ATFP Senior Fellow Examines Obama and Bush Mideast Policies at Pace Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 31, 2010 - 12:00am Pres. Obama's administration has reconceptualized the nature of strategic and political dynamics in the Middle East and the broader Islamic world, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish told an audience of over 100 at Pace University on Thursday, March 25, 2010. He said that during the Bush administration and traditionally, the United States has viewed strategic relations in the Arab and Islamic worlds as a series of discrete problems and challenges to be dealt with on bilateral or trilateral bases. Read more

Senior Fatah official refuses to appear alone before Israeli court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 31, 2010 - 12:00am A senior official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party on Wednesday refused to stand before an Israeli military court, showing a solidarity sign with a group of detainees who were detained with him and being tried separately. Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah central committee, was arrested with 11 Palestinians on an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank during a demonstration this week. » Read more

Fayyad joins protest to mark Land Day ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 30, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Salam Fayyad joined over 200 Israeli, Palestinian and internationals marking Land Day on Tuesday in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, in the West Bank governorate of Salfit. The march began at around 10am and lasted until 12:30pm, Israeli peace activist Jonathan Pollack said, beginning near the Ein Entweteg Spring in the village. » Read more

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. » Read more

Hamas: Fatah must apologize to Palestine for failed efforts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 31, 2010 - 12:00am Fatah’s call for an escalation of peaceful resistance is an admission of the failure of the government to reach a peace deal for Palestinians, Hamas officials declared on Tuesday following a cabinet meeting in Gaza. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority must now "apologize to the Palestinians for forcing them into a failed process that lasted 20 years," a statement from the Gaza government said, citing the continued occupation of the West Bank, the siege on Gaza, and the unfaltering settlement construction in the West Bank including East Jerusalem. » Read more

A script that may never be finished ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Raja Abdulrahim - March 30, 2010 - 12:00am When Saleem Azzouqa first wrote a pivotal scene in his semi-autobiographical play, "Salam Shalom," two gay lovers were depicted arguing over a fictional suicide bombing. But this was no ordinary couple. One of the men was an Israeli Jew, the other a Palestinian Muslim, and the site of the imaginary bombing was Tel Aviv. Soon, the playwright realized he need not invent dramatic twists for this story. The nightly news would provide all the material he needed. » Read more