NEWS: Israel takes the unusual step of naming a city square after a Palestinian doctor. Israeli troops kill an unidentified man on the Sinai border. The Israeli government asks residents of the largest "unauthorized settlement" to voluntarily relocate. Gaza's power-plant shuts down again. A Palestinian woman being held without charge by Israel is on a hunger strike. Hanan Ashrawi says Israel should end its "policy of racism." Israeli occupation authorities say they intend to build an industrial zone on the site Palestinians had identified for a future Palestinian state airport. Israeli officials reportedly say they would not warn the United States before attacking Iran. J Street brings a delegation of Americans, including six members of Congress, to Israel and the occupied territories. Hamas leaders admit that Iran is angry with the organization for siding with the Syrian opposition. Palestinian officials ask Qatar-based Islamist cleric Qaradawi to retract an opinion that non-Palestinians should not visit Jerusalem. COMMENTARY: Xinhua interviews Gaza-based Hamas leader Haniyyeh. Moshe Arens says Palestinian Muslim and Christian citizens of Israel must serve in the military. The Jerusalem Post praises the late former Israeli PM Begin for not wanting to end the occupation. Susan Hattis Rolef says Israeli courts must decide the demarcation line between Zionists and fascists.Gershon Baskin continues to answer questions from those skeptical about the possibility of peace. Lara Friedman says a recent conference on Jerusalem in Qatar totally ignored Jewish history and much of what was said there was objectionable and painful. Bilal Hassan says confronting Israel is an Arab, and not just a Palestinian, imperative. Hussein Ibish says conditions for the eruption of a third intifada are quickly building.

Don’t discount a third intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

Is a third Palestinian intifada coming in the foreseeable future? An Israeli Foreign Ministry intelligence report circulated in the government last week and leaked over the weekend to Ha’aretz suggests it could well be. The report is right, and its assessment should make sobering reading for Israeli officials and citizens alike.

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The root cause of the confrontation with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Bilal Hassan - (Opinion) February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

Last Friday, the al-Aqsa Mosque transformed from a Palestinian, Arab and Islamic symbol to a scene of confrontation and clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupant forces, with Israel resorting to violence even within a yard of the mosque. What was the reaction to this?

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Jerusalem Isn't Just for Arabs, Either
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Lara Friedman - (Opinion) February 27, 2012 - 1:00am

I write this late on Sunday night in Doha, following the first day of the Arab League’s Conference on Jerusalem. I am attending the conference as an individual and a member of the foreign policy community — not as a representative of any organization (as is the case when I attend most conferences). That said, the organizers of the conference knew when they invited me that I am a Zionist. Most of my professional life (and much of my personal life) has been dedicated to fighting for peace for Israel and fighting against biased views on all sides of the issues.

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Encountering Peace: Q&A on the future of the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Interview) February 27, 2012 - 1:00am

Meeting with American Jews and non-Jews on college campuses, synagogues and churches all across America is always a refreshing opportunity to see how much interest our small country attracts. It is also quite disturbing how divisive the issue of support for Israel has become. The divisions are not between Jews and non-Jews, but within each community there are conflicts between those who are pro-Israeli versus those who are pro-Palestinian.

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Who's a fascist and who's a Zionist?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Susan Hattis Rolef - (Opinion) February 27, 2012 - 1:00am

The Jerusalem District Court will soon be deliberating on an interesting libel suit; the Im Tirzu movement is suing a group of talkbackers who claimed that Im Tirzu’s campaigns against the New Israel Fund and various human rights organizations in Israel smack of fascism.

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Begin’s legacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) February 27, 2012 - 1:00am

On the 20th anniversary of Menachem Begin’s death, many are revisiting the former prime minister’s important legacy. Perhaps the most significant aspect of Begin’s political leadership was his unique ability to bridge the gap between ideological purity and political realism, an important component of his ultimate political success. It was in large part due to Begin’s pragmatism and moderation that violence was avoided immediately after the establishment of the State of Israel.

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Muslims and Christians must also serve in IDF
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

If you're an Israeli citizen who is ultra-Orthodox, Muslim or Christian, you're exempt from sharing the burden of the country's defense with your fellow citizens who are Jewish or Druze. There is no discrimination here - these religious communities are equal when it comes to not defending the country. To be precise, not quite all. The young men of the small Circassian community residing in Kafr Kama and Reikhaniya in the Galilee, although Muslims, are obligated to do compulsory military service. They are the exception.

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Interview: Hamas, Fatah agree to give more time to form unity gov't: Haneya
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
(Interview) February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ismail Haneya, head of the deposed government of Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, said in a special interview with Xinhua on Monday that Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party have agreed to give more time to form the new transitional unity government. At his office in Gaza City, Haneya told Xinhua that leaders of Fatah and Hamas movements had bilaterally agreed in Cairo to give the consultations on forming the new unity government some more time until the two sides come up with a final decision.

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PA urges top cleric to annul Jerusalem fatwa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority minister of religious affairs on Tuesday urged a top Muslim cleric to annual his recent fatwa which ruled that non-Palestinian Muslims should not visit Jerusalem while it remains under occupation. Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi, a respected Sunni Muslim cleric, gave the decree after President Mahmoud Abbas urged Arabs and Muslims worldwide to visit the city at the Jerusalem conference in Qatar on Sunday.

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