Seven Palestinians are wounded in clashes with settlers, and Palestinian officials hold the Israeli government responsible. Palestinians launch a new diplomatic initiative for statehood. Aaron David Miller says the US will not be abandoning Israel. Israel is still considering proposing a provisional Palestinian state. Hamas says it will reshuffle its cabinet. Israel says it will demolish unauthorized outposts by the end of the year. DM Barak says Israel may ask the US for $20 billion in additional military aid. The former Dutch PM says European leaders can’t trust PM Netanyahu. Menachem Klein says Israel won’t be able to use force against the next Palestinian uprising. An extremist Rabbi calls on settlers to use violence against Israeli soldiers. Israel worries about gas supplies from Sinai. A Palestinian woman launches a successful café chain in the West Bank. Jewish students at Berkeley talk about Israel activism. Ghassan Khatib says Palestinians see a win-win scenario for peace. Yossi Alpher says weak leaders are reacting poorly across the board.

AN ISRAELI VIEW: Weak leaders responding poorly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Editorial) March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The revolutionary events sweeping the region, Egypt especially, have thus far produced a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the PLO and Palestinian Authority leadership that seemingly reflects a shallow decision-making process in Ramallah. The same, undoubtedly, can be said for the Netanyahu government in Jerusalem.

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A PALESTINIAN VIEW: Sharing the search for freedom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Editorial) March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The wave of protests demanding change in a growing number of countries marks a new era in the recent history of the Arab world. It is not a coincidence that Egypt has taken the lead in its revolution for political and social development. It comes half a century after Egypt took the lead in an Arab liberation movement that succeeded in ending direct colonial control over the region.

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At Berkeley campus, Jewish students from left to right on Israel talk about their motivations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Sue Fishkoff - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

It’s March, which means the days get longer and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict heats up on campuses across North America with the annual staging of Israel Apartheid Week. Last year, pro-Israel activists countered Apartheid Week events ranging from anti-Israel speeches to the staging of mock Israeli army checkpoints with pro-Israel events on 28 campuses highlighting Israel’s diversity and progressive character. This year, more campuses are expected to join in.

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Palestinian Woman Serves Up Success With West Bank Café Chain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

When Huda El-Jack speaks, it’s with more than an American accent. She exudes an American entrepreneurial drive that she has brought to the Palestinian Authority and, in her own energetic way, she’s paving a path for Palestinian women to assume a greater role in the economy.

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As Gas Supplies Are Cut, Israel Sees First Worrying Sign of New Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Rosenberg - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

A month after militants attacked a Sinai pipeline, supply has yet to resume Israel’s energy industry looks like it’s on its way to becoming the country’s first casualty of the emerging new Middle East, where governments are responding to public pressure for an end to secret deals and taking a harder line on the Jewish state.

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Rabbi Wolpo: Fire rubber bullets back at soldiers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Kobi Nahshoni - March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

SOS Israel Chairman Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo called on West Bank settlers living in outposts and their supporters to use violence against soldiers and officers who use crowd dispersal means during evacuations. In a radio interview Saturday night, Rabbi Wolpo estimated that Israel was heading toward a civil war. "The army decided to fight against settlers and against the people and State of Israel.

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Israel can't use force against the next Palestinian uprising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Menachem Klein - (Editorial) March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

If the South Sudanese and East Timorese gained independence before the Palestinians, something went seriously wrong. How can one compare these places to the religious and international standing of Palestine? This must be the thinking of any Palestinians who have calculated their private profit and loss columns since the Oslo Accords.

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Former Dutch PM tells Haaretz: European leaders can't trust Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

The red carpet was not rolled out to greet 80-year-old Dries van Agt upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport. The man who was prime minister of Holland from 1977 to 1982 is known here as one of the leading delegitimizers of Israel.

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Israel may ask U.S. for $20 billion more in security aid, Barak says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel may request an addition $20 billion in military aid from the United States in light of the unrest sweeping the Arab world, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday. Barak deemed the changes in the region a "movement in the right direction", and said that in the long run, Israel should not fear the "movement of Arab societies toward modernity." But in the more immediate future, he told the WSJ, Israel would have to contend with the fact that Iran and Syria "might be the last to feel the heat" and join the trend of unrest.

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