Prospects for the success of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were downplayed by Prime Minister Netanyahu at his photo-op with President Obama following their meeting today. Here is what Netanyahu had to say about efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians:

• “Twenty years of peace process were marked by many Israeli steps for peace but we got suicide bombers and rockets in return.”
• “It’s about time the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state – we have only been there for 4,000 years.”
• “The people of Israel expect me to stand strong against pressure and for the security of Israel.”

New poll shows that if the two-state solution collapses, U.S. public favors democracy over Jewishness.

By Shibley Telhami

Middle East leaders are beating a path to the White House's door. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Barack Obama on March 3, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will arrive on March 17 to discuss the U.S. administration's diplomatic effort to reach a two-state solution.

Although Secretary of State John Kerry has said that "failure is not an option" in these talks, the reality is that both Israelis and Palestinians assume that there is only a slim chance of finding a conflict-ending solution. The president himself put the odds at less than 50 percent. With the Obama administration's goal to reach a negotiated settlement set for the end of April, we could be witnessing the death of the two-state solution. A key, but often unasked, question is whether the American public even cares.

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This week, Alpher discusses the possible dynamics of PM Netanyahu arriving to talk with President Obama in the midst of the Ukraine/Crimea crisis; the influence of the Ukraine crisis on the Middle East; what we can expect in the weeks ahead regarding the American-sponsored framework agreement and Monday's Obama-Netanyahu meeting; and Netanyahu's thinking for the "day after" failure scenario.

By Aaron David Miller

Why Israel's prime minister can't call the shots on Iran or the peace process.

Benjamin Netanyahu is one smart Israeli politician. This year, he will become the longest continuously serving prime minister in Israel's history. He is the only Israeli leader to win back-to-back elections. And despite his detractors' efforts to portray him as an illegitimate expression of Israeli popular desires, his staying power -- at least on security and foreign policy -- is an authentic expression of where much of the country stands in 2014.

Yet on the eve of his White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Monday, March 3, when the two leaders will discuss Iran, peace talks, and other issues, Bibi faces the prospect of being ensnared in traps that will limit his room to maneuver and undermine Israel's interests, as he defines them.

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As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington today, the Israeli government’s Central Bureau of Statistics issued a report showing a whopping 123% surge in West Bank settlement construction in 2013, more than double the number of new settlement homes built in 2012.

The data was analyzed and highlighted today by Israel’s Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) movement. It confirms past interim reports by Peace Now’s Settlement Watch Project. Americans for Peace Now (APN), Shalom Achshav’s US sister-organization, joins Peace Now in condemning Netanyahu’s government for this reckless policy of settlement construction.

Today, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics released their summary of construction in 2013. The increase in construction starts confirms what Peace Now has been reporting throughout 2013, massive increases in construction in the West Bank. Overall, there was a 123% increase in construction starts in 2013.

The CBS reports that in 2013 construction began on 2,534 housing units. Compared to 2012, which had 1,133 units that began construction.  Furthermore, approximately half of the units (1,161) which began construction were for public buildings. In 2012 there were only 113 units for public buildings that began construction.

Peace Now: "It's official, the Netanyahu government is committed to only one thing: building settlements. It shows the lack of commitment to negotiations and other issues like the housing shortage inside Israel. The state has focused its resources on construction beyond the green line." 
 
To view the CBS report click here

A powerful debate between APN's Lara Friedman and Rabbi Daniel Gordis in the New York Times.

LA Jewish Journal - February 26, 2014
APN Board Member Sandy Weiner and Steve Kaplan: Boycotting Settlements is the way to fight BDS
http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/a_victory_against_anti_israel_bds

Oberlin Review (campus newspaper) - February 24, 2014
Interview with APN's Lara Friedman
http://oberlinreview.org/4947/news/off-the-cuff-lara-friedman-former-foreign-service-officer-and-director-of-policy-and-government-relations-with-americans-for-peace-now/

Arutz 7 - February 25, 2014
Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer warns: There are more potential Baruch Goldsteins in the settlements
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/287956#.UwzaWPldW5I

Arutz 7 - February 25, 2014
Peace Now opposes taxpayer funding for extreme right non-profits
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177851#.UwzbKPldW5I