February 4th

Raze Illegal Buildings - Unless They Are Jewish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am Some of the homes are well-faced with stone; the naked concrete of others gives off something of a temporary air. One block of flats stands out for its unusual seven-storey height in an area of the city where two or three storied buildings are the norm. And then there is the giant, blue-and-white Israeli national flag draped demonstratively over the front of the building, from the roof down to the ground. » Read more

Gaza atrocities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am Shells containing phosphorus, which when exposed to air burns through anything with which it comes into contact, are OK in international law provided that they are not fired at civilians. During its bombardment of the Gaza ghetto, Israel repeatedly denied that it had used shells containing this horrific chemical. In the wake of the incontrovertible UN findings that phosphorus shells were deployed against Gaza’s heavily built up areas, the Israelis changed their tune. » Read more

Time for accountability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am When a senior Hamas operative was assassinated in a Dubai hotel, a murder that the UAE authorities have now said bears all the hallmarks of a Mossad operation, it is to be expected that something will happen in return. Already, other Palestinian factions tried to smuggle a bomb into Israel by way of seeking vengeance. The attempt failed, but more will likely be made again. Hamas, meanwhile, announced an end to prisoner-swap negotiations, at least for the time being, citing not only negative interference from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, but also the murder in Dubai. » Read more

Build a Partnership for Peace, Right Here in America In Print by Ziad Asali - The Jewish Daily Forward (Opinion) - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am With the turbulence surrounding diplomacy and the Middle East peace process, it is more urgent than ever for civil society to unite around the obvious reality that a conflict-ending solution can only be attained through the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security. » Read more

Israel should face international justice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am Much as the world has responded generously to assist Haitians after their devastating earthquake last month, the opposite has been true about the impoverished Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who have been under an increasingly debilitating siege since the Israeli blitz a little over a year ago. » Read more

Build a Partnership for Peace, Right Here in America ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am With the turbulence surrounding diplomacy and the Middle East peace process, it is more urgent than ever for civil society to unite around the obvious reality that a conflict-ending solution can only be attained through the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security. » Read more

Blair: Gaza's great betrayer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Avi Shlaim - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am The savage attack Israel ­unleashed against Gaza on 27 December 2008 was both immoral and unjustified. Immoral in the use of force against civilians for political purposes. Unjustified because Israel had a political alternative to the use of force. The home-made Qassam rockets fired by Hamas militants from Gaza on Israeli towns were only the ­excuse, not the reason for Operation Cast Lead. In June 2008, Egypt had ­brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement. » Read more

Israel's dual reality ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am Israel's image problem abroad is down to one issue: the stark and growing difference between how Israelis view their country, and how it is seen from outside. This explains the anger and insult that Israelis feel when they watch themselves on the BBC or CNN. It can't possibly be us, they protest, the networks must be biased and pro-Arab. » Read more

Hillel at odds over J Street’s ‘pro-Israel pro-peace' prog. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by E.B. Solomont - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am As J Street puts the finishing touches on plans to fan out into more than 20 communities with new local chapters, detractors in Philadelphia are crying foul over a kick-off event that the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” movement has planned for Thursday night. » Read more

Erekat calls for ‘alternative to two-state solution’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - February 4, 2010 - 1:00am A paper prepared by Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat on the status of the peace talks with Israel recommends that the Palestinians consider the possibility of abandoning the two-state solution in favor of a one-state solution if the peace process does not move forward. Another option that the Palestinians should consider, according to Erekat, is the re-evaluation of the Oslo Accords and “declaring them null and void, partially or completely, or applying them selectively in a manner consistent with Palestinian interests.” » Read more