NEWS: Pres. Abbas complains that Israel has been refusing to allow Palestinian security forces to import weaponry and says that he is very afraid of the consequences of the death of any hunger striking prisoner, and Quartet envoy Blair echoes this concern. Israel seems near to reaching a deal with hunger striking Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian families cherish photos of imprisoned relatives. PA police arrest a noted activist with a militant past following the assassination of the governor of Jenin. Israel continues to expand its naval power. Palestinian officials dismiss a letter from PM Netanyahu responding to an earlier one to him from Abbas. Occupation forces order the demolition of a Palestinian elementary school to make way for a military training ground. Israeli officials are increasingly concerned about possible international legal action regarding some settlement activity. Palestinians in Lebanon are wary of a Nakba Day march towards the Israeli border given last year's deadly violence. European human rights groups say Israeli occupation authorities have destroyed numerous Palestinian development projects in the occupied territories financed by EU funds. Arab writers returning from a Gaza literary festival decry Hamas oppression. COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Palestinians must honor the memory, but also learn the lessons of, the Nakba. Shaul Arieli says both Palestinians and Israelis are misreading the international mood by insisting on maximal claims. Jeff Barak says it will be easy to measure the performance of the new Israeli coalition government. The Forward says the new government offers many positive possibilities. Fareed Zakaria wonders if Netanyahu can use his new power for anything more constructive than political survival. Amihai Attali says Palestinians are using their own version of the settlers' outposts strategy. Eli Brandstein says there are strong indications that Netanyah and his new coalition partner Kadima leader Mofaz have reached an understanding on Iran policy. Sharif Elmusa says that through their hunger strikes, Palestinian prisoners are acquiring their own public identities. Yossi Alpher says Israeli-Palestinian track II diplomacy has ground to a halt because there is nothing left to talk about, but Ghassan Khatib says they can still play an important role.

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