A Palestinian human rights group says anyone who fires rockets at Israel is deliberately putting civilians in danger. Bernard Avishai says it’s time for an American plan for Mideast peace. Joe Klein looks at Palestinian nonviolence. Harold Meyerson says the Knesset investigation into left-wing NGOs is undemocratic. Israel fears the alternative to Pres. Assad in Syria. Fatah wins in Birzeit University elections. A kidnapped Gaza engineer appears in Israeli court, professes innocence. PM Netanyahu appears on YouTube. Israel arrests four Palestinians in Hebron. Pres. Abbas again threatens to resign. Ari Shavit says Israel must launch a diplomatic preemptive strike at the UN or face recognition of Palestine. Eldad Yaniv says FM Lieberman is a racist who must be stopped. A new poll shows Israeli youth moving further to the right and that 46% want to revoke the rights of Arab citizens. DM Barak says Israel’s new missile defense is “not perfect.” Palestinians arrested by Israel on false charges of rape say they were abused in custody. Colombia promises not to recognize Palestine. PM Fayyad says peaceful resistance is vital. UC Irvine students meet with Hamas leaders. Only 26 senators sign a letter to Sec. Clinton complaining about Palestinian “incitement.” Palestinian leaders lost hope in the US. George Hishmeh says the occupation condemns Israel to international isolation.

Abbas says he may resign
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hinted if negotiations with Israel fail to resume by September he may resign. At a meeting in Ramallah with members of the Council for Peace and Security, Abbas hinted he would leave his post if the situation remains unchanged, Haaretz reported Thursday.

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Israel needs to launch a preemptive diplomatic strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The writing is on the wall: 2011 is going to be a diplomatic 1973. In September and October the UN General Assembly will decide whether to establish a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. The international community will recognize a Palestinian state. At that moment, every Israeli apartment in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood will become illegal. Every military base in the West Bank will be contravening the sovereignty of an independent UN member state. The Palestinians will not be obligated to accept demilitarization and peace and to recognize the occupation.

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We must stop the nationalist and racist Lieberman
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Eldad Yaniv - (Opinion) March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Every one who fell for the "either Tzipi or Bibi" canard during the last elections had best not forget where those two, Benjamin (Bibi ) Netanyahu who is now Prime Minister and Tzipi Livni, who is now opposition leader, spent the night between Tuesday and Wednesday last week when the Israeli Knesset passed two controversial laws.

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Poll: Young Israelis moving much farther to the right politically
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Or Kashti - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Young Israelis are moving much further to the right politically, according to a survey to be released Thursday. The study found that 60 percent of Jewish teenagers in Israel, between 15 and 18 years old, prefer "strong" leaders to the rule of law, while 70 percent say that in cases where state security and democratic values conflict, security should come first. A similar picture emerges in the 21 to 24 age group. The comprehensive survey was conducted on behalf of Germany's Friedrich Ebert Foundation, in cooperation with the Macro Center for Political Economics, by the Dahaf Institute.

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Barak: Iron Dome not perfect
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Tova Dadon - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited the site where the first Iron Dome battery is stationed in Beersheba on Thursday. Barak admitted that the system cannot provide perfect protection from rockets but promised other batteries will be deployed in the coming years. "Today the system commences an operational test, which is an extraordinary achievement by Israeli technology and Israel's Air Force," Barak said during the tour. He noted the Iron Dome battery was the first to intercept rockets fired at civilians.

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46% of Israeli teens: Revoke Arabs' rights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Tomer Velmer - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A new study examining Jewish and Arab Israeli teens' opinions on a wide range of issues shows nearly half of Jewish youths support revoking Arab-Israelis' basic rights. The study focused on such issues as nationalism, democracy and attitudes towards State institutions. The results: Israeli teens in 2010 believe less in democracy, are inclined towards rebelliousness and violence, are more racist and some have given up hope for peace. They are also more right-wing and patriotic.

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Israeli army arrests three Palestinians, Hamas lawmaker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli army arrested four Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron Thursday, including a Hamas lawmaker, a statement said. The Israeli army broke into the house of the legislator, Mohammed Bader, and arrested him, said a statement by Hamas' Change and Reform parliamentary bloc. In 2006, Israel rounded up all West-Bank based Hamas' lawmakers when the Islamic movement captured an Israeli soldier near the Gaza Strip. Mohammed Bader was released about six months ago. Israel also arrested three civilians, all of them teenagers, in the city.

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'Police beat and spat on us'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian man who was arrested in connection to a rape of an 11-year-old boy and was later released is saying he and the three other former suspects are considering suing the police for a violent arrest and humiliation they were subjected to during their interrogation. "We were treated like dogs, a police officer spat on us and shouted that all Arabs must be killed."

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Netanyahu's YouTube gig showcases new media policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Aron Heller - March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's prime minister, who has long had rocky relations with the news media, took his message straight to the public Wednesday on YouTube, fielding questions in a live interview from users in 90 countries, including Arab nations that have no relations with the Jewish state. Benjamin Netanyahu's appearance on YouTube's World View Project highlighted the Israeli leader's recent embrace of new media, but also illustrated his tricky relations with the traditional outlets he often considers hostile.

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