March 9th

Pres. Abbas hints at resignation. PM Fayyad affirms that there can be no Palestinian state or peace with Israel retaining the Jordan Valley, but PM Netanyahu insists it must. Hamas says Gazans will turn the Knesset into Tahrir Square. Palestinian women still face marginalization. Analysts look at whether Israel's pledge to dismantle unauthorized outposts could revamp peace talks. A radio station promotes Palestinian women's rights. Niva Lanir says the world is looking at Israel the way it looked at South Africa. Israel's military predicts it could not contain a West Bank uprising. Palestinian citizens of Israel say they are being pushed into a corner. Settlers say they will resume work on unauthorized structures. Amr Mousa says that if he is President of Egypt, he will maintain the treaty with Israel. The UK is upgrading the status of the PLO mission but says it's still not ready to recognize a Palestinian state. Gershon Baskin says Netanyahu should commit Israel to peace, and Leonard Fein says Pres. Obama should tell them that too. Hamas is criticized for a media crackdown. The Palestinian national soccer team will play its first home match.

March 8th

Seven Palestinians are wounded in clashes with settlers, and Palestinian officials hold the Israeli government responsible. Palestinians launch a new diplomatic initiative for statehood. Aaron David Miller says the US will not be abandoning Israel. Israel is still considering proposing a provisional Palestinian state. Hamas says it will reshuffle its cabinet. Israel says it will demolish unauthorized outposts by the end of the year. DM Barak says Israel may ask the US for $20 billion in additional military aid. The former Dutch PM says European leaders can’t trust PM Netanyahu. Menachem Klein says Israel won’t be able to use force against the next Palestinian uprising. An extremist Rabbi calls on settlers to use violence against Israeli soldiers. Israel worries about gas supplies from Sinai. A Palestinian woman launches a successful café chain in the West Bank. Jewish students at Berkeley talk about Israel activism. Ghassan Khatib says Palestinians see a win-win scenario for peace. Yossi Alpher says weak leaders are reacting poorly across the board.

March 7th

ATFP Board member Saliba Sarsar says Sari Nusseibeh is right that only a two-state solution can provide peace. Egypt’s new FM is likely to take a tougher line with Israel. The Israel-Lebanon border is quiet. Pres. Abbas gives PM Fayyad, whose national unity plan has divided Fatah, more time to form a cabinet. Food shortages grow in Gaza. Israel denies visas to an Anglican Bishop and to a Palestinian man married to a Jewish Israeli woman. PM Netanyahu says the world automatically sides with the Palestinians. Abbas says he won’t accept a state with temporary borders. A Palestinian worker is killed in a tunnel collapse. Jordan’s King says Israeli-Palestinian peace is the key to regional security. Israel plans work at a contested Jerusalem holy site. DM Barak says peace does not contradict Israeli security. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters joins a cultural boycott of Israel. Israel is one of the least popular countries in the world. The Jordan Times says peace is urgently needed. Uri Avnery says Israel is placing itself on the wrong side of history.

March 4th

ATFP president Ziad Asali says Arab uprisings are about accountability and corruption. Philip Wilcox says UNRWA is a good investment for American taxpayers. Palestinians reject Israeli proposals for an interim agreement. Israel bombs Gaza. Hamas proposes its own reconciliation plan. Palestinian citizens of Israel are criticized for having visited Libya. Israel seems to have concluded that no deal with the Palestinians is possible under present circumstances, and DM Barak says it's because of the makeup of the Israeli cabinet. Some Fatah leaders demand the ouster of PM Fayyad. Palestinians want international pressure to halt settler violence. PM Netanyahu says a binational state would be a disaster. Jonathan Schachter says Palestinians are looking for diplomatic options beyond Washington. Aluf Benn says Netanyahu may be moving to the center. An 11 year old Palestinian boy says he was beaten by Israeli police. Militant settlers plan for confrontations. Israel may seek to retain 40% of the West Bank. Elias Samo says the Arab Peace Initiative is the right basis for ending the conflict, but Yossi Alpher says it needs to be clarified.

ATFP president Ziad Asali says Arab uprisings are about accountability and corruption. Philip Wilcox says UNRWA is a good investment for American taxpayers. Hamas steals $500,000 from a bank in Gaza, and banks close in protest. Palestinians reject Israeli proposals for an interim agreement. Israel bombs Gaza. Hamas proposes its own reconciliation plan. Palestinian citizens of Israel are criticized for having visited Libya. Israel seems to have concluded that no deal with the Palestinians is possible under present circumstances, and DM Barak says it's because of the makeup of the Israeli cabinet. Some Fatah leaders demand the ouster of PM Fayyad. Palestinians want international pressure to halt settler violence. PM Netanyahu says a binational state would be a disaster. Jonathan Schachter says Palestinians are looking for diplomatic options beyond Washington. Aluf Benn says Netanyahu may be moving to the center. An 11 year old Palestinian boy says he was beaten by Israeli police. Militant settlers plan for confrontations. Israel may seek to retain 40% of the West Bank. Elias Samo says the Arab Peace Initiative is the right basis for ending the conflict, but Yossi Alpher says it needs to be clarified.

