Several hundred demonstrated in Tel Aviv April 18 to protest the killing of a Palestinian activist in the West Bank town of Bil'in the previous day. The march, attended by Hadash MK Dov Khenin, culminated across from the Ministry of Defense offices, where protesters denounced both the IDF and the government. Participants carried signs bearing slogans such as "Uniformed Killers," "Arab Blood Isn't Second-Rate" and "Blood Government, Get Out of the Occupied Territories." Said a statement from the organizers: "The occupying forces have recently escalated their attacks on demonstrators protesting the separation fence." (Haartez, April 18)

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu skirted calls by George J. Mitchell, President Obama's envoy to the Middle East, for a two-state solution, instead demanding prior Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. It was Netanyahu's first meeting with Mitchell since taking office in late March. Mitchell emphasized the Obama administration's support for the two-state solution—"a Palestinian state living in peace alongside the Jewish state of Israel." (NYT, April 16)

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