PA recalibrating its strategy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - March 10, 2011 - 1:00am For the first time in many months, Palestinian spokesmen appear to indicate a revisit of their political strategy towards liberation and independence. It is not clear what the new ideas are, but it is obvious that Palestinian plans focusing on a September landmark seem to be in question. » Read more

Arab uprisings hit Israeli-Palestinian peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Bethany Bell - March 9, 2011 - 1:00am Israelis and Palestinians are so often the focus of events in this region, but now many people are wondering about their place in a changing Middle East. In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Lina, a student, looked around at the crowds shopping in Manara Square and shrugged her shoulders. "Other nations are seeking their own freedoms," she said. "But they are forgetting the Palestinian issue. "We suffer from many things here but until now nobody has made any kind of a revolution in Palestine. Although we are the people that most need a revolution." » Read more

Peace with Syria: Opportunity or diversion? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Editorial) March 9, 2011 - 1:00am Will the impasse with the Palestinians open opportunities to seek a deal with Syria? The military and intelligence establishment has been urging Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to pursue that track because the issues are more straightforward and the potential strategic benefits much greater. Also, the Syrian dictator keeps telling visitors he is ready for negotiations. » Read more

Next 6 months crucial for resumption of negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Shefler - March 10, 2011 - 1:00am Free elections set to take place in Egypt may turn ugly for Israel unless the peace process is resumed, UK ambassador Matthew Gould warned on Thursday morning. Speaking to Israeli press at the British ambassador’s residence in Ramat Gan, he said Egyptian politicians might try to outdo each other with rhetoric critical of the Jewish state to gain voters. » Read more

Leftists: Amidror a fascist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - March 9, 2011 - 1:00am The appointment of Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror as Israel's next national security advisor is a dangerous move, given his "fascistic" views, leading leftist figures argue in a letter issued Wednesday. The letter compares Amidror to Rabbi Dov Lior, who endorsed the killing of non-Jews in a book he wrote. "Amidror's declaration that in a normal army, a soldier who's scared to charge forward should be shot in the head is blatantly illegal," the letter reads. "This statement disqualifies him for any public post, and certainly a sensitive security-political position." » Read more

Might Obama gamble on a new Netanyahu peace plan? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Blog) March 8, 2011 - 1:00am You needn't be an optometrist to see that Israel has a vision problem. We have become a nation whose only vision is peripheral. » Read more

The IDF's masquerade in Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Alon Idan - (Editorial) March 10, 2011 - 1:00am A walk through Hebron sends you into deep despair. Near the Cave of the Patriarchs, at the end of the plaza surrounded by a low fence, you see destruction and ruin, and especially the inconceivable segregation of the populations. Four children, maybe eight or nine years old, curse you in Arabic as if by conditioned reflex. You smile at them, try to remove the wall between you, and all of a sudden they change their stance. Now they come closer to the fence and ask you for money. A shekel, sir, a shekel. » Read more

Israel's future depends on removal of outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Opinion) March 10, 2011 - 1:00am The state's pledge to the High Court of Justice to remove all outposts on private Palestinian land should raise at least two questions: Why did the state have to wait for a High Court order to acknowledge the illegality of the outposts, and why must it wait until the end of 2011 to remove them? » Read more

Palestinian presidency urges Quartet to support European statement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 10, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian presidency on Thursday called on the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators to support a European declaration of principles to settle Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The declaration, presented by Britain, Germany and France, was announced by the British envoy to the United Nations at a UN Security Council meeting on Feb. 18 when Washington vetoed an Arab bill against the Jewish settlement building. » Read more

Netanyahu picks hawkish new security adviser ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 9, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's prime minister has appointed a new security adviser — an ex-general known for his hawkish views. A statement from Benjamin Netanyahu's office Wednesday said Yaakov Amidror will become Israel's new National Security Council chief, replacing Uzi Arad, a longtime Netanyahu confidant who resigned. Amidror is known as a hard-liner who opposed Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. He has since called to reoccupy the crowded area to stop frequent rocket attacks on southern Israel by Palestinian militants. That view is shared by a relatively small number of Israeli hawks. » Read more