April 2nd

Freedom for Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) April 2, 2012 - 12:00am On the first night of Passover, the festival of freedom, the song "We were slaves but now we are free" will waft from homes throughout the country as Jews sit down to celebrate the seder. But every year, these words lose some of their luster. Every year, more Israelis go from being free men to slaves. » Read more

It's time to intervene against racism in Israeli soccer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 2, 2012 - 12:00am In March alone, there were four recorded violent incidents linked to Israeli soccer. » Read more

The U.S. can meet Israel halfway on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Makovsky, Dennis Ross - (Opinion) April 2, 2012 - 12:00am Dennis Ross, a counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was a special assistant to President Obama on the Middle East and a senior director on the National Security Council staff from July 2009 to December 2011. David Makovsky is a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute and director of its Project on the Middle East Peace Process. » Read more

The West Must Support Universal Values in the Arab World ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Over the past 14 months of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding the way in which Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West. » Read more

Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM // If he could, Ibrahim Khoury would bring his family to this city every Sunday. But in his way are Israel's walls and bureaucracy that restrict him and other Christian Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. Unlike the 280,000 Palestinians who hold Jerusalem residency, he - like most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim - must get Israel's permission to visit the city that is his cultural and spiritual home. But yesterday, the Khoury family was part of a group of Roman Catholics from Ramallah allowed in to celebrate Palm Sunday. » Read more

Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM // If he could, Ibrahim Khoury would bring his family to this city every Sunday. But in his way are Israel's walls and bureaucracy that restrict him and other Christian Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. Unlike the 280,000 Palestinians who hold Jerusalem residency, he - like most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim - must get Israel's permission to visit the city that is his cultural and spiritual home. But yesterday, the Khoury family was part of a group of Roman Catholics from Ramallah allowed in to celebrate Palm Sunday. » Read more

Blair meets PM, Fayyad in effort to engage sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - April 1, 2012 - 12:00am Quartet envoy Tony Blair met separately Sunday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an effort to keep the sides engaged and the situation stable. Blair’s visit comes in advance of a scheduled meeting of the Quartet in Washington on April 11. On Monday he will hold meetings in Jordan and on Tuesday, US Middle East envoy David Hale will follow Blair to Israel and the Palestinian territories. » Read more

'Red Crescent workers behind shooting attack' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced Monday that it uncovered and arrested a terrorist cell that included a number of Palestinian Red Crescent workers that was behind a shooting in the Ramallah area earlier this year. The shooting near the Amari Refugee Camp on January 20 caused no injuries but did damage a number of IDF vehicles. The weapons used in that attack, which were Kalashnikov automatic assault rifles, were provided by a senior officer in the Palestinian Authority's intelligence service, who is also in charge of security for the Red Crescent. » Read more

IDF gives settlers 24 hours to evacuate Hebron house ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am The IDF has issued an eviction order for settlers who took over a house in the Arab part of Hebron last week. According to the order, the settlers have until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state." The security establishment has called the takeover a provocation, and says that the settlers' presence in the house constitutes a public disturbance. However, the move has won the support of some politicians. » Read more

Arab nations 'to pay PA if Israel freezes tax revenues' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 2, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Arab nations meeting at a Baghdad summit last week pledged to compensate the Palestinian Authority if Israel freezes delivery of tax revenues, a senior official told government media. Fatah official Muhammad Shtayyeh told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday that nations agreed at the Arab League summit pay the PA $100 million per month, roughly the sum of customs taxes collected by Israel on the PA's behalf under international agreements. » Read more