March 26th

BBC News reports that a West Bank settlement, unauthorized by the Israeli government, appears to be receiving state funding (1). Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue peace talks, but makes no mention of a Palestinian state (2). Human Rights Watch reports that Israel's use of white phosphorous shells in the Gaza war may constitute a war crime (3). Indirect talks regarding the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit resume between Hamas and Israel (4) (13). A pair of op-eds discuss the current state of the Israel lobby in the U.S. in the wake of the Freedman affair (6) (10). Several opinion articles offer assessments of the prospects for peace and the urgency of action (5)(11) (12) (15).

March 25th

President Obama fields questions about Israel and Palestine during a press conference yesterday (1). Israel's Labor party votes to join the governing Likud party in a coalition government (2). Likud leader and Prime Minister-designate Netanyahu vows to continue diplomatic talks with Palestine (4) (10), despite reports that the party plans to build 3,000 new housing units in the controversial E-1 settlement area that could close off Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank (11) (12). As more IDF soldiers go public with information about misconduct in Gaza, Israeli army rabbis are criticized for portraying the offensive as an opportunity to 'fight to expel non-Jews' (3). Israeli police block Palestinian cultural celebrations in occupied East Jerusalem (5).

March 24th

In an op-ed for The Daily Star, ATFP President Ziad Asali argues in favor of free and open Palestinian elections scheduled for next January and calls for the establishment of a new Palestinian Authority government in the meanwhile (1). Protestors clash with police at a demonstration by right-wing Jewish Israelis in the town of Umm al-Fahm (2). The Labor and Likud party leaderships form an agreement, moving Prime Minister-designate Netanyahu one step closer to forming a coalition government (3) (7) (8). More information comes out regarding the roadside bomb in Lebanon that killed a senior PLO official and three others yesterday (5) (11). Responding to international pressure, Israel decides not to limit food aid to Gaza (10). A group of UN human rights experts report that during the Gaza war the IDF used an 11-year old Palestinian boy as a human shield (13) and the UK newspaper The Guardian publishes a major investigation into Israeli military abuses during the war (4).

March 23rd

An editorial in the Middle East Times considers the concept of "political malpractice" proposed by ATFP President Ziad Asali (1). A car bomb placed outside a mall in the Israeli city of Haifa does not explode (2) and Palestinian Authority sources suspect that an Iran-backed group is responsible (10). A roadside bomb kills a senior Fatah official and four others outside a refugee camp in Lebanon (4). The Israeli military condemns appalling messages on t-shirts commissioned by groups of Israeli soldiers (6) (8), as reports of misconduct in the Gaza war are confirmed by eyewitness Israeli troops (7). Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu continues efforts to form a coalition government, opening formal talks with the Labor party (5) (14) (15).

March 20th

An Israeli settler leader reportedly calls for the assassination of Palestinian President Abbas during a fund-raising speech in New York City (1). Concern grows about the radical views of possible new Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman (2). Fallout continues regarding Israeli soldiers’ disturbing accounts of the war in Gaza (3) (10) (13). Israel’s emerging new cabinet may find itself at odds with the US government (4) (8). A UN official accuses Israel of war crimes (5), while the PA accuses Israel of ‘ethnically cleansing’ East Jerusalem (6). Talks regarding captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit may resume (7). The United States lays out its conditions for dealing with a Palestinian national accord government (9). Raghida Dergham argues that moderate forces must go on the offensive against extremism across the Middle East (12). Australian journalists interview Hamas leader Khaled Mishal (14). Israeli authorities block a Palestinian cultural festival in East Jerusalem (15).

March 19th

Israel seizes ten senior Hamas leaders in the West Bank (1). Several veterans of the Gaza war come out publicly about the serious misconduct by IDF forces (2) (3) (4). The controversy continues over the withdrawn appointment of Charles Freeman (5) (9). After days of Egyptian brokered negotiations, Hamas and Fatah may have agreed on some basic tenants of a national accord government (10). The New York Times looks at how the Gaza war has isolated Israel internationally (11).

March 18th

Hamas is reportedly not budging in both sets of Egyptian-brokered negotiations with Israel and Fatah, respectively (1). While Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announces that negotiations regarding the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit have failed (2). Egypt urges the United States and the European Union to reevaluate their boycott of Hamas (3). Avi Isacharoff looks at the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (4). The U.S. joins the Palestinian Authority in inaugurating a new, U.S. funded, training center for Palestinian security personnel in the West Bank (7). Egypt opens the Rafah border crossing to allow aid into Gaza (10).

March 17th

Israel’s coalition government begins to take shape, though Netanyahu is still working to attract the support of the moderate parties (1) (6). Egyptian brokered negotiations regarding the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit reach a standstill (2) (9). The American citizen injured last week in a demonstration against the West Bank separation barrier remains in critical condition (3). Uzi Arad, widely expected to serve as national security advisor for the new Israeli government, is barred from the United States on grounds that he is an intelligence risk (4) (13). An obscure Palestinian militant group claims responsibility for the shooting of two Israeli police officers in the West Bank earlier this week (5).

March 16th

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Netanyahu initiates a coalition agreement with the ultra-right wing Yisrael Beitenu party (1) (9), while the European Union, along with the Palestinian and Egyptian leadership, urge the new Israeli government to adhere to the pursuit of a two-state agreement (2) (3) (12). Two Israeli police officers are shot and killed in the West Bank (4) (14). Egyptian brokered negotiations continue in Cairo, where Israeli envoys push for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit (7). Hamas and Fatah agree to hold presidential and legislative elections in January, though they remain deadlocked on the question of a national accord government (10).

March 13th

Three right-wing Israeli parties vie for the important housing portfolio under Prime-Minister designate Netanyahu (1), while concern continues to mount about the rightward shift of a new Israeli government (10) (13). Israel has reportedly agreed to free all 450 prisoner demanded by Hamas in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit (2). Officials from Hamas and Fatah report that there are still major obstacles to be overcome as national accord government talks continue in Cairo (4). The Palestinian Center for Human Rights releases their statistics on the Gaza war (7). A Palestinian youth is killed in the West Bank after allegedly throwing explosives at an Israeli military vehicle (8).

American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017