February 5th

In Herzliya, I Founded Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) February 2, 2010 - 1:00am

[The title refers to a journal entry by Theodor Herzl in 1897, "In Basel I founded the Jewish state"] Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad came to Herzliya on Tuesday. Thinking that he would be participating in a panel discussion, he did not prepare a speech. Suddenly he found himself making the Palestinian "Herzliya speech." Fayyad did not become confused. He is no sucker. In fluent if nearly unintelligible English (Fayyad has a heavy accent), he laid out his doctrine: a Palestinian state within two years. On all the territory. Including East Jerusalem. That is all.

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An ATFP original translation by Hamadeh Faraneh looks at Israeli reactions to PM Fayyad. Palestinian factions conclude their meeting in Gaza. The power plant in Gaza may shut down. The Dubai police say they may pursue Israeli officials over a recent assassination. The UN casts doubt over recent Gaza war probes. Israelis and Palestinians plan for a mixed neighborhood in Jerusalem. An Israeli police officer may be charged in the death of a Palestinian boy. Israeli politicians seek to investigate human rights organizations. A Red Cross convoy is attacked in Gaza. The Gaza blockade hinders Palestinian medicine. Various Arab commentaries critique Israeli policy. The Goldstone report has created a rift in Israeli civil society.

Not clear if Gaza war probes are credible-UN's Ban
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Louis Charbonneau - February 5, 2010 - 1:00am

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cast doubt on Thursday on the credibility of Israeli and Palestinian investigations into U.N. allegations of war crimes during the 2008-2009 war in the Gaza Strip. In a cautiously worded message to the U.N. General Assembly, Ban acknowledged Israel and the Palestinian Authority were looking into the behavior of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants as demanded by a resolution the 192-nation assembly approved in November. But Ban withheld judgment on whether the probes were "independent, credible and in conformity with international standards."

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Dubai police may pursue Israel PM for Hamas killing -report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 5, 2010 - 1:00am

Dubai would seek the arrest of Israel's prime minister if it found evidence intelligence service Mossad was behind the killing of a senior Hamas official, its police chief said in a newspaper on Friday. Hamas has blamed Israel for killing Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, one of its top military commanders, in a Dubai hotel last month. [ID:nLDE60S075] Israel has declined to comment. Police in the United Arab Emirates have said they suspect a foreign "criminal gang" of killing Mabhouh in his hotel room, and are looking into the possible involvement of Israel's spy agency.

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Gaza power plant to cease operations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 5, 2010 - 1:00am

The Gaza Strip's sole power plant will cease all operations late Friday night due to a lack of fuel, officials warned. The plant had already shut down services to all but 30-40 percent of the coastal strip by nightfall on Thursday, the Gaza Energy Authority said, noting that the sudden cold front in the region spent the remaining fuel faster than expected. The Energy Authority has notified mayors and municipalities across Gaza, and was informing the Health Ministry and major telecommunications companies PalTel and Jawwal to prepare for the worst.

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Blockade forces Gaza to turn from modern medicine to bee stings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Erin Cunningham - February 4, 2010 - 1:00am

When the first case of swine flu hit the Gaza Strip in December, residents in this tiny, impoverished enclave flocked to local spice traders and drained merchants’ shelves of the popular medicinal herb anise. Gazans sought out the Chinese-grown plant to mix in an age-old, tea-based concoction called yansoon, which doctors here said would help prevent further outbreaks amid rumours the territory faced a shortage of the deadly flu’s traditional vaccine. Anise is a central component of the swine flu vaccine manufactured globally under the brand name Tamiflu.

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Al-Haya: Changes in coming days toward achieving conciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 5, 2010 - 1:00am

"There will be changes within the coming days toward achieving conciliation," said senior Hamas leader Khalil Al-Haya following a meeting with Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath and de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday. At Haniyeh's home in the Ash-Shati Refugee Camp, Al-Haya revealed that Sha'ath and the de facto prime minister exchanged documents for review, detailing the means of overcoming recent impasses reached in the ratification of the Egyptian document, tipped to end Fatah-Hamas rivalry and restore national unity.

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Doesn’t Salam Fayyad deserve more national protection?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Hamada Faraneh - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am

ATFP original translation In the 2/1/2010 issue of Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman, known for his close ties to the Israel national security apparatus and often represents their point of view, articulated an emerging Israeli opinion. In an article entitled “Salam Fayyad: The quince turns into a bitter lemon,” Fishman writes:

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Red Cross convoy attacked in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
February 5, 2010 - 1:00am

A roadside explosion hit a Red Cross convoy near the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing in northern Gaza on Thursday. The device blew out the windows of one vehicle, but no-one was injured, a spokesman for the Red Cross said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and it is still unclear whether the Red Cross vehicle was the target of the attack. Red Cross convoys regularly leave and enter the Gaza Strip via the Erez route to deliver humanitarian aid. Witnesses near the scene said they believed the explosion was a roadside bomb.

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Oron: We'll probe right-wing funding
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - February 5, 2010 - 1:00am

The controversy surrounding a report released this week by the Zionist student group Im Tirtzu, which blames the New Israel Fund for much of the Goldstone Report on last winter’s Operation Cast Lead, continued to build on Thursday, as additional Knesset members weighed in on the now-embattled NGO.

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