Security | The American Task Force on Palestine

Unannounced Truce Calms Violence in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Both Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza indicated Tuesday that they would abide by an Egyptian-brokered truce ending four days of cross-border fighting, but each warned that maintaining the calm would depend on the actions of the other side. Bary Mike cleaned up his store in the port city of Ashdod on Tuesday. A rocket fired from Gaza had landed near his business.

To the leftist who has no problem with rocket fire on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

War again. Rockets again. Israel assassinates the commander of a radical Palestinian militia coalition in Gaza. In retaliation, gunners in the Strip fire rockets at cities across southern Israel. Israel launches a series of air strikes targeting the launch crews. More than 20 Palestinians are killed and scores injured. In Israel, questions are raised about the wisdom and the necessity of the assassination. Sounds all too familiar. Not much new here, from the looks of it. Back pages, even in the Arab world.

After Bibi’s U.S. visit, question remains: What’s Israel’s next step on Iran?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is waiting and watching when it comes to Iran -- although for how long, no one knows. Analysts and Jewish organizational officials who speak with Israeli and U.S. government say Netanyahu came away from his meeting last week with President Obama feeling that he has a strategic partner in seeking to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But, they say, he has yet to decide whether Obama’s tactics will do the job or if Israel must strike.

For Israel, it is about walls and war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) March 10, 2012 - 1:00am

The recent visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States received the lion’s share of publicity about Israel’s position in the Middle East and the world. However, the real story about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rests elsewhere.

Israel Investigates Killing of a Palestinian in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
March 9, 2012 - 1:00am

Zakariya Abu Eram, who was 17, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian town of Yatta, south of Hebron. The Israeli military said he was accompanying a man who stabbed a soldier with a knife. Local witnesses said he was an onlooker and not involved in the attack. An 18-year-old Palestinian was also injured. It is understood that Israeli soldiers were in Yatta to arrest a former prisoner, Khaled Makhamreh.

PA Steps Up Security Measures at Joseph’s Tomb
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel News
by Akiva Novick - March 8, 2012 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority has stepped up its fight against Breslov Hassidim's attempts to access Joseph's Tomb in Nablus without permission, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday. Breslovers often try to enter the compound at night, sans authorization or coordination with the IDF and the Palestinian security forces. Such past incidents have caused clashes between the hassidim and Palestinian troops, with one tragic clash ending in the death of Breslover Ben-Yosef Livnat.

Palestinian Female Detainees Tell Horrific Stories of Abuse in Israeli Prisons
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
by Amjad Samhan - March 8, 2012 - 1:00am

Throughout the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, around 800,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli authorities, more than 10,000 of whom are women. Many of those female detainees were subjected to several forms of abuse, sexual in particular, but very few were willing to talk. On the eve of International Women’s Day, however, some decided to break their silence. S.H., who refused to disclose her full name, was arrested for a few days to put pressure on her husband, also detained at the time, and extract confessions from him.

Egypt: Sinai Gas Line Attacked
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 5, 2012 - 1:00am

Militants again blew up a Sinai Peninsula gas pipeline that carries fuel to neighboring Israel and Jordan, Egyptian security officials said Monday. The attack was the 13th on a pipeline since the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak last year. The officials said the bombing occurred just three days after the pipeline was repaired and shipments to Israel and Jordan resumed. Islamists have been blamed for previous attacks.

Calm Israel, Contain Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Barbara Slavin - (Analysis) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am

Foreign policy experts and politicians will be scrutinizing US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week for signs of disagreement as they sequentially address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington. Will Obama sound sufficiently hawkish to placate the audience at the annual conclave of the Israel lobby, or will he leave a gap that will frustrate some Israeli supporters and be exploited by US Republican presidential candidates?

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