March 14, 2013 | The American Task Force on Palestine

Daily News Issue Date:

March 14, 2013

News:

NEWS:
Pres. Obama will visit the Church of the Holy Nativity in occupied Bethlehem during his visit to Palestine, but may not visit Ramallah. (New York Times/Ma'an)

Palestinians and Israelis are preparing to receive Obama. (The Media Line)

Some Palestinians are hoping to send messages directly to Obama through billboards in Ramallah. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Observers fear Obama's visit will be clouded by regional politics. (AP)

Israeli occupation forces raid several towns in the West Bank and arrest 19 Palestinians. (Ma'an)

PM Netanyahu appears to have finally assembled a new coalition government. (New York Times/AP)

Settlers and their allies will likely be strengthened by the shape of the new Israeli coalition government. (Ha'aretz)

Israel accuses a Hamas leader of orchestrating attacks against Israelis. (Xinhua)

A Palestinian girl dies in a fire started by a gaslamp in Gaza. (Xinhua)

Settlers steal an Israeli military tent in the occupied Palestinian territories. (Ha'aretz)

Lawyers for a hunger striking Palestinian prisoner again say he is on the brink of death. (Ma'an)

The World Bank is planning to transfer $60.5 million to the PA in budgetary support. (PNN)

The once-thriving Palestinian shoe industry in Hebron is in sharp decline due to cheap imports. (Al Monitor)

The Israeli military says the Syrian regime is preparing to use chemical weapons, although the order has not yet been given. (Ha'aretz)

Bethlehem will hold its first marathon in April. (The National)

Salafists from Gaza may be starting to take part in the Syrian Civil War, and others are rising in refugee camps in Lebanon. (Al Monitor)

The Israeli government is launching an education campaign intended to boost economic growth among its Palestinian citizens. (Bloomberg)

UNRWA officials defend UN aid to the Palestinian refugees during a trip to Washington. (Foreign Policy)

COMMENTARY:
PCHR looks at a failed compensation case filed against Israel by a Palestinian severely injured by Israeli attacks on Gaza last November. (PNN)

Hani al-Masri says another intifada is not far away given the level of Palestinian despair. (YNet)

Osman Mirghani says an atmosphere of hatred and apartheid is growing in Israel. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Safa Shehada explains the creation of an organization designed to support Bedouin women in Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Ari Shavit says Obama holds the future of Israel in his hands. (Ha'aretz)

Joyce Karam says Obama can learn lessons about his trip from former Pres. Clinton. (Al Arabiya)

Douglas Bloomfield says Israel needs a settlement freeze. (Jerusalem Post)

Abraham Foxman explains what he thinks Obama ought to say to the people of Israel. (Ha'aretz)

Gershon Baskin says unilateralism is disastrous and the Geneva agreements demonstrate that a deal is possible. (Jerusalem Post)

Ari Jankelowitz looks at the complications of dual citizenship for Israelis in light of the Prisoner X scandal. (The Forward)

Aaron David Miller says a close look at demographics shows Israel has to give up the occupation or choose between being a Jewish or a democratic state. (Foreign Policy)

Obama’s Israel Itinerary Includes Some Standard Stops, but Not Others
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to visit the Church of the Nativity, but not the Western Wall, when he travels to Israel next week. He will speak at Jerusalem’s convention center, but not before the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament. And he will inspect a mobile missile-defense battery, though not one in the field, where they protect Israel from enemy rockets.

The settlers will rise in power in Israel's new government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro probably sat down Wednesday to write a long cable to the White House ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to report on the new government in Israel. Aside from noting the obvious fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is even weaker and has become the political hostage of all of his coalition partners, Shapiro probably emphasized the dramatic rise in the power of the settlers in Netanyahu’s third government.

Israel's Demographic Destiny
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

Obama may scrap visit to Ramallah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama could skip Ramallah during his upcoming visit to the region, a Palestinian Authority source said Wednesday. Obama will meet President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem and will spend only four hours in the West Bank during the trip, which will include a visit to the Nativity Church, said the government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for the US consulate in Jerusalem did not immediately return a call late Wednesday.

