March 15th

A fatal Israeli-Palestinian flaw ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Editorial) March 14, 2011 - 12:00am One of the most depressing characteristics of the dysfunctional Palestinian-Israeli relationship is the self-destructive tit-for-tat mentality that often seems designed to keep the conflict alive rather than to end it. » Read more

Screening of 'Miral' at the United Nations draws protests from Jewish groups ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Melissa Maerz, Nicole Sperling - March 15, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli-Palestinian politics often prove polarizing at the United Nations, but rarely does the furor involve Hollywood celebrities and power brokers, a red carpet and a film screening at the world body's own headquarters in New York. » Read more

Israel comes to standstill to remember soldier captured by Palestinian militants 5 years ago ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 15, 2011 - 12:00am Traffic has come to a standstill on major roads across Israel as activists hold a nationwide five-minute protest to draw attention to the plight of a captured Israeli soldier still held by Palestinian militants. Sgt. Gilad Schalit was captured nearly five years ago in a cross-border raid by Gaza militants, and successive Israeli governments have been unable to bring him home. Gaza's Hamas rulers want the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many convicted of murdering Israelis, in exchange for Schalit. » Read more

Israel says its navy intercepts Egypt-bound ship carrying arms off Mediterranean coast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Aron Heller - March 15, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli navy intercepted an Egyptian-bound ship carrying a large delivery of weapons off the country's Mediterranean coast on Tuesday, saying the arms had been sent by Syria to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. The military said the cargo vessel "Victoria" initially departed from the Lattakia port in Syria before proceeding to the Mercin port in Turkey. From there it departed for the port of Alexandria in Egypt. Israel says that Turkey had no involvement in the arms shipment. » Read more

Briefing on Protest for Palestinian Unity Becomes a Rally Itself ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - March 14, 2011 - 12:00am Hundreds of demonstrators calling for Palestinian unity took to the streets here on Monday, a day earlier than scheduled, in an effort to prevent what they said were attempts by political factions to hijack their movement for their own agendas. What began as a news conference by protest organizers on Monday afternoon in the Square of the Unknown Soldier unexpectedly developed into a gathering of almost 1,000 people. » Read more

March 14th

Erasing links to the land in the Negev ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Noga Malkin - (Blog) March 11, 2011 - 1:00am Hiding in the cemetery where her parents are buried, Hakma al-Turi, an Israeli citizen, has watched bulldozers demolish her village -- al-Araqib -- more than 20 times. The Israel Land Administration first demolished the 45 structures on this patch of land in the Negev desert eight months ago. When the 300 Israeli Bedouin who lived here defiantly rebuilt tarp-covered shacks, the Israel Land Administration demolished them again and again, the last time on March 7. » Read more

Palestinians Embarrassed, Not Proud, of Settlement Attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am Far from gloating over a terrorist attack Friday night that left five Israeli family members dead in Itamar, a Jewish town located beyond Israel’s pre-1967 borders, Palestinians across the political spectrum reacted with embarrassment. Many preferred to put the blame for the attack on hidden Israeli hands than put the onus on any Palestinian group. » Read more

Jerusalem will never be divided, says Barkat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Melanie Lidman - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat insisted that Jerusalem is not up for negotiation in a future peace process during a conversation with Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz on Saturday night at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. “In [the peace negotiations] there are a lot of pink lines, but I have one red line: It’s called Jerusalem, don’t negotiate with Jerusalem,” the mayor told the crowd of 500, eliciting cheers. Noting that he considers the idea of a divided Jerusalem “dead on arrival,” the mayor added that “There is no good example of a split city that works.” » Read more

Lieberman: Hamas can take over West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - March 14, 2011 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that "the Foreign Ministry believes, in contrast with other authorities, that Hamas is currently stronger than Fatah in Judea and Samaria". "Hamas does not currently desire to take hold of power there," he told a debate at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "They are waiting for the day after Abbas and Fayyad extract the maximum they are able to get out of the international community, and then they will seize power." » Read more

Settlement attack could trigger terrorism by Jewish extremists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Blog) March 13, 2011 - 1:00am The horrific act perpetrated in Itamar late Friday night turns the clock back to a darker time in the West Bank. The two Palestinian terrorists who murdered five family members - a father, mother and their three children - provided a jolt whose impact is likely to be far-reaching. Its consequences will cast a pall over Israelis' and Palestinians' sense of security in the northern West Bank, the intelligence cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian security services, and perhaps the lofty goal of restarting the diplomatic process. » Read more