Israel’s problem is the settlements, not J Street ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) March 25, 2011 - 12:00am The Netanyahu government’s refusal to meet with the leadership of J Street during its visit this week reflects a deep and truly worrying process, in which Israel’s government and the Knesset are progressively locked into a deep bunker with no communication with the outside world. The assumption is that J Street creates a problem for Israel, and that if Israel delegitimizes J Street, the problem will go away. » Read more

Mighty Israel and its quest to quash Palestinian popular protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) March 28, 2011 - 12:00am "Now that Abdullah Abu Rahma has been released from jail, the Israeli soldiers and the honorable military tribunal judges will have time for Bassem Tamimi." Thus Tamimi, the coordinator of Nabi Saleh's Popular Committee, was introduced to guests who came to congratulate Bil'in resident Abu Rahma on his release after serving 16 months on charges of incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations. Twenty-four hours later, late Thursday morning, Tamimi was arrested. » Read more

New bill takes aim at leftist groups ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - March 28, 2011 - 12:00am Right-wing MKs launched a new attack against leftist organizations Monday with a bill limiting their right to petition the High Court of Justice. MKs Danny Danon and Yariv Levin from the Likud Party explain that the bill, which is aimed at preventing court rulings from exacting influence in the name of organizations that have no direct connection to the matters at hand, government policy, or the Knesset. » Read more

Arab peace initiative is another missed opportunity for Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 28, 2011 - 12:00am Once again, Jerusalem is "closely monitoring" the squabble at the neighbors' - this time, in the form of the bloody clashes in Syria. Is the fall of President Bashar Assad good for the Jews? Could religious extremists replace the minority Alawite regime? What will happen to the separation of forces agreement on the Golan Heights? What will be the new regime's policy concerning a negotiated end to the Arab-Israeli conflict? How will the political furor affect Syria's intimate relations with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah? » Read more

Settler jailed for assaulting Palestinian teen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviad Glickman - March 27, 2011 - 12:00am The Jerusalem District Court sentenced Zvi Struck, a 28-year-old resident of the Shilo settlement, to 18 months in prison for kidnapping and abusing a 15-year-old Palestinian boy. Struck was convicted on the charges of aggravated battery, kidnapping with intention to injure, causing damage and three counts of assault. In addition to the prison term, the court sentenced him to one year of probation, and ordered him to pay the victim NIS 50,000 ($14,100) in compensation. » Read more

Two Palestinians killed in Israeli strike in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 27, 2011 - 12:00am Another Palestinian died on Sunday hours after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza Strip, which had killed one of his colleagues and injured two others, witnesses and medical sources said. The 26-year-old Palestinian had spent half an hour at the hospital's morgue before people found he was still breathing and took him back to the operation room. He died shortly afterwards. Israeli pilotless drones had fired a missile at a car carrying activists, killing one on the spot, wounding one seriously and two others moderately. » Read more

News Analysis: Israeli public views Netanyahu doing well halfway through his term ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - March 27, 2011 - 12:00am A new poll published in the Israel daily Ha'aretz over the weekend says that Israelis are lukewarm about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's performance as he approaches the halfway mark of his second term. However, while the United States and the international community might be looking for progress in the peace talks with the Palestinians as a metric of Netanyahu's success, Israelis have other priorities. Analysts told Xinhua that Israelis feel the most important factors are security and the economic situation, both of which are relatively good at the moment. » Read more

PLO urges to draft Palestinian constitution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 27, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Sunday pushed for activating a committee to draw up a constitution for a future Palestinian state. The executive committee of the PLO, which met in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday, said in a statement that the constitution should be ready during the coming six months. "This is in order to put the draft constitutions before the Palestinian legislative sides in the suitable time," the statement added. » Read more

Gaza cops use ‘beatings, stun guns’ on women reporters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - March 28, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas policemen used force to disperse the protesters, who were calling for an end to the dispute between the Islamist movement and Fatah. The rallies were part of a Facebook campaign organized by Palestinian youth on March 15. At least eight journalists were beaten by the Hamas police officers during the rallies. Some had their cameras and laptops confiscated, while others were taken into custody and made to sign a document pledging to refrain from covering such events in the future. » Read more

Impatient Palestinians eye Arab world in flux ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - March 26, 2011 - 12:00am With the peace process going nowhere, the threat of new violence increasing and the Palestinians badly divided, people in the West Bank and Gaza are surveying the rapid changes in the rest of the Arab world — and growing impatient with stagnation at home. In Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, officials are quietly working on a plan: Going for statehood without agreement with Israel, bypassing the moribund peace process. First mooted last fall, the notion precedes the Arab revolts but has been lent even greater urgency by them. » Read more