ATFP provides two original translations, first Mohammad Daraghmeh’s piece on Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Palestinian diplomacy (1), and second, Hassan Khader's article on the Palestinian Left (2). An agreement on a proposed Israeli settlement freeze remains elusive (8) (15) (16). A report issued yesterday by Amnesty International finds that Israel inflicted 'wanton destruction' on Gaza during the war in January (5) (7). Veteran peace negotiator Dennis Ross is appointed to the U.S. National Security Council (4). German Chancellor Angela Merkel demands Israel cease settlement construction in the West Bank (11). Tensions increase between Fatah and Hamas in the West Bank after President Abbas' allegation of an assassination plot by Hamas militants (12).

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in New York yesterday (1) (16), as tension continues over efforts to secure an Israeli settlement freeze (6) (7) (12) (17) (18). As violence in the West Bank subsides, the Occupied Territories experience a marked economic upswing (2). The Christian Science Monitor looks at how the Israeli naval blockade is impacting Gaza (3), as the IDF intercepts another ad hoc aid ship (5). Cairo extends the deadline for an agreement in national accord talks between Hamas and Fatah (9). The first movie theater in twenty years opens in the West Bank town of Nablus (10). The Palestinian Authority accuses Israel of planning to expropriate an additional 2% of the West Bank (13).