March 17th

Egypt resumes natural gas flow to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - March 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Egypt resumed natural gas shipments to Israel on Wednesday for the first time since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak. But many here remain worried about the long-term prospects for the $2.5-billion export deal, which when signed in 2005 was touted as an indication of warming bilateral relations, but could soon turn into an uncomfortable diplomatic dispute with Egypt's new government.

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Rival Leaders Agree to Hold Gaza Meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The rival Palestinian leaderships of the West Bank and Gaza appeared to be taking practical steps on Wednesday toward ending their schism, in a rare response to public pressure for national unity after years of deep division. The new talk of unity came as Israel displayed weaponry it seized after intercepting a merchant ship on Tuesday. Israeli leaders said the weapons, including six advanced antiship missiles, originated in Iran, were loaded aboard the ship in Syria and were bound for Gaza.

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March 16th

A Two State Peace: Defining the Border
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - March 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Ghaith al-Omari Carnegie Endowment for International Peace A Two State Peace: Defining the Border March 11, 2011 - 1:00am On March 11, 2011, ATFP Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari participated in a panel on “A Two State Peace: Defining the Border” along with Geoffrey Aronson. The event was organized by the American Task Force on Palestine, Foundation for Middle East Peace, the Middle East Institute and Churches for Middle East Peace and held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.


David Remnick says Pres. Obama is right to pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state. Settlers bond over the murder of a family. Hamas forces violently break up Palestinian unity rallies in Gaza. Pres. Abbas says he would travel to Gaza for unity and Hamas says they would welcome him. Two Hamas men are killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. Israel unveils seized arms. Abbas says he will not run for another term. Uruguay recognizes Palestine. Jordan urges a two-state solution. Aluf Benn says DM Barak must join the opposition. France says EU recognition of Palestine is "a possibility." The film "Jenin, Jenin" continues to spark controversy. Nahum Barnea says Israel is only punishing itself with settlement expansion. Israel says it will build a new wall along the border with Jordan. Republicans in the House of Representatives are floating a bill that would force the Executive to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. The National says PM Fayyad is right that a fractured Palestinian society cannot form a state. Mkhaimar Abusada looks at security from a Palestinian perspective. Amor Boubakri looks at what the Arab Peace Initiative says about regional security.

The API and the regional security deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Amor Boubakri - (Blog) March 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab Peace Initiative promises to "provide security for all the states of the region". These provisions are at the core of the offer made by Arab states in their initiative to Israel and represent a solemn commitment to withdraw the threat of war and the use of arms in the resolution of problems related to territorial claims in the region.

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Middle East security from a Palestinian perspective
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mkhaimar Abu Sada - (Blog) March 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 stipulates that the Arab countries "consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region". This, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in June 1967, a "just solution" to the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN Resolution 194, and the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

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Voices in unity raise new hope for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) March 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The phrase "Palestinian resistance" does not usually evoke peaceful images. From the forced removal of Palestinians from their homes, to Israel's use of fighter-jets to strike neighbourhoods in the West Bank, to rocket attacks from Gaza, violence has been ingrained in the story of the Palestinian struggle.

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New Jerusalem bill circulating House
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
March 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Top Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are circulating a bill that would strip the president of his power to waive a law requiring him to move the embassy to Jerusalem. The bill, launched March 10 and sponsored by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), the chairman of the House's Europe Subcommittee, is also backed by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Middle East Subcommittee -- all but guaranteeing its passage in the Foreign Affairs Committee and referral to the full House.

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PM says IDF to build fence along Jordan border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ilana Curiel - March 15, 2011 - 12:00am

During a tour of the fence that is being constructed along Israel's border with Egypt on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the IDF to begin planning the construction of another fence along the border with Jordan. "We will have to build a fence in the east as well, because if we block one border they will come from the Arava," he later told the Negev Conference in Eilat.

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Israel punishes itself
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Nahum Barnea - (Opinion) March 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The government approved Sunday the construction of 400 housing units in Judea and Samaria in response to the murder in Itamar. Why Only 400, wondered Eli Yishai. We need to build 5,000 units, a thousand for each murder victim. To a certain extent, Yishai is right. If the proper response to the despicable murder of the Fogel family is settlement expansion, 400 is a rather pathetic number. It does not reflect the shock, repugnance and fury. It offers no comfort. At most, it serves as an attempt to calm the hard core among the settlers with a real estate pill.

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