March 29th

New Shin Bet chief wrote: IDF could've destroyed Hamas in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - March 29, 2011 - 12:00am Yoram Cohen, who was named next director of the Shin Bet security service on Monday, wrote that Israel did not take advantage of its military superiority to destroyed Hamas' military capabilities during Operation Cast Lead. During his time as a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Cohen published a paper in which he contended that during the war in Gaza the IDF "undoubtedly could have destroyed Hamas' capabilities" had it employed all of its military force. » Read more

Poll: 46% in favor of 'price tag' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews March 28, 2011 - 12:00am Nearly half of Israel's Jewish population believes the "price tag" activities executed by extreme rightists against Palestinians are justified to a certain extent, according to a survey conducted for Ynet and the Gesher educational organization. The poll was carried out by the Panels research institute following the massacre of five family members in the settlement of Itamar, among 504 respondents who constitute a national representative sample of the adult Jewish population in Israel. The sampling error stands at 4.4%. » Read more

Israel threatens unilateral steps if UN recognizes Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - March 29, 2011 - 12:00am Israel informed the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council last week, as well as several other prominent European Union countries, that if the Palestinian Authority persists in its efforts to gain recognition in September as a state within the 1967 borders, Israel would respond with a series of unilateral steps of its own. » Read more

Report: Dozens of Palestinians arrested in connection to Itamar murders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz March 29, 2011 - 12:00am Dozens of Palestinians were arrested and given DNA tests in the West Bank town of Awarta in connection to the recent murder of five family members in the nearby settlement of Itamar, Ma'an News Agency reported on Tuesday. Earlier this month, suspected terrorists entered the West Bank settlement of Itamar and murdered Udi and Ruth Fogel, along with three of their young children, including their three-month-old baby, before fleeing the scene. Ma'an reported that among those arrested was the deputy mayor of Awarta and two of his brothers. » Read more

Encountering Peace: Palestine is inevitable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) March 28, 2011 - 12:00am Palestine is becoming a reality, whether we like it or not. The Palestinian Authority may not be increasing its sovereignty over a single centimeter of land, but the awareness of the emergence of the State of Palestine is spreading all over the world. The government of Israel might believe it has a veto over this process; it may believe it can prevent Palestine from becoming more than a “virtual” state, but it cannot. The battle to prevent Palestinian statehood has been lost, and Israel had better come to terms with this emerging reality. » Read more

Israeli army arrest 16 Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 28, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli army arrested 16 Palestinians in overnight raids, most of them in the southern city of Hebron, security sources said on Monday. An Israeli army spokesperson told the Israel Radio that the detainees were wanted by the security and intelligence services. Such detention raids have been taking place almost on daily basis since the beginning of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. Meanwhile, an Israeli settler hit a Palestinian schoolgirl with his car in the West Bank on Monday, said security sources. » Read more

Israeli army arrest 16 Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 28, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli army arrested 16 Palestinians in overnight raids, most of them in the southern city of Hebron, security sources said on Monday. An Israeli army spokesperson told the Israel Radio that the detainees were wanted by the security and intelligence services. Such detention raids have been taking place almost on daily basis since the beginning of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. Meanwhile, an Israeli settler hit a Palestinian schoolgirl with his car in the West Bank on Monday, said security sources. » Read more

How Palestinians will use the GA to advance statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - (Opinion) March 25, 2011 - 12:00am Early in the Korean War, frustrated that the Soviet Union’s repeated use of its UN Security Council veto was thwarting council action to protect South Korea, the United States initiated what became known as the UN General Assembly’s “Uniting for Peace” resolution. » Read more

Palestinian groups deny involvement in recent unrest in Syria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 28, 2011 - 12:00am Damascus-based Palestinian political groups denied on Monday accusations that some Palestinians were behind recent unrest in Syria. In a statement, the groups warned of "attempts of division between Syria and the Palestinian factions." Khaled Abdul Majeed, secretary of the national follow-up committee and the Palestinian forces coalition, said in the statement that "Syria will overcome the current crisis and will be able to foil external attempts to undermine its national stability. " » Read more

Another Israel-Hamas war is inevitable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Barry Rubin - (Opinion) March 27, 2011 - 12:00am I’m going to make a prediction here that, unfortunately, I’m sure is going to come true. Any good analyst should be able to see this, yet few will, until it happens within the next two years: The Egyptian revolution will make another Israel-Hamas war inevitable, with a lot more of an international mess. And I’ll go a step further: An incompetent and mistaken US policy makes such a conflict even more certain. Why? » Read more