UN: Massive increase in home demolitions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 21, 2011 - 12:00am The latest numbers from the United Nations show a two-fold increase in the number of Palestinian homes and agricultural buildings destroyed by Israel order this year, causing concern among officials. The UN Relief and Works Agency recorded 70 demolitions since the start of 2011, displacing 105 Palestinians, of whom 43 were under the age of 18. The demolitions were carried out across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and ordered by Israeli police, municipal officials and by mandate of the Civil Administration. » Read more

Settlers stab Palestinian south of Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 21, 2011 - 12:00am A 32-year-old from the south Hebron hills told Ma'an he was stabbed in the chest on Monday by settlers from the Ma'on settlement. Speaking by phone from hospital, Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad said he was treated for moderate stab wounds. The father of two lives in Khirbet Toubeh. Family members told the Palestinian Authority shortly after the incident that he was attacked while riding his donkey toward the nearby town of Yatta, where he was to receive treatment for kidney problems. » Read more

Mortar Fire From Hamas, and Israeli Tanks Respond ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 19, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas militants fired dozens of mortar shells from Gaza into southern Israel during a 15-minute period on Saturday morning, slightly injuring two Israeli civilians and sharply escalating tensions along the Israel-Gaza border. The Israeli military responded to the unusually intense barrage with tank and helicopter fire. Gaza officials reported that five Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire directed at a Hamas security facility east of Gaza City, including three security officers and two civilians, one of them a child. » Read more