Only an Arab Palestine makes a 'Jewish' Israel meaningful ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) April 1, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting the Palestinians recognize Israel as, in his words, “the nation-state of the Jewish people,” a new and problematic demand that raises serious questions about Israel’s “Jewish character.” The Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, began with the phrase: “His Majesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people …” This declaration introduces the concept of a Jewish national home into international relations in a most decisive manner. » Read more

Journalist on the run from Israel is hiding in Britain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Kim Sengupta - April 2, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli journalist is in hiding in Britain, The Independent can reveal, over fears that he may face charges in the Jewish state in connection with his investigation into the killing of a Palestinian in the West Bank. Uri Blau, a reporter at Israel's liberal newspaper, Haaretz, left town three months ago for Asia and is now in London. Haaretz is understood to be negotiating the terms of his return to Israel with prosecutors, according to an Israeli source, who declined to be identified, because of the sensitivity of the situation. » Read more

Israel says it’s planning new gestures ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz, Hilary Leila Krieger - April 2, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has formulated a new list of potential gestures towards the Palestinians, Defense Ministry sources said Thursday, as a top Palestinian Authority minister visited Washington for talks with Obama administration officials. The office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Defense Ministry recently compiled new proposals for easing restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Defense officials. » Read more

Fatah: We want a peaceful intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - April 2, 2010 - 12:00am The new “popular intifada” that Fatah is planning in the West Bank won’t be an armed one, Nabil Shaath, a senior Fatah official, said on Thursday. Shaath’s clarification came a day after he and some of his colleagues in Fatah called on Palestinians to escalate the “popular resistance” in protest against the settlements, the West Bank security barrier and the decision to build new homes in east Jerusalem. » Read more

PA security forces conduct drill in Jenin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - April 1, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian security forces on Thursday conducted a series of drills in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, including a special display for school children. The exercises were meant to boost the security forces' image in the eyes of the West Bank's younger population. Additional drills were held in other parts of the West Bank. In Bethlehem, Italian experts supervised over an exercise that simulated the rescuing of people injured in a car accident. » Read more

Ex-US diplomats meet with Hamas officials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - April 2, 2010 - 12:00am Former US government officials, some of whom are in contact with the current administration, have met in the past months with Hamas leaders, one of the officials who participated in the talks confirmed in a conversation with Ynet on Friday. » Read more

Netanyahu the politician shames Netanyahu the statesman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) April 1, 2010 - 12:00am For the past 20 years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a victim of injustice. When he returned from the United States at the end of the 1980s, the leftist elite treated him with boundless hostility. When he headed the opposition during the Oslo years, he was perceived as an agitator and an instigator. » Read more

Likud MK: Not even 'Hussein Obama' will remove us from Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Charles Levinson, Natasha Mozgovaya - April 1, 2010 - 12:00am Thousands of Israelis gathered Thursday at the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron to celebrate the addition of the location to Israel's list of national heritage sites, a move initiated by the Land of Israel caucus in the Knesset. "The masses that have come here, including the 40 members of the Land of Israel caucus, are a guarantee and proof that no one will move us from the Cave of the Patriarchs, not even Hussein Obama," MK Ayoob Kara (Likud) told the crowd. » Read more

Poll suggests West Bank Jewish settlers more hawkish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - April 1, 2010 - 12:00am The mood of Jewish settlers in the West Bank is becoming increasingly uncompromising, according to a new poll published by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The survey looked at the views of Israelis as the Americans try to reboot the peace process with the Palestinians. It compared opinions today with those of Israelis some five years ago immediately prior to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israeli court frees senior Fatah official on bail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 2, 2010 - 12:00am Israel on Thursday released a senior Fatah official and 11 more Palestinians on bail five days after arresting them for participating in a demonstration in the West Bank, a lawyer said. Tens of officials from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' s party and supporters waited Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah central committee, after he arrived in the city of Ramallah and chanted slogans supporting the popular struggle against the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a Xinhua photographer said. » Read more