4-month East Jerusalem building freeze in return for direct talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - March 31, 2010 - 12:00am One of the U.S. administration's requests to Israel regarding the peace process with the Palestinians is a four-month construction freeze in all parts of East Jerusalem. In exchange, the United States would pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold direct talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead of the indirect talks to which the Palestinians have agreed. » Read more

Senior Fatah official refuses to appear alone before Israeli court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 31, 2010 - 12:00am A senior official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party on Wednesday refused to stand before an Israeli military court, showing a solidarity sign with a group of detainees who were detained with him and being tried separately. Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah central committee, was arrested with 11 Palestinians on an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank during a demonstration this week. » Read more

Fayyad joins protest to mark Land Day ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 30, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Salam Fayyad joined over 200 Israeli, Palestinian and internationals marking Land Day on Tuesday in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, in the West Bank governorate of Salfit. The march began at around 10am and lasted until 12:30pm, Israeli peace activist Jonathan Pollack said, beginning near the Ein Entweteg Spring in the village. » Read more

Fatah calls for escalation of non-violent resistance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 31, 2010 - 12:00am Fatah's Central Committee stressed the necessity for an escalation of non-violent resistance against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, officials said following a meeting on Tuesday. United Palestinians should continue to protest the crimes committed against them by Israel, the Central Committee said, and recruit the help of international solidarity activists, officials said, noting their willingness to put forward a concerted effort toward Palestinian unity. » Read more

Hamas: Fatah must apologize to Palestine for failed efforts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 31, 2010 - 12:00am Fatah’s call for an escalation of peaceful resistance is an admission of the failure of the government to reach a peace deal for Palestinians, Hamas officials declared on Tuesday following a cabinet meeting in Gaza. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority must now "apologize to the Palestinians for forcing them into a failed process that lasted 20 years," a statement from the Gaza government said, citing the continued occupation of the West Bank, the siege on Gaza, and the unfaltering settlement construction in the West Bank including East Jerusalem. » Read more

A script that may never be finished ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Raja Abdulrahim - March 30, 2010 - 12:00am When Saleem Azzouqa first wrote a pivotal scene in his semi-autobiographical play, "Salam Shalom," two gay lovers were depicted arguing over a fictional suicide bombing. But this was no ordinary couple. One of the men was an Israeli Jew, the other a Palestinian Muslim, and the site of the imaginary bombing was Tel Aviv. Soon, the playwright realized he need not invent dramatic twists for this story. The nightly news would provide all the material he needed. » Read more

March 30th

Israel gags news of soldier turned journalist under arrest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - March 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has held a journalist under secret house arrest since last December based on allegations that during her military service she leaked classified documents suggesting that the Israeli army violated laws dealing with targeted killings. Anat Kam, 23, was arrested last December and charged under Israel's espionage and treason laws, JTA has learned. Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year sentence, which is considered severe by Israeli standards. » Read more

Ensure Israel arms curbs, say MPs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News March 30, 2010 - 12:00am The UK government must ensure that military equipment sold to Israel is not used in the occupied territories, MPs have said. Ministers must learn "broader lessons" about ensuring the ban on the trade in such products for use in Gaza and the West Bank is enforced, a report adds. The MPs said it was "regrettable" that UK arms sold to Israel were "almost certainly" used in Gaza in 2008. However, they said the UK provided less than 1% of arms exported to Israel. » Read more

No resolution to U.S.-Israel tensions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - March 29, 2010 - 12:00am For Benjamin Netanyahu, the formula for resolving U.S.-Israeli tensions came in the form of a flow chart. The Israeli prime minister took the chart with him when he met with Obama administration officials and visited the White House last week, two weeks after Israel angered the U.S. administration by announcing plans for 1,600 new housing units in a Jewish neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem during a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden. But the flow chart presentation didn't quite do the trick, and Netanyahu's relationship with President Obama remains on the rocks. » Read more