NEWS: Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian worshipers clash at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. (Reuters/AP) Israel has begun construction on the extension of a freeway that would divide a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, as villagers seek a court order to prevent this. (Los Angeles Times) Pres. Obama is downplaying expectations for his trip to Israel and Palestine. (AP) Obama meets with Jewish-American leaders in advance of his trip, saying peace is essential but the prospects are bleak. (Reuters/JTA) Young Israelis are asking if Obama's visit is too little, too late. (The Media Line) The Israeli military is preparing for the next conflict with Hezbollah. (AP) Hamas denies the Egyptian government has asked it to abandon "armed struggle." (Ma'an) Israel issues hundreds of arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox Jews dodging military service. (Xinhua) Palestinians complain about Canadian official comments about the prospect of suing Israel at the ICC. (Xinhua) Palestinians at a large refugee camp in the occupied West Bank rally in support of prisoners. (Ma'an) The Palestinian statistics bureau says women constitute 49.2% of the population. (PNN) A new Palestinian poll confirms the public demand for elections and continued greater support for Fatah and consistently low numbers for Hamas. (PNN) Violence and crime are on the rise in Gaza. (Al Monitor) Israeli politicians suggest a new government may be announced next week. (Ha'aretz) Carl Levin, a leader on Middle East issues in the Senate, says he will not seek reelection in 2014. (JTA) The Netherlands may instruct retail stores to clearly label settlement products. (YNet) The State Department says it has decided to defer presenting an award to an Egyptian activist because of alleged anti-Semitic tweets. (Jerusalem Post) An Israeli court has found the PA indirectly responsible for the murder of an Israeli in 2003. (Jerusalem Post) Attacks on Palestinians and anti-Arab bigotry are becoming more common and acceptable in Jewish Israeli society. (The National)

COMMENTARY: Ami Ayalon says Obama's trip should initiate the creation of a clear process towards a two state solution. (Los Angeles Times) Yisrael Medad asks if Obama can overcome low expectations about his visit in Israel. (Los Angeles Times) Uri Savir says Obama will have to move past rhetoric to difficult decisions in order to move the process forward. (Jerusalem Post) Noah Feldman remembers Rabbi Menachem Froman. (Bloomberg) Reza Nasri says US and Israeli threats of force against Iran are counterproductive and harm chances for an agreement. (CSM) Anshel Pfeffer says the debate on Zionism in Britain is empty of content. (Ha'aretz) Ranan Hartman says all citizens, Zionist or not, should be included in the Israeli identity. (YNet) Patrick Seale says the EU could play a major role in promoting Middle East peace if it wanted to. (Gulf News) Naela Khalil says Israeli authorities mainly ignore attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages and villagers. (Al Monitor) Raja Shehadeh interviews Mustafa Barghouti. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Aaron David Miller interviews Uri Savir and Ahmed Qurei. (Foreign Policy) S. Daniel Abraham says soon Israel will no longer be a Jewish-majority state. (The Atlantic)

Attacks and anti-Arab bigotry 'more acceptable' in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

A spate of epithet-laced attacks by young Israeli Jews against Arabs indicates anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry is becoming more acceptable in many sectors of Israeli society, according to rights workers. Police have arrested four people, including two minors, over the bludgeoning on Saturday of an Arab Israeli citizen on holiday with his wife in the Israeli city of Tiberius, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported this week.

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Court: PA liable for terror attack by teen in ‘03
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yonah Jeremy Bob - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday held the Palestinian Authority liable for NIS 1.3 million in damages for training and indirectly encouraging a 15-and-ahalf- year-old Palestinian to murder Amit Amos Monitin on June 26, 2003. The boy murdered Monitin while he was on the job as a technician for the Bezek telephone company in Baka al- Gharbiya, east of Hadera. The killer was caught, tried, convicted and is serving his sentence in Israel.

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US defers activist's award amid anti-Semitic tweets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

The US State Department is holding off on presenting a prestigious award to Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim after anti-US and anti- Semitic tweets from her Twitter account were uncovered. “After careful consideration, we’ve decided we should defer presenting this award to Ms. Ibrahim this year so that we have a chance to look further into these statements,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday.

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Holland to label settlement goods?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

The Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that it has obtained unofficial information regarding a Dutch directive instructing retail chains in Holland to state the origin of products from settlements.

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Carl Levin won’t run again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a veteran Jewish lawmaker who had major influence on defense policy, will not seek reelection. Levin, 78, was quoted Thursday by The Associated Press as saying that his decision was "extremely difficult" but that he wanted to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2014, without "distraction." Levin heads the Senate's Armed Services Committee, and in that capacity has been influential in defense policy, helping to maintain record levels of defense assistance for Israel.

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Lapid likely to be Israel's next finance minister, Bennett to take trade portfolio, sources say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

Yesh Atid party chairman Yair Lapid will likely take the finance portfolio, sources said Friday, while Habayit Hayehudi chairman Naftali Bennett will be Israel's next Labor, Trade and Industry minister. According to the officials, Israel's new coalition will be presented at the start of the coming week.

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Gaza Sees Rise in Violence And Crime
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Hazem Balousha - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Violence has been rife in Gaza but reached its peak in mid-2007, when clashes erupted between political rivals Hamas and Fatah, in a battle that resembled a civil war that left many wounded and dead. The Gaza Strip has also suffered from military confrontations with Israel, not to mention the political and economic blockade, which has led to increased violence in Gazan society.

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Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No 46
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

In view of the financial crisis that the Palestinian Authority (PA) suffers from due to the delay in transferring tax returns from Israel and the delay of funds from the Arab countries, strikes organized by trade unions influence everyday life in the West Bank.

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Females Share of Palestinian Population of 2012 is 49.2%, says Statistics Bureau
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

The estimated population of Palestine at the end of 2012 was 4.35 million of whom 2.21 million were males and 2.14 million females. Males comprise 50.8 percent of the total population compared to 49.2 percent for females. In other words, for every 100 persons there were 49 females, a sex ratio of 103.2, said Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) Thursday on the occasion of International Woman's Day, Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

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