March 18th

Rocket fired by Gaza militants kills man in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times March 18, 2010 - 12:00am A rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip killed a man inside Israel Thursday, Israeli medics said, in the first death from a rocket attack since Israel's Gaza offensive last year. Magen David Adom of Israel's emergency service said the man killed was about 30 years old and appeared to be a farm worker from Thailand employed in an agricultural community just north of Gaza. Such rocket fire was once common but has become rare since the Israeli military's Gaza campaign, which brought about a steep drop in the number of attacks launched from the Palestinian territory. » Read more

Palestinians must not stay on the sidelines, official says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Interview) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Almost overshadowed in the recent days of diplomatic tussle between the U.S. and Israel is the Palestinian Authority, whose leaders have been watching with concern -- and perhaps a little amusement. It's not often Palestinians get to see the U.S. and Israel clash so publicly. » Read more

For Israel and America, a Disagreement, Not a Crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am ISRAEL and America enjoy a deep and multi-layered friendship, but even the closest allies can sometimes disagree. Such a disagreement began last week during Vice President Joseph Biden’s visit to Israel, when a mid-level official in the Interior Ministry announced an interim planning phase in the expansion of Ramat Shlomo, a northern Jerusalem neighborhood. While this discord was unfortunate, it was not a historic low point in United States-Israel relations; nor did I ever say that it was, contrary to some reports. » Read more

Israel Objects to U.S. Construction Demands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 16, 2010 - 12:00am The discord between the United States and Israel over Jewish building in East Jerusalem deepened Tuesday with Israeli officials saying they would reject demands by Washington and expressing anger over the public upbraiding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the Obama administration. Multimedia Palestinians wearing masks took part Tuesday in disturbances in East Jerusalem, which they view as the capital of a future state. Enlarge This Image Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times » Read more

Opportunity in a Fight With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am For President Obama, getting into a serious fight with Israel carries obvious domestic and foreign political risks. But it may offer the administration a payoff it sees as worthwhile: shoring up Mr. Obama’s credibility as a Middle East peacemaker by showing doubtful Israelis and Palestinians that he has the fortitude to push the two sides toward an agreement. Yuri Gripas/Reuters Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said ties between the United States and Israel were still strong. » Read more

U.S. Mulls Own Plan for Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, David E. Sanger - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am The angry exchanges between the United States and the Israeli government have rekindled a White House debate over whether — and when — President Obama should propose an American plan to form the basis of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, senior administration officials said Wednesday. The move would be a risky one for Mr. Obama at a time that the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fragile and the Palestinians are deeply divided. Until now Mr. Obama has deflected calls to put his own plan, with territorial maps, on the table. » Read more

March 17th

Pentagon eyes impact of Israel-Palestinian tension ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Adam Entous - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have an "enormous" effect where U.S. military forces operate in the Muslim world and are closely monitored, the U.S. general who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan said on Tuesday. The comments by General David Petraeus, who heads U.S. Central Command, put a spotlight on the concerns among senior officers as they are drawing down U.S. forces in Iraq, carrying out a major troop surge in Afghanistan and preparing for a possible showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. » Read more

Fateful choice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am In still another sign of the rapidly deteriorating relations between Israel and the US – a function of the Obama administration’s unwarranted and shocking overreaction to the Ramat Shlomo dispute – special Mideast envoy George Mitchell postponed his arrival here, originally slated for Tuesday. » Read more

'Report demonizing Israel risks Presbyterian-Jewish ties' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by E.B. Solomont - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am American Jewish leaders are slamming a report by the Presbyterian Church USA that blames Israel for the “Palestinian resistance” and denounces companies doing business with Israel. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which circulated a memo to its member agencies and board of directors Monday, said the biased report reduced the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a caricature, demonizing Israel and delegitimizing its right to exist as a Jewish state. » Read more

Groups petition court for Gaza to W. Bank movement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Dan Izenberg - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Thirteen human rights organizations spearheaded by Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual and Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday against a new Defense Ministry regulation severely restricting the right of Palestinians living in Gaza to move to the West Bank. » Read more