Israel and the Palestinians Gearing up For Obama Visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Diana Atallah, Linda Gradstein - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

Security and Kosher for Passover Food Preparing for a US presidential visit is a huge job. Preparing for a US presidential visit the week before Passover is an almost insurmountable task. While in Jerusalem, the President will be staying at the historic King David hotel, which used to be the site of the British headquarters during the pre-state period. In 1946, an extremist Zionist group bombed the hotel, killing 91 people.

Palestinians Address Obama Directly with Billboard Campaign
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Kifah Zaboun - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—“President Obama, don’t bring your smartphone to Ramallah, you won’t have mobile access to [the] internet. We have no 3G in Palestine!”

Politics clouding Obama's coming visit to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Daniel Estrin - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

A week before President Barack Obama is set to arrive in the region, Middle East politics are already casting a cloud over the visit as Israeli and Palestinian officials plan a series of events to promote their agendas.

Israel forces launch arrest raids across West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Israeli forces conducted arrest raids in cities and villages across the West Bank overnight Wednesday. An Israeli military spokeswoman said 19 Palestinians were arrested and taken for security questioning, but locals reported a higher number of detentions. The army spokeswoman told Ma'an that forces detained 11 people in Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem.

Netanyahu Prepares to Accept New Coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to sign agreements on Thursday to form a government with Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, two dynamic, first-time politicians who represent vastly different constituencies but teamed up to turn Israel’s coalition negotiations into

Intifada far off
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hani al-Masri - (Opinion) March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Over the past few weeks an extensive discussion has been held regarding the possibility that the protest against the occupation in the West Bank will escalate into a full-blown intifada. Israel has contributed greatly to this discussion.

Israeli parties strike coalition deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ian Deitch - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement Thursday to form a new coalition government that is expected to try to curb years of preferential treatment for the country's ultra-Orthodox minority and may push for restarting peace efforts with Palestinians.

Hamas minister orchestrates plans to launch attacks against Israel: Israeli report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Israel's Shin Bet security service said in a statement Wednesday that Hamas Interior Minister in the Gaza Strip, Fathi Hammad, is behind invigorated efforts to stage terror attacks against Israel from the West Bank, local media outlets reported.

Palestinian girl dies of burns after house fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

A seven-year Palestinian girl died on Wednesday succumbing to her injuries sustained in a house fire in southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medical sources said. The fire, sparked by a gas lamp, also left her brother dead and wounded three other children of one family. Hamas' Interior Ministry said it has opened an investigation into the incident, which took place as electricity was off in the area.

This Court Case Was My Only Hope
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

At approximately 07:30 am on 5 January 2009, during 'Operation Cast Lead', Israeli forces fired a tank shell at the house of Hany Abdel Dayem.

Settlers steal IDF tent erected to prevent Palestinian encampment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Residents of the Yitzhar in the West Bank stole a military tent near their settlement this week. The tent was intended as an Israel Defense Forces post to keep Palestinians from illegally setting up structures of their own in the area, IDF officials said.

Lawyer: Issawi close to death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Samer Issawi "could die at any moment," his lawyer warned Wednesday, after the prisoner escalated his seven-month hunger strike by refusing water. Medics at Kaplan Medical Center summoned lawyer Jawad Bulous and urged him to convince Issawi to resume taking fluids, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement. Issawi is suffering from a cardiovascular disorder, the society said. He has been on hunger strike for 224 days and was hospitalized in late February.

World Bank Transfers $60.5M in Budget Support to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Wednesday 13th March, the World Bank transferred $60.5 million to the Palestinian Authority from the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund (PRDP-MDTF), a multi-donor budget support mechanism administered by the Bank, said a press release by World Bank. The statement said the funds contributed by the governments of the United Kingdom and Norway will help support the urgent budget needs of the PA, providing inter alia support for education, health care and other vital social services for the Palestinian people and for the economic reforms currently underway.

Israeli Apartheid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Osman Mirghani - (Opinion) March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

They yelled: “Dirty Arab. You want a state? Is that what you want?” Then they began to beat up the Palestinian worker, who later told the press about how he was attacked by a group of around twenty young Jews while he was working in Tel Aviv. A few days later, another Palestinian was attacked by eight Jewish youths while going for a walk with his wife, and when police arrested four of the suspects they found that two of them had also participated in the first attack in Tel Aviv.

