Settler activists claim area near Rawabi
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - April 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Some 60 right-wing activists took a stand at dawn Wednesday to stake a claim to a partially developed area close to the new Palestinian city of Rawabi, which is now under construction in the Binyamin Region. According to one of the group leaders, Elad Meir, they went to an area close to Rawabi, which has structures that were partially built years ago and then abandoned. The Palestinian Authority had hoped to use the structures to house policemen. These buildings are well-suited to help settlers begin a new community, which they will call Bear Zeit, Meir said.

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Changing course, Fatah officials call for Palestinian protests against Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - April 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Senior officials in Fatah, the mainstream faction of the PLO, have for several years taken a backseat approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- leaving negotiations to a few leaders at the top and demonstrations to the grass-roots activists on the street.

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Fatah calls for escalation of non-violent resistance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 31, 2010 - 12:00am

Fatah's Central Committee stressed the necessity for an escalation of non-violent resistance against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, officials said following a meeting on Tuesday. United Palestinians should continue to protest the crimes committed against them by Israel, the Central Committee said, and recruit the help of international solidarity activists, officials said, noting their willingness to put forward a concerted effort toward Palestinian unity.

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Israel recognizes Obama means business
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Asia Times
by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - March 31, 2010 - 12:00am

Against all expectations, it's becoming the forerunner of a peace plan. Indeed, it might in the end even surprise the world as Israelis and Palestinians are forced into peace. Even if, for now, it's shaping up as anything but peaceful. It's a battle royal. "It" is the ongoing and unprecedented crisis in relations between the United States and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that the divide between his government and the administration of President Barack Obama is still bridgeable.

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Report: 55% of Israeli settlers in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics issued a statement Tuesday to mark Land Day, estimating that more than 85% of Palestinian land remains under Israeli control, with 55% of settlers in the West Bank centered in the Jerusalem governorate.

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ATFP Senior Fellow Urges Audience to Support Palestinian State Building
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish joined Ori Nir of Americans for Peace Now in a panel discussion hosted by the South Mountain Peace Action of Maplewood and South Orange, NJ, on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Ibish focused on the current confrontation between the Obama administration and the Israeli government over settlements and other issues.


Palestinian PM ploughs ahead with future state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Waked - March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad got behind a horse-drawn plough in the West Bank on Tuesday and drilled a furrow in protest against Israeli control of Palestinian land. Wearing a T-shirt and a hat, the former World Bank economist put his foot to the rusty plough as Jewish settlers watched from a hilltop outpost nearby. Arab protestors attend special ceremony in Sakhnin, cry out: 'Barak, how many children have you killed today?' MKs present complain of Israel's 'racist policies', say they won't stop fighting for 'stolen land'

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Palestinian security forces walk a careful line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

As the highest-ranking commander of nearly 8,000 Palestinian security troops, Maj. Gen. Diab Ali is accustomed to being top gun. But the salutes often stop when he leaves the military base and travels through the West Bank. Experience has taught the general to leave his gun behind and trade the uniform for civilian clothes, lest some young Israeli checkpoint guard decide to hold him for questioning or block his way. "It avoids problems," said Ali, commander of the National Security Forces of the Palestinian Authority.

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Palestinians: Obama wants Israel to hand over Abu-Dis to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The Obama Administration is demanding that Israel hand over more West Bank land to exclusive PA control, including the Abu-Dis area adjacent to Jerusalem, Palestinian sources told Ynet Thursday. According to the US vision, the move will take place as part of reverting to the state that prevailed in the West Bank before the outbreak of the last Intifada.

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Arabs pledge $500 million in east J'lem aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa on Thursday announced that the organization's member states approved a $500 million assistance package for Palestinians residing in Jerusalem. The Arab foreign ministers convened Thursday for a preparatory meeting in the Libyan city of Sirte, ahead of the Arab League summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

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