March 30th, 2012

A New Season of Palestinian Protests Challenges Both Israel and Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tony Karon - (Opinion) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am The Arab League is talking about Syria; Israel and the U.S. are talking about Iran. Nobody in the corridors of power, these days, is talking about the Palestinians. In part, that reflects the shifting geopolitical sands and the effectiveness of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in changing the subject — when he came to Washington to meet with newly elected President Barack Obama in 2009, Netanyahu wanted to talk about Iran, but Obama insisted he talk about settlements and the Palestinians; when Netanyahu met Obama in Washington three weeks ago, Iran dominated the agenda. » Read more

Terrified of Each Other ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Joel Braunold - (Opinion) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am With a new month comes a new poll of Israelis and Palestinians on a variety of issues. All the usual suspects dominate the executive summary: whether Israelis believe in the viability of two states, what they think about an attack Iran or a settlement freeze. The poll tells the story that many of us expect from the populations caught in the depression and pessimism of the present. But the really frightening statistics come in the penultimate questions. » Read more

The Ghost of Conferences Past ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Elisheva Goldberg, Raphael Magarik - (Opinion) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am The left of the American Jewish world likes to complain about how hard it is to be pro-peace and pro-Israel. At the J Street conference this weekend, I ran into an older rabbi who reminded me that, well, it could be a whole lot worse. Before U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis embraced Zionism and legitimized the American call for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, it was tough to be a Zionist in America, AP Photo » Read more

Arts Center in Ain al-Hilweh Showcases, Exports Palestinian Culture, History ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mohammed Zaatari - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am AIN AL-HILWEH, Lebanon: Preparations are in full swing for Land Day, with thousands expected to march toward the country’s border with Israel, but remembering Palestinian history doesn’t always mean marching. A cultural center in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp is working to document Palestinian history through artisan creations. » Read more

Defense Official: Hamas Factions Behind Attacks on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas is continuing to direct terrorist activity at Israeli targets through various means, despite its public declarations that it is committed to maintaining calm. Israeli intelligence sources have acknowledged, however, that the Islamic militant group currently wishes to maintain a low profile in an effort not to anger the Egyptians and not be perceived as violating the current cease-fire. » Read more

Israel extends new border fence but critics say it is a sign of weakness ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Opinion) March 27, 2012 - 12:00am It cuts a steel swath through the stark wilderness where Israel and Egypt meet, glinting in the desert sun as it snakes across barren hills and sandy plateaus. Wielding blowtorches at the base of the five-metre-high (16ft) barrier are some of the very men the border fence is in part designed to keep out: illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, now working as cheap construction labour for Israeli contractors. » Read more

Palestinian Prisoner Ends Hunger Strike After Expulsion Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 29, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian prisoner suspended her hunger strike after 43 days upon a deal to be expelled for three years to Gaza, Palestinian sources said Thursday evening. Hana Shalabi, a woman from the West Bank, agreed personally to the Israeli offer of temporary expulsion, the sources added. Palestinian officials and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped forge the deal, according to the sources. » Read more

Israel’s New Kadima Leader Faces Challenges of Rescuing Party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - March 28, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — While gliding to a surprisingly easy victory over Kadima party Chairwoman Tzipi Livni, Israel's newly elected opposition leader, Shaul Mofaz, faces an uphill battle in keeping the once-dominant centrist political party from splintering. The Iranian-born Mofaz, 64, comfortably defeated Livni in Tuesday's primary, garnering nearly 62% of the vote in the party election. Speaking Wednesday, he wasted no time in setting his sights on Israel's next national election, which is not scheduled until the end of 2013 but which many believe may be called as early as this fall. » Read more

IDF: Settlers in Hebron Building May Harm Security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Fifteen settler families who moved into a vacant Palestinian apartment building in the West Bank city of Hebron early Thursday morning could create a security risk, the IDF charged. The three-story stone structure is located by a small park near the Cave of the Patriarchs, in a Palestinian neighborhood under Israeli control. Shlomo Levinger, who moved there with his seven children, said that a number of Hebron Jews had bought the building from its Palestinian owner months ago. » Read more

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