March 3rd

Roger Cohen urges Pres. Obama to go to Jerusalem. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon continue to suffer. Israelis push for an interim peace plan, but Palestinians reject the idea. Israel leaves only one commercial crossing to Gaza open. Right-wing Israelis and settlers are infuriated, and officials say they are threatening security forces. Gaza banks strike after a major robbery and many accuse Hamas. Hamas says PM Fayyad’s unity plan is "stillborn." Mideast unrest may spur Israeli-Syrian negotiations. Tensions along the Gaza-Israel border are likely to be contained. Norway says it may recognize Palestine if the peace process remains stalled, but Sweden says it won’t. The PA says 150 states will recognize Palestine by September. Obama says Israelis must show seriousness on peace. D. Bloomfield asks if the US is moving away from the peace process. Larry Derfner says Israel has fewer defenders than ever. Palestinians sell products at an Israeli agricultural fair. J Street is now pressuring rather than defending the Obama administration. Jewish Americans in California argue fiercely about Israeli policies. Daoud Kuttab says Palestinians can learn from that Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. Hagit Ofran and Lara Friedman say at least 70 unauthorized outposts are built on privately-owned Palestinian land. Alon Ben-Meir says Israel's democracy is unraveling.

March 2nd

Palestinians try to create a “Facebook revolution.” Dashiell Shapiro says Egypt should resume responsibility for Gaza. Hamas urges Gaza students not to study the Holocaust. Israel tests another advanced weapon. Israel permits tomato exports from Gaza. Israel may seek an interim agreement with the Palestinians. Israel plans more settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel says settler evacuations are not a new policy. Pres. Abbas urges the Quartet to launch a “meaningful” peace process. Hamas again demands reform of the PLO. Ha’aretz says to keep Israel Jewish, settlements must be frozen. Aluf Benn says PM Netanyahu lacks international credibility. A veteran Israeli diplomat says both the PM and the FM are harming Israel’s international standing. Israeli rightists march in Jaffa. Eitan Haber says Israel needs peace with Syria. Jehan Sadat says the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty is not in danger. Settlers accuse Netanyahu of imposing a de facto settlement freeze. J Street leaders say being pro-Palestinian is being pro-Israel. Hussein Ibish is interviewed on Palestinian state building.

March 1st

The National praises PM Fayyad's state-building program. PM Netanyahu warns that settlement building cannot continue unrestrained. H.D.S. Greenway says peace is in sight. Questions are raised by the PLO dissolving of its negotiations unit. A Jerusalem conference is closed by Israel. The PA says an Israeli investigation into an attack in 2002 makes excuses for murder. Israel may recognize many outposts. Israel is concerned about the emerging new Arab order. Pres. Abbas points to an international consensus against settlement building. Hamas accuses Israel of escalating tensions. Settlers attack Palestinian villages. Bradley Burston asks what if Israeli forces treated settlers as they do Palestinians. Alon Idan says Netanyahu does not recognize his weakened position. A new poll shows favorable American attitudes towards Israel. Dennis Ross tells the J Street conference that time is running out for peace. DM Barak says Israeli citizens cannot take the law into their own hands. Gershon Baskin says Israelis can learn from J Street. The Swedish FM spends a night in Nablus. Hamas demands UN schools in Gaza stop teaching about the Holocaust. Fayyad says he's offered Hamas a pragmatic agreement, and seeks public input through social media.

February 28th

Palestinians seek new paths to statehood. An Israeli investigation finds no crime was committed in the assassination of a Hamas leader in 2002 that caused many civilian casualties. Two Gaza men and a baby are wounded in Israeli attacks. Fouad Ajami says the Arabs have turned their shame into liberty. Israel builds a light railway along a venerable road in Jerusalem. Fatah sets new standards for cabinet appointments. Settlers clash with Israeli police. Hamas suppresses a pro-unity rally. DM Barak says Israel must look past its anxieties and towards peace. Israeli police arrest eight settlers. Jordan’s FM says Palestinian statehood is nonnegotiable. The PLO also opposes power-sharing with Hamas. Akiva Eldar says PM Netanyahu is exploiting Israeli anxieties to forestall peace, and the PM says he is wary about new international initiatives on negotiations. Neri Livneh says Jewish fundamentalists are as dangerous as Muslim ones. Palestinians use technology to avoid long lines at Israeli checkpoints. Few Israeli politicians are attending the J Street conference. Rabbi Eric Yoffie says Jews and Muslims should work together for peace and democracy. Abdel Monem Said says the US veto of UN resolution on settlements was “shameful.”

February 25th

Young Palestinians seek to bridge national divisions, and call for protests on March 15. Deputy FM Ayalon denounces the concept of “linkage.” Palestinians are injured by an Israeli attack on Gaza. Palestinians in Ramallah rally for change. Settlers vandalize Palestinian villages. Secularists are hounded by Hamas in Gaza. The Quartet launches a new peace bid. Luxembourg’s FM visits Gaza, calls for ending the Israeli blockade. Yoel Marcus says peace is the only way forward for Israel. Chancellor Merkel chides PM Netanyahu for not making “a single step to advance peace.” Ian McEwan donates his Jerusalem Prize money to an Israeli-Palestinian peace group. Israel allowed $13.5 million into Gaza. A spike is reported in interest in “Israel Birthright” trips. J street plans 2,000 people at this weekend’s conference. Noted Journalist Jerold Kessel passes away. Palestinians are worried Qaddafi will attack them in Libya. The Forward profiles Palestinian entrepreneur Bashar Masri. Rami Khouri says the US has a new chance to amend its Middle East policies. ATFP President Ziad Asali says stability cannot come at the price of injustice.

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