April 11th

Israel on verge of breakthrough in probe into Itamar massacre ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Chaim Levinson - April 11, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli security forces believe that there will soon be a breakthrough in the investigation into the Itamar murders, in which five family members were stabbed to death in their home. On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces soldiers arrested more Palestinian suspects in Samarea in the West Bank, after dozens were already taken in for questioning regarding the Itamar murders. Earlier this month, terrorists entered the West Bank settlement of Itamar and murdered Ehud and Ruth Fogel, along with three of their young children, including their three-month-old baby, before fleeing the scene. » Read more

US to help pay for Iron Dome ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - April 11, 2011 - 12:00am The United States is slated to provide Israel with $430 million worth of security aid in the near future which will include $205 million allocated for the development of Iron Dome batteries. Democrats and republicans are slated to finalize the 2011 budget in the coming days. The delay in the approval of the funds was caused by foot-dragging in passing the budget in Congress. The budget was meant to pass five months ago but partisan conflicts delayed its approval. » Read more

Israeli army closes West Bank village, arrests 23 Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 10, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli army announced on Sunday the Awarta village in the West Bank as a closed military area and arrested 23 Palestinians, including three women. Qais Awwad, head of the village's council, said the Israeli army was conducting an operation in the village since early morning after closing all its entrances. The army forces arrested 20 youths and three women from the village after an investigation, Awwad said, adding that the forces stormed dozens of houses in the village and destroyed the furniture in four houses. » Read more

Israeli PM: Iron Dome cannot protect every home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 10, 2011 - 12:00am While the Iron Dome anti-rocket system represents an impressive technological breakthrough, the army cannot protect "every home, facility, or site in the country, " Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. "In the end, true defense is a combination between defensive capabilities with a deterring offensive capability," Netanyahu said late Sunday during a tour of the Iron Dome's battery deployed near the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. » Read more

Lieberman: Gaza ceasefire is not in Israel's interests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) April 11, 2011 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke out against a ceasefire with Hamas on Monday morning, following renewed violence emanating from the Gaza Strip in the past four days. In an interview with Israel Radio, he said, "Hamas is fighting a war of attrition against us. We won't come to terms with a situation in which they decide when there's quiet and when the area heats up." Lieberman added that a ceasefire with Hamas is against Israel's national interests. He said he is working to implement the coalition agreement, which says that the government will work towards overthrowing Hamas. » Read more

Short-term ceasefire, long-term instability foreseen in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - April 10, 2011 - 12:00am After a weekend of intense Israeli air strikes and artillery fire in response to over 120 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, Hamas is calling Israel to halt its attacks. In an interview with the Israel Radio on Sunday, Ghazi Hamad, the deputy foreign minister of the deposed Hamas government, said that "we are interested in calm, but want the Israeli military to stop its operations." Earlier on Sunday Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was willing to accept a mutual ceasefire with Hamas. » Read more

Editor's Notes: Playing poker over ‘Palestine’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - (Opinion) April 8, 2011 - 12:00am “The connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has lasted for more than 3,500 years... Our right to build our sovereign state here, in the Land of Israel, arises from one simple fact: This is the homeland of the Jewish people, this is where our identity was forged... “But we must also tell the truth in its entirety: Within this homeland lives a large Palestinian community. We do not want to rule over them, we do not want to govern their lives, we do not want to impose either our flag or our culture on them. » Read more

New Israeli system alters war against Gaza rockets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matti Friedman - April 10, 2011 - 12:00am A new Israeli-made missile defense system has gotten off to an encouraging start, shooting down at least eight rockets in a test run that could potentially change the long-running war between Israel and Palestinian rocket squads in Gaza. Israeli officials say the $200 million "Iron Dome" has performed beyond all expectations, raising hopes the military has finally found a way to rob Hamas militants of their most potent weapon: the short-range rockets that have made life miserable for large swaths of the population over the past decade. » Read more

Israel delays approval of east Jerusalem housing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - April 11, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked a government panel to put off final approval of 2,500 new apartments in east Jerusalem, an official said Monday — a reflection of the intense international pressure Israel is under to avoid friction with the Palestinians. The move came just as tensions were easing along Israel's border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where a fragile quiet appeared to be taking hold after several days of escalation that raised fears of another major eruption of violence. » Read more

Internal Hamas Rift Snags Efforts to End Israeli-Gaza Fighting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - April 10, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, is sending out contradictory messages about its willingness to enter into a ceasefire with Israel, amid signs of a yawning rift between its military and political wings. "We are interested in calm, but we want the Israeli military to stop its operations," Ghazi Hamad, Hamas’ deputy foreign minister, said in an interview on Israel Radio on Sunday. But the night before Abu-Ubaida, a spokesman for the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, showed no intention of stepping down the violence along the border. » Read more