For more, see The Times of Israel: Ex-Mossad chief: PM taking ‘intolerable’ risks with Israeli security

On Friday, February 27^th  APN hosted Joseph Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund and Larry Hanauer of the RAND Corporation on a briefing call regarding the current negotiations over Iran's nuclear quest, Congress' role in the negotiations process, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's effort to use Congress to scuttle the Obama administration's efforts to reach a deal.

Click on the image to sign the petition: Don’t Let Netanyahu & Friends Abort an Iran Deal

Click on the image to sign the petition: Don’t Let Netanyahu & Friends Abort an Iran Deal

Last week, we ran our first editorial cartoon, "Messiah Complex." Cartoons have been a hot topic recently because of their power to incite and provoke. We will never be gratuitous with this form of expression—but we do plan to use this medium to incite action and to provoke thought. As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words. This is our aim: to make people think and to act for peace.

This week, we bring you a new cartoon, regarding Rawabi, which has been a hot topic in the news this week: “Let Them Eat Ice Cream.”  

APN's daily news review from Israel

Friday February 27, 2015
 

Numbers of the day:

32:14.

--Percentages of votes that Zionist Camp and Likud parties received, respectively, in a poll at a bellwether high school in Israel. 

AFP - February 23, 2015
Peace Now: 40% rise in new West Bank settlement homes in 2014
http://news.yahoo.com/40-rise-west-bank-settlement-homes-2014-ngo-195121226.html

Xinhua - February 23, 2015
Peace Now: New Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank rose by 40% in 2014
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/150223/new-settlement-construction-rises-palestinian-west-bank-ngo

Reuters - February 23, 2015
Peace Now: Israeli settlement building tenders hit record high
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN0LR23520150223

WAFA - February 24, 2015
Peace Now: substantial increase in Israeli settlement construction activities in 2014
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=27943

World Bulletin - February 24, 2015
Peace Now: Israel's settlement activities rise by 40% in 2014
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/155589/israels-settlement-activities-rise-by-40-in-2014

JTA - February 24, 2015
Peace Now: New housing starts in West Bank rose by 40% in '14
http://www.jta.org/2015/02/24/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/peace-now-new-housing-starts-in-west-bank-rose-by-40-in-14

Times of Israel - February 24, 2015
Peace Now: Nearly 5,000 new units built in West Bank settlements in 2014
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-reportedly-planning-48000-new-homes-in-west-bank/

In recent weeks, attention has focused on the outrage surrounding Netanyahu’s March 3rd speech to Congress, and House Speaker Boehner's invitation to Netanyahu. After Netanyahu's speech, focus must revert to the real issues: Iran negotiations, deal or no deal, war or peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear that any viable, reasonable deal – a deal that both Iran could accept and one that meets the red lines of the P5+1 negotiators – would never reach his standard. With the deadline for a framework agreement with Iran approaching (March 23rd) and with AIPAC getting into gear, pressure is mounting on members of Congress to proceed with new legislation – sanctions and other initiatives – that could kill a deal before it is reached or render any deal dead on arrival.