--Middle East analyst Ronni Shaked in an Op-Ed examining Israel's attitude towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its jailed Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, who has launched a mass hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners.*
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
This week, Alpher discusses Marwan Barghouti's op-ed in the New York Times about the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike; why only 1,200 of the 6,000 prisoners convicted of terrorist offenses in Israeli jails are participating; the intra-Palestinian tensions at play; Barghouti's point about worsening conditions in Israeli prisons; the accuracy of some of Barghouti's assertions; why Israel can't release Barghouti and negotiate with him; and possible strategic implications of the strike and the background struggle for Palestinian leadership.
By Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP)
*Originally published on the FMEP website, and reproduced here with permission from the author
1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2.
Hearings
3. On the Record
The Australian Jewish News: April 6, 2017
“Plans for New Settlement Condemned,” Peace Now’s Anat
Ben Nun says that the creation of a new settlement in the West Bank sends a strong message that Israel is no
longer interested in pursuing a two-state solution.
NPR: April 5, 2017
"Assessing Israel's Pledge to Scale Back Settlements,"
Peace Now's Hagit Ofran quoted on Israel's new settlement policy.
972+: April 4, 2017
“Why Settlement Boycotters Shouldn’t Join the BDS
Movement,” APN warns that the bills targeting BDS activists and settlement boycotters fail to differentiate
between Israel proper and settlements themselves.
Times of Israel: April 3, 2017
“Planned Amona 2.0 Might Not House West Bank Settlers for 3
Years,” Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran explains that while planning and approving settlements can take a long time,
the government knows how to expedite the process to further their goals of strategically fragmenting the West
Bank.
New York Times: March 31, 2017
"Israel Says It Will Rein In 'Footprint' Of West Bank
Settlements," Peace Now skeptical of Israeli government's new settlement policy.
Jerusalem Post: March 31, 2017
"Netanyahu under right wing pressure to continue settlement
expansion," Peace Now skeptical of Israeli government's new settlement policy.
Los Angeles Times: March 31, 2017
"Israel approves settlement deep in the West Bank for the
first time in two decades but pledges future controls," Peace Now skeptical of Israeli government's new
settlement policy.
Daily News (UK): March 31, 2017
"US warns Israel on 'unrestrained' settlement building,"
Peace Now reacts to Israeli government's new Israeli settlement measures: "Netanyahu is held captive by the
settlers."
Washington Post (AP Story): March 31, 2017
"Israel says will try to curb growth of settlement
footprint," Peace Now says the Israeli government's new settlement policy actually serves the settlers.
San Francisco Chronicle: March 31, 2017
"Israel's new law seeks to silence settlement protests,"
Ori Nir is quoted in a story on Israel's new Entry Ban arguing that Israel should "should be cognizant of the
repercussions" of "dissing a huge sector of a very pro-Israel American demographic."
APN’s director of communications and public engagement, Ori Nir, spoke at Virginia’s Christopher
Newport University On March 30. He delivered the annual Borgenicht Fellowship Prize Lecture, sponsored by CNU’s
Reiff Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution. His talk focused on shifting attitudes toward
Israeli-Palestinian peace among the Israeli and Palestinian publics.