NEWS:PM Fayyad calls for a national debate on the financial crisis facing the PA. Mahmoud Abu Rahma is released from hospital in Gaza after being stabbed apparently due to an article he wrote criticizing Hamas and other militant groups. Israeli forces demolish an "unauthorized" settlement outpost. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is mixing ideology and pragmatism in its approach to Israel. Palestinians say the UN Security Council will take up the issue of Israeli settlement activity next week. A new UN report calls the blockade of Gaza "collective punishment." A spokesman for PM Netanyahu denies he said Israel’s "biggest enemies" are The New York Times and Ha'aretz. Internal strife hits the hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. The Forward looks at how Jewish-American university presidents deal with issues regarding Israel. One year on, the family of slain Hamas operative Mabhouh is still looking for answers about his assassination. The PA women's ministry staff goes on a hunger strike, alleging harassment and corruption by top officials.
COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali calls for a movement of the Arab citizen. Jordan's King Abdullah says the Palestinian issue remains the most important cause in the Arab world. Ari Shavit compares FM Lieberman to Vladimir Putin. Shuki Sadeh says Israel quietly trades with much of the Muslim world. Yossi Melman looks at a new book on the evolution of Israel's de facto borders. Sarah Kreimer says Israel's latest settlement activity makes a mockery out of new peace talks. Bilal Hassan says Palestinian popular resistance should aim to challenge both the Israeli occupation and US support for it. George Hishmeh says that by postponing a large joint military drill, Pres. Obama may still be trying to pressure Israel.
NEWS:
Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas leaders are evacuating their families from Syria. A gaming exercise suggests Israel could live with a nuclear Iran. Shiite worshipers say they were violently attacked by Hamas forces in Gaza over the weekend. DM Barak says Israel is preparing for “a period of uncertainty” in the occupied West Bank. MK Tibi is suspended from the Knesset for a week for reciting a risqué limerick about another MK who was suspended for a month for throwing water on a third MK. Hamas bans a TV singing contest as “indecent.” Pres. Obama thanks Jordan for facilitating peace talks. Hamas officials call reports that Khaled Meshaal will be giving up his leadership position “pure speculation.” The pro-Israel lobby is increasingly reaching out to African American students.
COMMENTARY:
Zvi Bar'el says political change in the Arab world is an opportunity Israel seems set to squander. Both The Independent and Carlo Strenger say Europe needs to make its objections to Israel's policies more clear. Amira Hass says Israel's mistreatment of Palestinian leaders like Pres. Abbas undermines public support for negotiations. Ray Hanania says the Assad regime is no friend to the Palestinians. Mark LeVine says it would be “national suicide” for Israel not to protect the rights of all people under its rule. Yossi Alpher says Israel has both a stake in, and legitimate concerns about, Palestinian reconciliation. Shlomo Brom says Israel should take a more positive attitude towards Palestinian reconciliation. Ghassan Khatib says Palestinians don't understand what bothers Israel about reconciliation under present conditions. Nathan Brown says Hamas is not "mellowing"
its policies yet.
NEWS:
Unknown hackers attack key Israeli corporate websites. FM Lieberman faces a pre-indictment hearing on corruption charges. A human rights advocate in Gaza is stabbed by unknown assailants. PM Netanyahu may present proposals on borders and security at a meeting with Pres.
Abbas in March. Israel reportedly strips Abbas of his VIP status and issues him a two-month travel permit. Shiites in Gaza say they're being persecuted by Hamas. UNRWA launches a $300 million appeal. Reports suggest Khaled Meshal may step down as Hamas leader soon. A French Parliament report accuses Israel of “water apartheid.” The UK Deputy PM calls Israeli settlement activity “vandalism.” The PA financial crisis is starting to significantly damage West Bank businesses.
COMMENTARY:
ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Arabs deserve a party of the citizen. Roger Cohen says Israel would be making a big mistake to attack Iran. Barak Ravid says Israel is downplaying its negative campaign against the Palestinians for the meanwhile. Yitzhak Laor says Arabs never been equal before the law in Israel. Gerson Baskin says PM Fayyad is committed to building a Palestinian state. Catrina Stewart wonders if corruption charges might stop the rise of Lieberman. Sid Schwarz says Jews should care about the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel. The Forward says events from last September may still prove game changers in the Israeli-Palestinian equation. The National says Palestinians urgently need Arab financial help. Stuart Reigeluth and Dimitris Bouris say Gaza is still occupied by Israel.
NEWS:
Palestinian officials say they are sticking to the original negotiating deadlines in spite of US requests for an extension. Pres.
Abbas says Israel is offering “nothing new” in the latest negotiations. The parties will meet again on Saturday. Pres. Obama and PM Netanyahu discuss the talks in a phone call. Abbas is going on a European tour next week. Israeli forces injure two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The head of the Palestinian Elections Commission says elections in May are now “impossible” to organize. Israeli-Palestinian couples are facing increasing difficulties. Palestinian women form what may be the Middle East's first all-female car racing team. Hamas says it wants to base its officials in many Arab states, including Jordan. Critics say Israel's plans for several parks in occupied East Jerusalem are designed to deny construction in Palestinian neighborhoods.
COMMENTARY:
Jane Eisner interviews PM Fayyad and says he is still determined to build a state. Ha'aretz says Israel's Supreme Court is headed down the path of apartheid. Salman Masalha says Israelis and Palestinians alike must set aside fantasies about “justice” on their own terms and face the stark realities. The Jerusalem Post says Israel is right to exclude Palestinian spouses of Israeli citizens and expel African migrants. Jordana Horn looks at a new film about Israeli identity.
Patrick Seale says Israel's hardliners see a chance to consolidate a "greater Israel." Nirit Anderman looks at a new Israeli film about the occupation. Lara Friedman says already built-up Israeli settlements are a very small part of West Bank territory but about half of the entire territory is under settler control.
NEWS:
PM Fayyad says he is very concerned about Iran's behavior and nuclear ambitions. The Israeli Supreme Court upholds a law banning Palestinians who marry Israelis from living in Israel. Hamas leader Haniyyeh may go on another regional tour soon including Qatar and Iran. Hamas sentences a Palestinian man to death for alleged collaboration with Israel. The CSM looks at whether Israel was responsible for the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. The rise of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community is creating an identity crisis for the state. A committee on Palestinian national reconciliation will reportedly begin work “immediately.” Palestinians say Sec. Clinton has asked Pres. Abbas to extend the Quartet deadline for resumed negotiations. An EU report says Israel's policies in the occupied territories are endangering the two-state solution and the Palestinians should develop in “Area C.” A makeover for Gaza's beachfront is controversial. Jordan is reportedly working on how to accommodate some Hamas members as residents.
COMMENTARY:
Ha'aretz says Israel must stop stalling on peace. Jihad el-Khazen thinks that if Pres. Obama is reelected, a Palestinian state should be attainable in 2013. Michael Young says it's high time to discard the hoax about a “resistance axis.” Donald Macintyre says the EU is on the brink of abandoning hopes for Palestinian statehood. Natasha Mozgovaya looks at a new fictional book about Middle East peacemaking. Elliott Abrams says 2012 is a year for elections, not diplomacy. Shmuel Rosner says the Supreme Court decision is worthy of indignation but should be respected, while Noam Sheizaf says it just legalizes racial discrimination against Arabs.