Israeli Military Action | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel needs to launch a preemptive diplomatic strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The writing is on the wall: 2011 is going to be a diplomatic 1973. In September and October the UN General Assembly will decide whether to establish a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. The international community will recognize a Palestinian state. At that moment, every Israeli apartment in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood will become illegal. Every military base in the West Bank will be contravening the sovereignty of an independent UN member state. The Palestinians will not be obligated to accept demilitarization and peace and to recognize the occupation.

Gaza Man Says Israel Kidnapped Him
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Dirar Abu Sisi, a Gaza engineer who disappeared in Ukraine in mid-February and surfaced in an Israeli prison, spoke to reporters for the first time while attending an Israeli court hearing to extend his detention. He said he had been kidnapped by Israel “for no reason.” Most details of the case are subject to a court-imposed rule of silence, but Israeli leaders say Mr. Abu Sisi, 42, is a member of Hamas who holds valuable information.

Gaza engineer held in Israel appears in court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian engineer under arrest in Israel was allowed on Thursday to speak publicly for the first time since his alleged abduction from Ukraine, saying he knew nothing about an Israeli soldier held by Hamas in Gaza. Lawyers for Dirar Abu Sisi had accused Israel of trying to concoct charges against the Gaza resident, linking his arrest to efforts to gather intelligence on the enclave's Hamas rulers and Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, seized by militants in 2006.

Jailed Palestinian engineer professes innocence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian engineer who vanished on a Ukrainian train and mysteriously turned up in an Israeli prison made his first public comments Thursday, accusing the Jewish state of kidnapping him "for no reason" and saying he had no information about an Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip. Dirar Abu Sisi spoke as he entered an Israeli court in the central city of Petach Tikva for a brief hearing that extended his arrest until next Tuesday. His lawyer said authorities informed her that he will be indicted on unspecified charges next week.

'Police beat and spat on us'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A Palestinian man who was arrested in connection to a rape of an 11-year-old boy and was later released is saying he and the three other former suspects are considering suing the police for a violent arrest and humiliation they were subjected to during their interrogation. "We were treated like dogs, a police officer spat on us and shouted that all Arabs must be killed."

Neither Hamas nor Israel seem to want new war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
March 30, 2011 - 12:00am

After 10 days of strikes and counter-strikes, a sense of calm appeared to have returned to the tense Israeli-Gaza border over the weekend, despite an air strike on Sunday that killed two members of Islamic Jihad's military wing. Gaza's armed groups have agreed to observe a period of calm if Israel reciprocates, but a rocket fell in Israel late on Tuesday, prompting another air strike overnight which killed a third Islamic Jihad militant and threatened to see a return of the tit-for-tat violence.

Israeli army arrest 16 Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli army arrested 16 Palestinians in overnight raids, most of them in the southern city of Hebron, security sources said on Monday. An Israeli army spokesperson told the Israel Radio that the detainees were wanted by the security and intelligence services. Such detention raids have been taking place almost on daily basis since the beginning of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. Meanwhile, an Israeli settler hit a Palestinian schoolgirl with his car in the West Bank on Monday, said security sources.

Israel Rolls Out First Mobile Battery of Antirocket System
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 27, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli military deployed the first mobile battery of a new antirocket missile defense system on Sunday on a dusty rise at the outskirts of this southern Israeli city after a week of heightened tensions between Israel and Gaza. Palestinian mourners carried the body of Saber Assalya, an Islamic Jihad militant, during his funeral in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Increased tensions between Israel and Gaza have led to fears of an all-out confrontation.

Netanyahu: Israel's reaction to rocket attacks will be measured
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - March 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that if Hamas chooses to escalate cross-border tensions, Israel's reaction to the attacks will be measured. Netanyahu spoke during his visit in Moscow, and sources close to the prime minister said that he was not eager to launch a comprehensive operation in the Gaza Strip.

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