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NEWS: Germans appear to be becoming less reticent to criticize Israel. With international attention now focused on Iran, Israel is moving to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank. Pres. Abbas arrives in Japan on the first stop of an international tour. Palestinian and Israeli officials will meet next week to discuss water issues. Palestinian officials say they are ready to resume negotiations with Israel, but only with a clear frame of reference. In a letter to the New York Times, Israeli Amb. Oren denies that Israel interferes in US elections. The National profiles Sari Nusseibeh and his evolving views on future relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Lacking US leadership, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process appears at an impasse. The one-state agenda is gaining ground in Palestinian public opinion. Jordan may be considering revoking citizenship for some Palestinians, including some PLO and PA officials. COMMENTARY: ATFP praises the release of US aid to the Palestinian people and welcomes the latest statement by the Quartet. Gideon Levy says Israel has become paranoid about pro-Palestinian activists. Patrick Seale says Israel “ urgently needs a voice of reason" like new Kadima leader Mofaz. Sever Plocker says there is a growing gap in perceptions between Jewish Americans and Israel. Zvika Krieger says a two-state solution is still possible and that an evacuation of up to 100,000 settlers is politically possible. The Oman Tribune says it's pointless to try to pursue negotiations until after the next US presidential election. Allison Good looks at the future of Israeli-Lebanese naval cooperation. Michael Zigmond says a settlement boycott is in Israel's interests. Nabeel Shaath says Palestinians remain committed to the1967 borders. Paul Blumenthal looks at the political agenda being promoted in the United States and Israel by gambling billionaire Irving Moskowitz.
NEWS: The Quartet urges an immediate resumption of negotiations and the delivery of pledged aid to the Palestinians. The US will be releasing $147 million in aid to the Palestinians, overriding congressional opposition. Palestinians reiterate their demand for a settlement freeze. Israel says it plans to send its own letter to Pres. Abbas. Palestinians say 3 have been injured in an attack by settlers near Nablus. Another Palestinian prisoner held by Israel begins a hunger strike. MK Tibi threatens a lawsuit against Amb. Oren for suggesting he supports suicide bombing. The Media Line looks at the role of women in the Israeli military. Israel deports a Palestinian man to Gaza even though he faces possible execution there for “collaboration.” The PA blames Hamas for the Palestinian financial crisis. COMMENTARY: Former Pres. Carter says it is vital the world doesn't give up on Middle East peace. The LA Times says Israel declaring Gunter Grass persona non grata because of a poem is the kind of reaction one would have expected from Iran. Anshel Pfeffer says Egypt's major military deployment in Sinai hasn't changed much. Daniel Gordis defends “Jewish tribalism” in Israel. Uri Savir says Israel's go it alone attitude on security won't work anymore. George Hishmeh says a newly released letter by David Ben-Gurion shows he anticipated the need to drive out Palestinians long before the 1948 war. Arron David Miller says it's extremely unlikely a second-term Pres. Obama would choose to heavily pressure Israel. Hanan Ashrawi says Palestinians in Jerusalem need freedom, not Israeli permits. Jerome Segal says Palestinians should pursue the creation of a new UN Special Committee on Palestine. Hussein Ibish says just because he supports peace with Israel based on ending the occupation and creating a Palestinian state doesn't make him a “Zionist.”
