October 17th

3 Akko residents arrested on suspicion of damaging cars
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hagai Einav - October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

Three Jewish Akko residents were arrested Friday morning on suspicion of vandalizing a number of vehicles during the clashes which broke out between Jews and Arabs in the northern city on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The Akko Magistrates' Court decided to place one of the suspects under house arrest and to extend the remand of the other two. Although calm was restored in the city six days ago, the police continue to search for inciters and residents involved in the damaging of property.

»

When settlers strike, Palestinians point and shoot video
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

Nahla Mohammed says that it happens almost every weekend. Right-wing Israeli settlers from nearby Yitzhar come to vandalize houses such as hers, which are on the edge of the Palestinian village of Asira il-Qabliya. When she hears them coming, she makes sure her children are inside, locks up, and waits with a small video camera that she was given by Btselem, a human rights group. She tries to capture them cutting water mains, breaking windows, or scrawling graffiti on the sides of the Arab houses.

»

Palestinian youth shot dead by Israeli forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian and wounded another early on Thursday near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian emergency services reported. Abdul Aziz Beerat, 20, was killed when Israeli soldiers in a jeep opened fire in the village of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, the sources said. Another man, who was not identified, was shot in the back and taken to hospital, where his condition was listed as serious.

»

Hamas likely to extend truce with Israel, say Gaza sources
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas is likely to seek to extend its truce with Israel for another six months, Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip predicted Thursday. The current six-month truce, brokered by Egypt, expires in December. A senior Hamas official told Haaretz that the Islamic group has not yet made a decision on extending the truce.

»

October 16th

USAID Administrator Henrietta H. Fore makes a pledge at ATFP’s Third Annual Gala to transfer $550 million to the Palestinian Authority (1). The Wall Street Journal covers Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s recent trip to Washington and the business investments made for the West Bank (2). The BBC reports on the network of smuggling tunnels servicing the Gaza strip via Egypt (3). Palestinian-Israel security forces cooperate in the destruction of a recently discovered tunnel running under the West Bank town of Hebron (8).

Two Palestinian girls detained in Israel without trial for months
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Fadi Eyadat - October 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

On the night of June 5, someone knocked on the door of the Salah house in Khader, near Bethlehem. Had it not been 2 A.M., nobody in the family would even have been suspicious. Nevertheless, said Siham Salah, her eldest daughter, Salwa, opened the door. "Soldiers and a [Shin Bet security service] officer entered," Siham related. "They sat down calmly and began to ask questions about members of the household. They asked how many children we had and about the fact that there are problems in our neighborhood. Suddenly, they went outside, brought in female soldiers and took my daughter.

»

Abbas rejects request by Egypt for talks with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - October 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has turned down an Egyptian proposal to hold separate talks with Hamas officials in Cairo before the end of the month, a senior PA official in Ramallah said Wednesday. Abbas's decision drew sharp criticism from Hamas, which said this provided further evidence that the PA president and his Fatah faction were not really interested in ending the power struggle between the two parties.

»

PA forces arrest 13 Hamas men in West Bank cities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Mohammed Mar’i - October 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas movement yesterday said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrested 13 of its members and loyalists in several West Bank cities. Hamas said in a press statement that its members and loyalists, including university students, were arrested in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, and Qalqilya. Abbas’ forces have been cracking down on Hamas after the movement violently seized control over Gaza Strip in June 2007 after it ousted Abbas forces and senior members of his Fatah movement.

»

Palestinian police help Israelis destroy tunnel in Hebron
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian police discovered a tunnel running under a shop in the Occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday that was subsequently dynamited by Israeli sappers, sources from both sides said. No one was hurt when the tunnel, said by an AFP correspondent at the scene to be dozens of meters deep, was destroyed. A Palestinian security source said several people had been detained and were being questioned about the tunnel, in which no weapons or explosives were found. An Israeli Army spokeswoman said an investigation had been opened to determine what the tunnel was being used for.

»

Israelis kill 2 alleged Palestinian firebombers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Josef Federman - October 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli troops shot and killed a 21-year-old Palestinian allegedly preparing to carry out a firebomb attack in a West Bank village early Thursday. He was the third Palestinian killed by army fire in as many days. Citing a recent wave of firebombings in the roughly 10-mile area between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank, the army has been stepping up efforts to stop them, including laying nighttime ambushes near potential targets.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017