NEWS: The Israeli government is scrambling to find ways to recognize "unauthorized" settlement outposts. The mayor of Bethlehem urges Israel not to humiliate vistors to the occupied Palestinian territories, as Israel is preparing to bar the entrance of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists. Iran says it has arrested several "Israeli-linked mercenaries." Hamas accuses Egypt of blocking Qatari fuel bound for Gaza. An occupation soldier is accused of stealing gold from Palestinians during an Israeli raid in the West Bank. The Israeli military admits it has been barring Palestinian farmers from their lands in a West Bank village. Israel closes the center of the town of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank to traffic. Settlers clash with Israeli security forces. Expectations are low for an upcoming meeting of the MIddle East Quartet. Human rights groups call for a moratorium on executions by Hamas. COMMENTARY: Carl Perkal says Daniel Pipes has written an inexplicable and agressive attack against Palestinian citizens of Israel. Zvi Bar'el says the High Court and B'Tselem are crucial to Israeli democracy. Ha'aretz says Israel should stop public demands for the US to free convicted Israeli spy Pollard. Douglas Bloomfield says Republican candidates cannot reach most Jewish-American voters by grandstanding on Israel. Daniel Bettini says Israel's ban on Günter Grass is cynical and populist, but Daniel Goldhagen says Grass is the cynic. Osama Al Sharif says three letters now circulating sum up the present Palestinian dilema. Lara Friedman says the threats to Israeli democracy are all too real. Rashid Khalidi says plans by the Simon Weisenthal Center to build a "Museum of Tolerance" on the Muslim Mamilla cemetery are an effort to erase Palestinian history in Jerusalem. Benny Morris says the main obstacle to peace is "Palestinian rejectionism," not Israeli settlements.

Republicans have ‘a real Jewish problem’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Republicans found some encouragement in the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) 2012 Jewish Values survey released last week and quickly declared it evidence that Barack Obama’s Jewish support is falling. It is not an entirely invalid conclusion since he got 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008 and this survey shows 62% of Jewish voters say they would like to see him reelected and 30% prefer an unnamed Republican candidate.

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Gaza Executions: Hamas Condemned Over ‘Inhuman Punishment’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Human rights groups have condemned the execution by the Hamas government in Gaza of three prisoners at the weekend, and are demanding that the death sentence of a fourth be commuted. The three men, identified only by their initials, were hanged on Saturday at a Hamas security base in Gaza City. The cases were unrelated: WJ, 27, had been convicted of treason by collaborating with Israel; MB, 49, had been convicted of murder; and MA, 20, had been convicted of abducting, raping and killing a child.

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Israel should refrain from public calls to free Jonathan Pollard
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

On Monday, under pressure from Jonathan Pollard's wife and activists campaigning for his release, President Shimon Peres asked U.S. President Barack Obama to free the convicted spy, who is serving a life term for spying against the United States on Israel's behalf.

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Quartet to Meet in DC, but Expectations are Low
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Senior Quartet representatives will meet in Washington on Wednesday amid little expectation that they will have more luck this time kick-starting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and Quartet envoy Tony Blair will meet on the sidelines of the G-8 foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process.

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Israeli democracy without the High Court and B'Tselem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

This is how a democracy should look: If the people's elected representatives pass laws that contradict the country's constitution or its Basic Laws that they themselves legislated, the court has the authority to invalidate them. This is a power that the lawmakers themselves granted the High Court of Justice here, in order to protect citizens - in case the legislature fails to carry out its task properly, and decides to grab more power for itself than the public agreed to grant it.

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West Bank: Teens Erect Outpost, Clash with Security Forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Itamar Fleishman - April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Several dozen Jewish teenagers on Tuesday took advantage of the Passover holiday to erect a new outpost near the Hashmonaim community in the West Bank. The teens, who called the outpost "Or Hadash (new light)," clashed with security forces at the scene. The security forces confiscated tools that were used to build the outpost. Two teenage girls who tried to snatch the tools back were held for questioning but released a short while later after agreeing to identify themselves.

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Israel’s Grass fiasco
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Bettini - (Opinion) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s decision to declare Guenter Grass a persona non grata appeared cynical and populist from the get-go. It was clear that not much time would elapse before the overwhelming support for Israel in the German and global media, and the criticism over Grass’ despicable poem, would turn around as result of our interior minister’s statement.

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Daniel Pipes' attack on Israeli Arabs is baseless and inflammatory
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carl Perkal - (Opinion) April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Middle East expert Daniel Pipes was in Israel recently and subsequently published an article entitled “Israel’s Arabs, living a paradox” in the Washington Times. I don’t know Dr. Pipes personally, but I feel compelled to call him to task for his baseless and inflammatory attack on the Arab citizens of Israel. Pipes has written an aggressive and confused jumble of half-truths and misunderstandings about the Arabs citizens of Israel.

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IDF Closes Off Central Palestinian Town to Vehicles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Oz Rosenberg - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

The Israel Defense Forces is not allowing vehicles in or out of A-Ram, a Palestinian city of 60,000 northeast of Jerusalem, because of a recent increase in stone and firebomb throwing at army patrols by local youth, the army said. Late Sunday night, soldiers placed large boulders across all four lanes of the road at the city's main entrance to block incoming and outgoing vehicular traffic. Pedestrians are not restricted, the IDF said. The entrance to A-Ram northeast of Jerusalem, which has been blocked by the military.

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