NEWS: After a deadly anti-Semitic attack in France, PM Fayyad says extremists should stop exploiting the Palestinian cause to justify terrorism. The PLO, PA and Palestinian missions denounce the attack. Israel indicts a Hamas member for allegedly plotting attacks on Israelis. Iran's supreme leader says it will retaliate if attacked by Israel or the US. An Israeli human rights groups says the number of Palestinians killed by Israel rose last year to 115, including 18 children. Fatah claims Iran is paying Hamas to thwart national unity talks, while Hamas says Fatah prefers US aid to national unity. Hamas denies that Iranian experts are helping militants in Gaza. Pres. Abbas meets with the family of a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner. An Israeli anti-discrimination organization says racist incidents against Arabs in Israel dropped following last year's social protests. COMMENTARY: Zvi Bar'el says Israel should warn its population before attacking Iran. Bradley Burston asks whether the Zionist Organization of America can really claim to be pro-Israel. Ron Kampeas says Peter Beinart's call for a Jewish American boycott of settlements and settlement goods is not resonating yet, as he defends his position against critics. Nathan Guttman previews J Street's upcoming conference. Robert Zaretsky says French officials have promoted suspicion and distrust between Jews and Muslims in that country. Husam Itani looks at the question of the Golan Heights, Israel's occupation and the Syrian uprising. Nachman Shai says Hamas may become a viable negotiating partner for Israel. Roni Shaked says Israel's policy of assassinations is backfiring. Tal Becker urges a more nuanced debate on Iran

Targeted-Killing Policy is Backfiring on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth
by Roni Shaked - (Opinion) March 11, 2012 - 1:00am

No one in Israel was surprised by the blizzard of rocket fire [on the western Negev, in the southern part of the country] that followed the killing of [Popular Resistance Committees leader] Zuhair al-Kaisi. There is no single focused foiling or targeted prevention – as such operations are known in Israel – carried out in the Gaza Strip in the past decade that has not provoked a massive rocket barrage on Israel.

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Hamas May Become Viable Negotiating Partner
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Nachman Shai - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am

In the present confrontation between Israel and the Popular Resistance Committees, Israel has been treading very carefully. As of the writing of these lines, we have been very fortunate. The cutting-edge technological systems developed by Israel have been doing their jobs in the best possible manner. Regarding the offensive-attack perspective, Israeli drones have struck targets on the ground with surgical precision based on reliable intelligence information. They have succeeded in stopping missiles from being fired with minimal harm to innocent bystanders.

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The Golan Heights are Waiting for the Revolution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Husam Itani - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

An important progress was achieved with respect to studying the Syrian society, its constituents, and the factors that affected it throughout the year that has elapsed since the revolution started. On the other hand, the issue of the conflict with Israel remains a taboo and a prejudice.

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Toulouse Tragedy Shows Depth of Hatred
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Robert Zaretsky - (Opinion) March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

France, and the rest of the world, is still reeling from the shock of events in Toulouse, where a lone gunman killed a teacher and three children at a local Sephardic Jewish school on March 19. In the coming days, all of us ardently hope that we will learn not about another massacre, but instead of the capture of the killer. But in the confusion and uncertainty of the moment, it is important to recall what we know, and what we don’t know, about this event.

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Study: Israel’s Social Protests Caused Drop in Racist Incidents Against Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Incidents of racism and intolerance between across Israeli ethnic groups are on the decline, a new report published on Monday concluded. According to data compiled by the Coalition against Racism in Israel, is composed of Jewish and Arab human rights groups, the number of reported incidences of racism committed by Jewish Israelis against Arab Israelis fell from 91 in 2009 and 68 in 2010 to only 20 in 2011.

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Abbas Meets Family of Hunger Striker Held by Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday received at his office the family of a hunger striking woman held in Israel, accusing Israel not respecting the lives of Palestinian detainees. The parents of Hana Shalabi came to Abbas' office in the West Bank city of Ramallah after reports said their daughter was taken to the hospital due to her deteriorated health. 30-year-old Shalabi, who has been hunger striking for 34 days, demands an end to her administrative detention, an Israeli rule under which detainees can be held for years without a trial.

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The Curse of the Straw Man: Reflections on How we Argue About Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Shalom Hartman Institute
by Tal Becker - (Analysis) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

What would we do without the straw man, without the ability to make a caricature of the position we want to argue against? How many op-eds, debates and political speeches count on the ability to present a dumbed-down version of the position we contest, and then revel in knocking it down?

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Hamas Denies Reports of Iranian Experts Aiding Militants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior Hamas official on Tuesday denied media reports saying that Iranian military experts were helping Gaza militant groups to develop weapons and upgrade their capabilities for a future confrontation with Israel. "These reports are fabricated and aim to justify (Israeli) military aggression against Gaza," Mahmoud Zahar, a member of Hamas' politburo, told Xinhua. On Monday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that some Iranian experts were in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to help the militant groups based in the coastal enclave.

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J Street Hopes To Return Focus to Peace at Annual Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — As J Street, the self-styled pro-peace, pro-Israel lobby, opens its annual conference this year, it does so at a time of unparalleled growth for the group, and serious setbacks for its cause. With talk of war with Iran dominating Israeli–American discourse, the dovish lobby is working hard to return the Palestinian issue to center stage.

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