Official: Palestinian issue ignored in US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 6, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian peace negotiator says the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is too big to ignore, even though it was sidelined in a meeting between Israel's prime minister and U.S. President Barack Obama. Saeb Erekat told reporters Tuesday that in the Middle East, "No issue is above the Palestinian issue." He spoke after Israeli and American leaders met to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

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Court delays hearing on Abbas' PM role
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 6, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A constitutional court in Ramallah on Tuesday postponed a hearing on the legality of President Mahmoud Abbas' appointment as prime minister of a unity government to March 20. Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal agreed that the president will lead a unity government in Doha in February. PLO central council member Abdul-Jawwad Salih submitted a legal challenge to the appointment on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

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A third Palestinian intifada may be in the cards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Linda Heard - (Opinion) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am

Palestinian leaders are talking tough these days. And who can blame them! For decades they've been listening to empty Israeli promises and put their future in the hands of a succession of US presidents duplicitously claiming to be impartial peace brokers.

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The next intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Emad El Din Adeeb - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

There is new Israeli intelligence information about an imminent Palestinian intifada, ranging from Gaza to Ramallah. This information was leaked from the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, but no one can be sure whether the objective of such an information leakage is to prevent a genuine intifada that is being secretly prepared underground, or whether it is merely a media cloud intended to cover up another crime committed by the occupying Israeli army. This issue cannot be analyzed without taking four other fundamental factors into consideration, which are as follows:

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No calculated leadership decision
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Barry Rubin - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

Is there going to be a "third intifada"? I have no idea. That is a question most likely to be determined by those who set Palestinian strategy and they will surely differ among themselves. What interests me is the basis upon which such a choice would be made. When this issue is discussed publicly, it is attributed almost entirely to the idea that frustration will motivate revolt. This is certainly the point made by Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization leaders. The argument is that unless they get their way diplomatically, violence will be the logical outcome.

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Beware Palestinian despair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am

“The last chance” – this is how we can characterize the letter sent in recent days by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to the International Quartet members. In his letter, Abbas complained that the PA is expected to conduct itself like a government without being allowed to govern. He further detailed what he views as Israeli failures during the negotiations and finished with a warning: Should Israel fail to commit to genuine actions in March, “all options are open.”

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PA not planning new intifada, says official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - March 1, 2012 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority is not planning a new intifada, but Israeli “provocations” and the ongoing stalemate in the peace process could trigger widespread protests in the Palestinian territories, a senior PA official in Ramallah said Wednesday. The official’s comments came in response to a Haaretz report earlier this week to the effect that the Palestinians could launch a third intifada during 2012.

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Fatah: Chief Justice Dies After Raid on Home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 29, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- The chief justice of the Palestinian high religious court died Tuesday of a heart attack two days after soldiers raided his home, the Fatah movement said. Sheikh Fahmi Asaad Jaradat died after soldiers occupied his home in the northern West Bank village of Zabuba, near Jenin, and took up positions on his roof, the movement said. Fatah said it held Israel responsible for the justice's death. The funeral, according to a statement from the movement, will be on Wednesday after midday prayer.

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PLO official calls to end Israel's "policy of racism"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- An official of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday called on the international community to force Israel to end its "policy of racism" against Palestinians. Hanan Ashrawi, head of the PLO information and culture department, criticized Israel's "racist separation system" against Palestinians, referring to the West Bank barriers, checkpoints and the expansion of Jewish settlements. In the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, there are 500, 000 Jewish settlers "living on the sources of income of the Palestinians," she added.

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Don’t discount a third intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

Is a third Palestinian intifada coming in the foreseeable future? An Israeli Foreign Ministry intelligence report circulated in the government last week and leaked over the weekend to Ha’aretz suggests it could well be. The report is right, and its assessment should make sobering reading for Israeli officials and citizens alike.

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