March 15th

The Arab Spring: Good or bad for the Palestinian cause? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Dawoud Abu Lebdeh - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am Many Palestinians are now wondering what effect this past year’s developments in the Arab world will have on their own struggle for independence. » Read more

The theories of resisting occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Bilal Hassan - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am Two theories are prevalent regarding the current Palestinian situation under the Israeli occupation: The first is the predominant traditional theory that advocates armed struggle in order to resist the occupation, whereas a contrasting second theory has been adopted by the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who champions a form of peaceful, popular resistance. » Read more

The killing of Zuhair al-Qaissi exposes Israel's attitude to its supreme court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Mya Guarnieri - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am The recent escalation between Israel and Gaza began after Israeli forces assassinated Zuhair al-Qaissi, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a militant group composed of members of various Palestinian parties. Haaretz noted that the PRC was "the organisation that captured Gilad Shalit", the Israeli soldier who was freed in October 2011. The army says that al-Qaissi was behind the August 2011 attack that took place on the Israeli-Egyptian border – even though the PRC denied involvement and it was later revealed that the militants came from Sinai, not Gaza. » Read more

Did Florida’s Legislature endorse a one-state solution and Israeli citizenship for Palestinians? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Harris - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a hotly debated issue -- but not in the Florida Legislature. Both houses of the state's Legislature voted unanimously in February to stake out a bold position on the issue -- but it’s not entirely clear what, exactly, Florida lawmakers were trying to say. » Read more

The storm over Bamba and apathy concerning Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am For four consecutive days and nights, millions of citizens of this country once again lived under conditions of fear and terror. The innovation was that, this time, no one tried to whitewash things. The mass terror was to be expected and it stemmed directly from an Israeli act of violence. Nevertheless, no one thought of expressing opposition. » Read more

Conflicts between Israel, Gaza militants feature both old, new elements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The four-day conflicts between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip starting from Friday and ending with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, has been one of the longest of the year, which features both new elements such as the Iron Dome anti-rocket system and the old elements of the previous rounds. » Read more

Compete on sacrifices, not leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Maath Musleh - (Analysis) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am On March 15, 2011, Palestinians took to the streets in the occupied West Bank and Gaza calling for unity and elections to the Palestinian National Council. The youth took the lead, inspired by the Arab uprisings, mainly in Tunisia and Egypt. Was it a trend or a natural development? What lasting effects did it have on Palestinian politics? Both Hamas' government in Gaza and Fatah's in the West Bank were ready for the movements. They had never dealt with such a mass movement, but they definitely planned to hijack it and direct it to their paths. » Read more

Match, Spark... ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am The recent flareup of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza has all the disturbing qualities of a foretaste of more bitter things to come. Most troublingly, this latest round of attacks and counterattacks, which achieved nothing for either side, brings us ever closer to a possible third Palestinian intifada. » Read more

Israeli army to acquire long-range rockets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 15, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, March 14 (Xinhua) -- In the face of growing threats posed by rockets at the disposal of Israel's foes, the Israeli military will acquire rockets of its own, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported Wednesday. Brig.-Gen. David Suissa, the commander of the army's Artillery Corps, is promoting the procurement of precision-strike rockets with ranges of 40 and 150 km, according to the paper's business section. » Read more

Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a lifeline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Phoebe Greenwood - March 14, 2012 - 12:00am Two large solar panels jut out of the barren landscape near Imneizil in the Hebron hills. The hi-tech structures sit incongruously alongside the tents and rough stone buildings of the Palestinian village, but they are fundamental to life here: they provide electricity. Imneizil is not connected to the national electricity grid. Nor are the vast majority of Palestinian communities in Area C, the 62% of the West Bank controlled by Israel. The solar energy has replaced expensive and clunky oil-powered generators. » Read more