A housing developer allegedly lied to an Israeli couple who had purchased a home in the Ulpana Hill West Bank outpost, Haaretz learned on Tuesday, after telling them that the land on which their unit was built was owned by the World Zionist Organization, despite the fact that it was actually private Palestinian land.



Israel putting any two-state peace deal at risk, says EU

Article Author(s): 
Harriet Sherwood
Media Outlet: 
The Guardian
Date: 
May 14, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/14/israel-two-state-risk-eu [15]

The European Union [16] has warned that the prospect of a peaceful and viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, involving two states side by side, is in jeopardy because of Israeli actions.



Israel shows off its homeland security technologies to international visitors

Article Author(s): 
Mati Wagner
Media Outlet: 
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
Date: 
May 14, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/05/14/3095436/israel-shows-off-its-homeland... [17]

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel’s security technologies were on display as the country hosted two separate international contingents.

An Interpol European Regional Conference brought 110 senior law enforcement officers from 49 countries to Tel Aviv, while a homeland security conference drew 37 mayors from two dozen worldwide cities to sites throughout Israel last week.



Palestinians Turn to Gulf States

Article Author(s): 
Danny Rubenstein
Media Outlet: 
Calcalist
Date: 
May 8, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2012/05/the-palestinians-open-up-to-the... [18]

The joint customs system (or customs union, as it is variously known) established under the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the geographic proximity and the obstacles impeding [Palestinian] exports to foreign countries are the factors due to which most of the Palestinian foreign trade is conducted with Israel. However, in recent years, things seem to have changed.



Recognizing Nakba, Reaching Peace

Article Author(s): 
Hanan Ashrawi
Media Outlet: 
Haaretz
Article Type: 
Opinion
Date: 
May 15, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/recognizing-nakba-reaching-peace-1.430637 [19]

May is the cruelest month despite the promise of spring. It carries the bitter memories of ongoing loss and injustice for a nation, my nation. Every year, Palestinians mark Al-Nakba, or the Catastrophe, of 1948, to remember how our vibrant society was physically and politically crushed by violence and forced expulsion.



Nakba is part of Israel's history

Media Outlet: 
Haaretz
Article Type: 
Editorial
Date: 
May 15, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/nakba-is-part-of-israel-s-history-1.430501 [20]

"I don't expect an Arab national to sing 'A Jewish soul still yearns,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said two months ago, after Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran refrained from singing the national anthem. Although the message was conveyed to Joubran indirectly, it reflected Netanyahu's understanding of the fundamental contradiction underlying an anthem that addresses only one people, the Jewish one.



Nakba and freedom

Media Outlet: 
The Jerusalem Post
Article Type: 
Editorial
Date: 
May 14, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=269953 [21]

Israel’s vibrant – though embattled – democracy was on display Monday at Tel Aviv University in all its glory. Dozens of students – Palestinian and Jewish – articulated their belief that the events surrounding the creation of the State of Israel were a “Nakba,” Arabic for catastrophe, after receiving authorization from Tel Aviv University President Joseph Klafter.



Presidential Questions on Peace Process

Article Author(s): 
Noam Neusner
Media Outlet: 
The Jewish Daily Forward
Article Type: 
Opinion
Date: 
May 15, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://forward.com/articles/156113/presidential-questions-on-peace-process/ [22]

The battle for the philo-Israel vote is taking familiar shape as both major candidates and major parties do their best to pledge fealty to Israel at this hour of maximum peril.

President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney are outdoing each other when it comes to their rhetoric. Obama says he’s got Israel’s back. Romney says that a White House led by him would not have “one inch of difference” with Jerusalem.



Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat: For a more constructive Congress on Palestine

Article Author(s): 
Maen Areikat
Media Outlet: 
The Hill
Article Type: 
Opinion
Date: 
May 14, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/guest-commentary/226941-ambassador-maen-... [23]

The past few weeks have seen interesting statements by several former and current Israeli officials criticizing the policies of their government. They particularly focused on Israel’s failure to engage in talks with the Palestinians to end the conflict.



Settler policy rests on history of Israel's tactical deceptions

Article Author(s): 
Tony Karon
Media Outlet: 
The National
Article Type: 
Opinion
Date: 
May 16, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/settler-policy-rests-o... [24]

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, urging him to use his new unity government to advance the peace process with the Palestinians. In particular, she looked forward to Mr Netanyahu's reply to a letter from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, so that the two could resume negotiations as soon as possible.



Arafat-Sharon talks?

Media Outlet: 
The National
Article Type: 
Editorial
Date: 
May 16, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/arafat-sharon-talks [25]

So you write a letter to a congressman expressing concern over House Resolution 268, a resolution that reaffirms US commitment "to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

And then you wait. A year later, you receive a response dated April 20, 2012. But it might as well have been dated 2002.



Ingenious Political Coup Or Insidious Political Scheme

Article Author(s): 
Alon Ben-Meir
Media Outlet: 
The Huffington Post
Article Type: 
Blog
Date: 
May 14, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-benmeir/ingenious-political-coup_b_1514486.ht... [26]

Prime Minister Netanyahu's move to expand his coalition to include Kadima with 28 Knesset members provides him with a majority of 94 out of 120 parliamentarians and represents nothing short of an ingenious political coup or an insidious political scheme, depending on what he does with his historic mandate. Reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians and bridging the social gap must be first and foremost on his national agenda.



Political climate in Jordan boiling

Article Author(s): 
Samuel Segev
Media Outlet: 
Winnipeg Free Press
Article Type: 
Opinion
Date: 
May 15, 2012
Source Link(s): 
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/political-climate-in-jordan-bo... [27]

What is going on in Jordan? For some time, the political climate in the kingdom has been boiling.

In the last six months, King Abdullah has been forced to change his government three times, but demonstrations against the monarch continue. Luckily for him, there is no immediate danger of his overthrow.

The reasons for the constant tension in the kingdom are abundant: unemployment, high cost of living, a rise in the power of the Islamists and the struggle between the Bedouins and the Palestinians, who constitute a majority in the country.