NEWS: The Israeli government is scrambling to find ways to recognize "unauthorized" settlement outposts. The mayor of Bethlehem urges Israel not to humiliate vistors to the occupied Palestinian territories, as Israel is preparing to bar the entrance of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists. Iran says it has arrested several "Israeli-linked mercenaries." Hamas accuses Egypt of blocking Qatari fuel bound for Gaza. An occupation soldier is accused of stealing gold from Palestinians during an Israeli raid in the West Bank. The Israeli military admits it has been barring Palestinian farmers from their lands in a West Bank village. Israel closes the center of the town of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank to traffic. Settlers clash with Israeli security forces. Expectations are low for an upcoming meeting of the MIddle East Quartet. Human rights groups call for a moratorium on executions by Hamas. COMMENTARY: Carl Perkal says Daniel Pipes has written an inexplicable and agressive attack against Palestinian citizens of Israel. Zvi Bar'el says the High Court and B'Tselem are crucial to Israeli democracy. Ha'aretz says Israel should stop public demands for the US to free convicted Israeli spy Pollard. Douglas Bloomfield says Republican candidates cannot reach most Jewish-American voters by grandstanding on Israel. Daniel Bettini says Israel's ban on Günter Grass is cynical and populist, but Daniel Goldhagen says Grass is the cynic. Osama Al Sharif says three letters now circulating sum up the present Palestinian dilema. Lara Friedman says the threats to Israeli democracy are all too real. Rashid Khalidi says plans by the Simon Weisenthal Center to build a "Museum of Tolerance" on the Muslim Mamilla cemetery are an effort to erase Palestinian history in Jerusalem. Benny Morris says the main obstacle to peace is "Palestinian rejectionism," not Israeli settlements.
NEWS: PM Fayyad praises Palestinian nonviolent resistance at a conference on “popular struggle.” Palestinians say Israel has been systematically undermining the two-state solution through settlement activity. Palestinians say a cabinet reshuffle is being delayed until Pres. Abbas completes some international trips. An Israeli court delays a verdict in a civil suit brought by the family of Rachel Corrie. The Knesset is considering a bill to allow itself to override rulings by the Supreme Court. Pres. Peres asks Pres. Obama to release convicted Israeli spy Pollard. Reports suggest the United States may have had a positive reaction to Abbas' letter to PM Netanyahu. Members of Congress say an award by the PA to Helen Thomas may damage US aid prospects. Newly released documents show intensive Canadian efforts to block Palestinian UN membership efforts last year. The New York Times profiles new Kadima leader Mofaz. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz slams the new bill allowing a simple Knesset majority to override Supreme Court decisions, but the Jerusalem Post likes it. Sefi Rachlevsky says the controversy reflects a willingness by the current government to undermine Israeli democracy for its own purposes. Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel say some Israeli officials see the conflict in Syria as boiling down to a struggle between Al Qaeda and Iran. Gershon Baskin says Israel has a strong interest in a robust Palestinian economy. Linda Heard says, rather than adapting to changing region, Israel is becoming more bellicose and intransigent. Khaled Elgindy says it's time for a careful and cautious dialogue between the US and Hamas. Smadar Perry says Israelis are suddenly left hoping Amr Moussa wins the Egyptian presidential election. Hamid Dabashi says by declaring Günter Grass persona non grata, Israel is criminalizing poetry, but Jeffrey Goldberg says Grass trivialized the Holocaust and distorted history.
NEWS: Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says the group intends to capture more Israeli soldiers to win the release of additional Palestinian prisoners. Israel bans German author Günter Grass from entering the country for criticizing its policies. Hamas executes three Palestinians in Gaza. Militants again attack Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan. Pres. Abbas says he will seek non-member observer state status for Palestine at the UN if talks with Israel do not resume. PLO official Hanan Ashrawi says she is concerned at recent threats to free speech among Palestinians. A Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank accuses Israeli police of beating him and covering up the evidence. The JTA profiles the political rise and fall of former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. The World Bank earmarks $55 million for Palestinian development this year. The Israeli military says it's ready for a major invasion of Lebanon in the case of any new conflict with Hezbollah. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood again promises not to tamper with the peace treaty with Israel. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel has reacted with hysteria over Günter Grass. Salman Masalha says letting Israeli ex-pats vote from abroad is political manipulation. Anshel Pfeffer looks at Israeli and American policies towards Iran. Harriet Sherwood says PM Netanyahu's relentless support for settlers bodes ill for the peace process. Robert O. Freedman says China is split over continuing its present Middle East policies. Talal Okal says Sinai has been out of control for a long time, and Yoram Meital says the area provides challenges and opportunities for Israel. Richard Stearns says this was another dark Easter for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

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