Awarta raided overnight, 5 more detained ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 12, 2011 - 12:00am Concern is mounting for the residents of Awarta, as 71 villagers including a teenage girl and two elderly women remain held in Israeli custody without charge, and official visits to ensure their well being were prevented by Israeli forces. Three Palestinians from the village who were living in Ramallah were detained from their homes there overnight, as their relatives in Awarta, including two brothers, were detained during an overnight raid. From Awarta, Hasan Awwad, deputy mayor of the village, and his brother Salah, a local journalist, were both detained. » Read more

What the “Israeli Peace Initiative” has to offer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) April 12, 2011 - 12:00am On April 6, a group of prominent Israelis released the “Israeli Peace Initiative,” an answer to the Peace Initiative adopted by the Arab League in 2002. The biggest difference between the two documents is that one is official, formally adopted by a large group of states, and the other is a civil society initiative. This puts the two documents on significantly unequal footing. However, the new Israeli private initiative bears serious consideration, given the paucity of any other Israeli response to the API and the lack of diplomatic activity generally. » Read more