Decisions in the Interregnum in Palestine and Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Blog) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am The year 2011 will go down in history as the year when the two-state solution went into deep freeze. Yet even during this hibernation there is much that can, and indeed must, be done to prevent an even graver crisis. » Read more

Don't Shut the Switch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am One of the items not transferred to the Palestinian Authority with its creation in 1994 was electricity generation. With the exception of the Jericho area, the PA is not permitted to generate any of its own electricity. In fact, even the PA’s creation of distribution companies in the West Bank is not in accord with the agreement. In terms of electricity for the Palestinians, the Israeli Civil Administration is fully in charge. » Read more

Protecting civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Navi Pillay - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am My visit to Israel and Palestine a year ago left me with a profound sense of the difficult human rights situation faced by many Palestinians and Israelis. Still, the openness of representatives on all sides to engage seriously on the human rights challenges I identified was encouraging. Taking this spirit of constructive engagement as our point of departure, I and my staff have been watching closely for progress on the issues I raised with Israeli and Palestinian authorities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv. » Read more

Protecting civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm My visit to Israel and Palestine a year ago left me with a profound sense of the difficult human rights situation faced by many Palestinians and Israelis. Still, the openness of representatives on all sides to engage seriously on the human rights challenges I identified was encouraging. Taking this spirit of constructive engagement as our point of departure, I and my staff have been watching closely for progress on the issues I raised with Israeli and Palestinian authorities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv. » Read more

Iran strike a death wish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yakir Elkariv - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am The sanctions against Iran may accelerate the Ayatollah regime’s end. Once the economic pressure grows heavier, social unrest would grow and may develop into a popular uprising. However, such processes take time, and it’s uncertain whether officials around here would have the patience to wait. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – with the encouragement of loyal journalists – is determined to enter the annals of history as the leader who saw farther than anyone else and saved Israel from the Iranian nuclear threat. However, his eagerness may turn out to be fateful. » Read more

Iran already started a war, a cold one between Israel, U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am Who said the home front isn't protected? People who have spoken in recent years with Defense Minister Ehud Barak know he's well aware of the suggestion that he take care of two things before a war with Iran: The return of Gilad Shalit and the sale of his home in the luxury Akirov Towers. » Read more

Playing for time through a strike on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am Nations have doctrines. The Soviet Union had the Brezh­nev Doctrine and the United States had the Monroe Doctrine, among others. Even little Israel has one. I call it the Maybe the Dog Will Talk Doctrine, and it is based on a folk tale of the rabbi who makes a preposterous deal with a tyrant: If the tyrant spares the lives of local Jews, the rabbi will teach the tyrant’s dog to talk. When the rabbi tells his wife what he has done, she calls him a fool. But, he says, “A year is a long time. » Read more

Israeli military accused of mistreating children ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - March 20, 2012 - 12:00am The Israeli military is accused of a "pattern of systematic ill treatment" of children and teenagers detained in the West Bank in a report by an international non-government organisation published today. It alleges that minors between the ages of 12 and 17 have been arrested at night, bound and blindfolded, and interrogated without their parents or lawyers present. The arrest and transfer are "often accompanied by verbal abuse and humiliation, threats as well as physical violence", the Defence for Children International [DCI] adds. » Read more

In the West Bank, Springs of Contention ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - March 19, 2012 - 12:00am Ein Ariq, West Bank -- A convoy of white United Nations jeeps pulls into the olive-tree laden valley below the Jewish community of Eli. They are greeted by Jamal Deragmeh, the mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of Lubban Al-Sharkiya, who points out the cement pool around the spring and complains. “If you weren’t here,” he says to the representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “The [Jewish] settlers would come and put a bullet in my head.” » Read more

Obama calls Abbas to discuss Middle East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 20, 2012 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama spoke to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time in six months on Monday to discuss the long-stalled Middle East peace process, the White House said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement that Obama called Abbas and told him the United States was committed to Middle East peace. He told Abbas both sides need to reinforce the efforts that have brought an end to recent fighting and to avoid provocative actions. » Read more