Fitting Palestinian prisoners into the excitement of the Ben Zygier affair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) February 18, 2013 - 1:00am

Samer Issawi was sentenced by a military tribunal to nearly three decades in prison, freed after six years in the 2011 prisoner swap that secured the release of Gilad Shalit, and re-arrested in July and sent back to jail for another 20 years because he went from Jerusalem, where he lives, to A-Ram, on the other side of the road. Issawi has been on a saline drip to keep him alive since August.

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An inconvenient truth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Robert Fattal - (Opinion) February 16, 2013 - 1:00am

On December 31, 2012 the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released a report on the demographics of Palestinians. Rather than going through the effort of talks with the Netanyahu government, Palestinians are now talking to all of Israel. Israelis can be forgiven for not paying much notice, given other issues like absorbing the consequences of the elections.

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Haneen Zoabi, Israeli Lawmaker, Is Reviled by Jews — and Adored by Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward
by Ben Lynfield - (Opinion) February 16, 2013 - 1:00am

At the Knesset in West Jerusalem, she has been threatened, denounced as a terrorist and stripped of her parliamentary privileges. Israel’s new kingmaker, Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, has cited her as the reason he would never join a coalition that depended on support from Israeli-Arab political parties. But at the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem, chatting earnestly over a cup of espresso and a slice of cake, Haneen Zoabi is interrupted repeatedly by waves and smiles, and by requests by passers-by to have their picture taken with her.

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A Zionism of the left
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Rami Livni - (Opinion) February 14, 2013 - 1:00am

The election results strengthened the following message: The left's return to power must include its renewed presence in debates about Zionism. To that end, the left must create a new, liberal and up-to-date perception of Zionism. It must be an alternative to the insular distorted Zionism of the right - disconnected from reality - which has served a minority of Jews throughout history.

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Palestinian prisoners in Israel go on hunger-strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 14, 2013 - 1:00am

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel went on a one-day hunger strike Thursday in solidarity with six mates who have been fasting for months. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner' Club said in a statement that 360 prisoners in three Israeli jails have gone on the hunger strike, and that most of them are affiliated to Islamic Jihad movement. All Palestinian prisoners in Israel, totaling up to some 4,500, will join the hunger strikers on Tuesday, the statement added.

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Poll: 71.5% of young Israeli Arabs oppose national service
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - February 12, 2013 - 1:00am

More than 70 percent of Israeli Arabs between 16 and 22 who have heard of the national service project oppose taking part, according to a survey by the Mada al-Carmel Arab Center for Applied Social Research. The poll comes out as efforts increase to get more ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews to do army service, and more Israeli Arabs to do national service.

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Soccer racism raises concern in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - February 11, 2013 - 1:00am

With 10 minutes left to play, Dzhabrail Kadiev, a Muslim soccer player from Chechnya, took the field for the first time for Beitar Jerusalem, a local team notorious for fan violence and racism. A chorus of catcalls went up from the stands, quickly drowned out by a welcoming ovation. Yet every kick of the ball by the newly signed player was met with jeers and whistles, punctuating Sunday night’s tense game that ended in a 2-2 tie with a squad from the Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin.

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Include Arab party in coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Naftali Rothenberg - February 10, 2013 - 1:00am

Speaking at the President's Residence after being tasked with forming the next government, the prime minister called on Abbas to return to the negotiation table. The Palestinian leader may or may not return to the table, but in any case, peace, at least at this point, is not high on the agenda of the "equal share of the burden" government, which will begin its term with a major budget cut.

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An Unlikely Path to Palestinian Fatherhood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Khaled Abu Aker - February 7, 2013 - 1:00am

 

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ANALYSIS-Under diplomatic fire, Israel faces settlement showdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Crispian Balmer - (Opinion) February 6, 2013 - 1:00am

Israel risks sleepwalking into a crisis with its allies over relentless settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem unless it realises that the international anger is genuine and adjusts its course.

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