March 30th

Why Land Day still matters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sam Bahour, Fida Jiryis - (Opinion) March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Every year since 1976, on March 30, Palestinians around the world have commemorated Land Day. Though it may sound like an environmental celebration, Land Day marks a bloody day in Israel when security forces gunned down six Palestinians, as they protested Israeli expropriation of Arab-owned land in the country’s north to build Jewish-only settlements. » Read more

Dozens of Hebron Settlers Stake Claim on House in Palestinian Neighborhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Oz Rosenberg - March 29, 2012 - 12:00am Dozens of residents from the Jewish settlement in Hebron occupied a three story house in a Palestinian neighborhood in the city overnight Wednesday, about one hundred meters south of the Cave of the Patriarchs. The group, which entered the house around 1 A.M. on Thursday, includes entire families, women and children. Representatives of the group claim that the house was purchased nearly four months ago after lengthy negotiations with its previous Palestinian owner. The group states that it holds documents validating its claim on the building. » Read more

Israel Police Detains 16 Soccer Fans Over Attack of Arab Workers in Jerusalem Mall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Oz Rosenberg - March 29, 2012 - 12:00am The Jerusalem Police detained 16 fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer franchise for questioning on Thursday on suspicion of taking part in an attack on Arab employees in Jerusalem’s Malha mall last week. Ten of the fans were released under restrictive conditions, while the remaining six, one of whom is a minor, are being brought in front of a judge for a remand hearing later on Thursday. Beitar fans captured on security camera at the Malha shopping mall. Beitar fans captured on security camera at the Malha shopping mall. » Read more

Israel Girds for Regional Anti-Israel Protests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces in riot gear prepared Friday for Palestinian and Arab demonstrations, deploying at traditional flashpoints and along Israel's frontiers and confining West Bank Palestinians to their territory. By midday, minor skirmishes had broken out between protesters and security forces in the Jerusalem area. Palestinians threw rocks and Israeli troops responded with stun grenades. No casualties were reported. Elsewhere things were calm. » Read more

Listen to Marwan Barghouti ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent Fatah leader imprisoned in Israel, this week released an unusual statement from his cell. He called on his people to start a popular uprising against Israel, to stop negotiations and security coordination and to boycott it. Jerusalem would do well to listen to him. » Read more

Palestinian Leader Drops Key Threat to Dismantle Government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 29, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Foreign diplomats say President Mahmoud Abbas has dropped a planned threat to dismantle his autonomy government to protest the deadlock in peace efforts with Israel. Abbas had been planning to deliver the threat in a letter to Israel. But, according to a copy of the letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the language has been dropped from the text. The diplomats who provided the letter said Abbas scrapped the threat at the urging of President Barack Obama. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the letter has not yet been sent. » Read more

Israel Defense Ministry plan earmarks 10 percent of West Bank for Settlement Expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am For years Israel’s Civil Administration has been covertly locating and mapping available land in the West Bank and naming the parcels after existing Jewish settlements, presumably with an eye toward expanding these communities. The Civil Administration, part of the Defense Ministry, released its maps only in response to a request from anti-settlement activist Dror Etkes under the Freedom of Information Law. In some places the boundaries of the parcels outlined in the maps coincide with the route of the West Bank separation barrier. » Read more

Israel Defense Ministry plan earmarks 10 percent of West Bank for Settlement Expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am For years Israel’s Civil Administration has been covertly locating and mapping available land in the West Bank and naming the parcels after existing Jewish settlements, presumably with an eye toward expanding these communities. The Civil Administration, part of the Defense Ministry, released its maps only in response to a request from anti-settlement activist Dror Etkes under the Freedom of Information Law. In some places the boundaries of the parcels outlined in the maps coincide with the route of the West Bank separation barrier. » Read more

March 29th

The Quest for a 'Land for Peace' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Gilad Halpern - (Opinion) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am It was 1969. Israel had just come jaw-droppingly victorious out of the Six Day War, where it had dealt a swift and fatal blow to three Arab armies and occupied territories that were three times its size. The United Nations Security Council had subsequently passed Resolution 242, which would pave the way to a settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict, coining the famous phrase "land for peace." Israel was about to see one of the underlying principles of Zionism realized: a Jewish state living in peace with its neighbors. » Read more

Arab soccer strike, now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Arie Maliniak - (Opinion) March 28, 2012 - 12:00am The recent bout of rioting by Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans at a local mall started as a violent victory celebration, yet within a short while turned into a flurry of “death to Arab” chants and assaults. The Israel Police did not deal with the riot because “no official complaint was filed.” Meanwhile, the Israeli soccer association did not deal with the “death to Arabs” singing by fans of another team, SC Ashdod, during a game, because the referees did not see or hear anything. We’ve had enough of this. » Read more