A dozen regional Christian leaders complain they were mistreated by Israeli police during Orthodox Easter services. (AP)

 

Pres. Abbas says Israeli settlers must be stopped from entering Muslim holy places in Jerusalem. (Xinhua)

 

Draft laws by Hamas to impose harsh "religious" punishments, including amputations for theft, spark a major controversy in Gaza. (Al Monitor)

 

PM Fayyad says insuring press freedom should be one of the main responsibilities of the PA. (Ma'an)

 

A Palestinian-American is a rare NFL draft pick. (AP)

 

An Israeli cabinet minister accuses Russia of destabilizing the Middle East by selling arms to Syria. (AP)

 

Palestinian public sector employees once again strike due to delayed salary payments. (Ma'an)

 

Israeli forces arrest two former Palestinian militants who had been granted amnesty. (Xinhua)

 

In June the PA will stop paying fines imposed by Israel on Palestinian detainees. (Ma'an)

 

An Israeli interrogator accused of torture says detainees must be made to feel anything is possible. (Ha'aretz)

 

Abbas says renewed negotiations require Israeli recognition that a two-state solution is the intended outcome. (Xinhua)

 

The Times of Israel describes what it calls "secret" negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2010. (Times of Israel)

 

The Israeli government says it is postponing planned settlement expansions in occupied east Jerusalem "for political sensitivity." (Jerusalem Post)

 

Israeli settlers are divided on the approach of a military commander in the occupied West Bank. (Ha'aretz)

 

In the latest twist to a long-running saga, Israeli officials now claim a young boy, Muhammad Al-Dura, believed shot during the start of the second intifada, was never killed at all. (Jerusalem Post)

 

 

 

Efraim Halevy says the Israeli government doesn't want the Assad regime to fall. (Foreign Affairs)

 

Elie Podeh says Israel is missing a huge opportunity by ignoring the Arab Peace Initiative. (Ha'aretz)

 

Nathan Guttman asks how big a breakthrough the recent Arab League statement really is. (The Forward)

 

Rami Khouri calls China's recent peace proposal "intriguing." (The Daily Star)

 

William Sutcliffe talks about his new novel "The Wall." (The Guardian)

 

Shlomo Avineri accuses cosmologist Stephen Hawking of hypocrisy for boycotting an Israeli government conference. (Ha'aretz)

 

The Boston Globe says Hawking had every right to make his nonviolent protest. (Boston Globe)

 

Akiva Eldar calls Hawking's boycott "unjust and unwise." (Al Monitor)

 

Barry Rubin says, with the region in political turmoil, bashing Israel has become almost pointless. (Jerusalem Post)

 

Asmaa al-Ghoul says Islamic Jihad takes a much harder and clear line than Hamas in opposing a two-state solution. (Al Monitor)

 

Lara Friedman and Daniel Seidemann say, in opposing Google's inclusion of Palestine in its range of landing pages, some Israelis are the ones clinging to a virtual reality. (Daily Beast/Open Zion)