Palestinian Shoe Industry Declines in Hebron
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Jihan Abdalla - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

Once a mainstay of the local economy, Palestinian shoemaking in the West Bank is in decline as businesses struggle to compete with an increasing influx in the local market of cheaper, Chinese-made shoes. For decades, the city of Hebron was renowned for its skilled cobblers, producing famously comfortable, durable, leather shoes and sandals. According to statistics compiled by the Chamber of Commerce in Hebron, from 1970 until 1990, the city boasted 1,200 lucrative shoe businesses, employing 40,000 people, a third of Hebron’s residents at the time.

Obama’s Middle East trip: Lessons from Bill Clinton
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
by Joyce Karam - (Opinion) March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama has set low expectations for his upcoming trip to the Middle East, which seems devoid of any peace initiative or strategy for negotiations. Tactically, however, the trip will re-introduce Obama in a Clintonesque fashion as he tries to build credibility among Israelis, and get directly involved with the Palestinians.

Assad preparing to use chemical arms, says Israel's military intel chief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gili Cohen - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

The head of Israel's military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, said on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad is preparing to make use of his chemical weapons cache, although he has yet to give an order for them to be used.

The president who holds Israel's fate in the palm of his hand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

The question of who Israel’s prime minister will be is usually an important one. But as far as Israel’s national security is concerned, the question is becoming less and less important. The reason for this is not a happy one.

Bethlehem to host first-ever marathon in April
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

The not-so-little town of Bethlehem is to host the West Bank's first-ever marathon next month in a race starting at the Nativity Church and taking in several refugee camps, organisers said Wednesday. The brainchild of two Danish women runners, the Palestine Marathon will take place on April 21 and offer runners the choice of three distances: a full 42-kilometre marathon, a half marathon or a 10-kilometre race.

Exclusive: Gaza Salafists Take Fight to Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Asmaa Al-Ghoul - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

I managed to reach the house of one of the jihadist Salafist leaders in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-led Gaza government had imposed limitations on most jihadist Salafist leaders following the Ibn Taymiya Mosque incidents in Rafah at the end of 2009, when its security forces killed 28 jihadists after their leader, Abdel Latif Moussa, declared the Islamic caliphate. Salafist jihadism in the Gaza Strip is an international movement that promotes armed jihad against the ruling Arab and foreign governments.

Salafist Factions on Rise At Palestinian Camp in Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Nasser Chararah - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

Bilal Badr, an official from the Fatah al-Islam movement (a takfiri, fundamentalist and extremist organization linked to al-Qaeda) escaped an assassination attempt yesterday [March 12] by a masked assailant in the neighborhood of Ras al-Ahmar in the Lebanese Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.

Israel Arab Education Plan to Boost Growth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Gwen Ackerman, Alisa Odenheimer - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Israel’s six-year project to improve its Arab community’s job prospects will also help to bolster slowing economic growth, Manuel Trajtenberg, who helped to draft the plan, said in an interview. Israeli Arabs have lagged behind the Jewish majority economically and have accused the government and Jewish employers of discrimination. The state has pledged to narrow the gap and sees promoting higher education among Arabs as key.

New hotline for Beduin women
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Safa Shehada - March 14, 2013 - 12:00am

Around 200,000 Arabs live in the Negev, more than half of whom are women. The Arab women of the Negev are caught between a rock and a hard place – the former being government policy and the latter the strict cultural mores of Beduin society. Since Arab women are part of Israel’s Palestinian minority, they have not had much success in exercising their rights, even the most basic ones.

U.N. officials in Washington to defend Palestinian refugee aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Josh Rogin - March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

U.S. aid to the Palestinian refugees could fall victim to the automatic budget cuts that went into effect March 1, so the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) made two trips to Washington this month to argue for consistency in U.S. help for his organization.

Washington Watch: Meridor: Israel needs a settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) March 13, 2013 - 12:00am

As the new government convenes this week, the Likud will be missing its leading advocate for peace, the two-state solution and curbing settlement activity. Dan Meridor, the outgoing deputy prime minister and minister of intelligence and atomic energy, was unceremoniously dumped by his party as it took a hard turn to the Right for the recent elections. Once one of the rising princes of the Likud, Meridor has long been among Israel’s most respected political leaders.

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