March 11th

Judge, jury and creditor: How Palestinians finance the Israeli military court system
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - March 10, 2013 - 1:00am

In 2011, Palestinians paid NIS 13 million in fines to military courts in the West Bank. Unlike in the civilian criminal court system, in the Israeli military court system where Palestinians are put on trial, fines are an integral part of the penalty.

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Analysis: Iran, Palestinian talks, Netanyahu ties to dominate Obama trip to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
(Analysis) March 11, 2013 - 12:00am

Three goals will dominate President Barack Obama’s coming visit to Israel, his first as president: Convincing Israel and its leadership he means what he says about stopping Iran from building a nuclear weapon, mending a deeply troubled relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, in return, enticing Israel back to negotiations with the Palestinians.

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PA: 50,000 drug addicts in East Jerusalem, West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 11, 2013 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority minister of health said Sunday that there are an estimated 50,000 drug addicts in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Hani Abdin told Ma'an that the figures have encouraged the ministry to exert efforts to raise awareness about drug addiction and work with partner organizations to fight drug use.

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Their blood has been let
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Bambi Sheleg - (Opinion) March 9, 2013 - 1:00am

In March of last year a group of Beitar Jerusalem fans attacked Arab janitors in the Malcha Mall. It happened after a soccer game in the nearby Teddy Stadium. Last summer a group of teenagers nearly lynched an Arab youngster in Jerusalem's Zion Square. Since then we have witnessed a series of incidents in which young Jews brutally assaulted Arabs in a manner that is characteristic of societies in the process of dissolution.

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Israeli soldiers seriously wound 2 Palestinians in Gaza, Hebron: medics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

Two Palestinians were seriously injured Friday evening in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Gaza City and the southern West Bank town of Hebron, medics said. Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesman of Gaza health ministry, told reporters that a 20-year-old Palestinian was seriously injured by an Israeli army gunshot in the chest in northern Gaza Strip. The young man is in serious conditions, al-Qedra said.

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Racism widespread in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Smadar Shir - (Opinion) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am

The racism disease has been living within us from time immemorial. Its roots may be found as early as the days of Torah, when the Creator of the universe defined us as the "chosen people," and we were foolish enough not to interpret the definition as a mission but rather as a fact. Already then we saw ourselves as superior and put on airs, and therefore the Torah preached that we should love those who are foreigners.

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CEC: Final electoral register to be published April 10
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 11, 2013 - 12:00am

The Central Elections Commission on Sunday completed the transfer of voter registry forms from Gaza to Ramallah and will publish the final registry on April 10, the CEC said. In February, Palestinian officials told Ma'an that Israel was impeding the delivery of the electoral registers. Head of the Central Elections Committee Hanna Nasser said the CEC used scanners to digitally transfer the data as Israeli prevented the transfer of the registration applications to a West Bank processing center.

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The Pro-Palestinian Left's Hamas Blindspot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Analysis) March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

Earlier this week, news that Hamas had barred women from participating in a marathon in the Gaza Strip scrolled across my twitter feed. Instantly, I knew two things. First, that “Pro-Israel” hawks would lambast the Islamist group without ever considering the way in which Israel and America’s policy of isolating Gaza makes it easier for Hamas to practice the very misogyny the hawks rightly condemn. Second, that the anti-Zionist left would say nothing at all.

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On Questioning the Jewish State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Joseph Levine - (Opinion) March 9, 2013 - 1:00am

I was raised in a religious Jewish environment, and though we were not strongly Zionist, I always took it to be self-evident that “Israel has a right to exist.” Now anyone who has debated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will have encountered this phrase often. Defenders of Israeli policies routinely accuse Israel’s critics of denying her right to exist, while the critics (outside of a small group on the left, where I now find myself) bend over backward to insist that, despite their criticisms, of course they affirm it.

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March 8th

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)


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