January 29th

Hamas: PA must return to unity talks before Israel peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 29, 2010 - 1:00am

Hamas warned of "dangerous consequences" if Palestinian Authority officials return to peace talks with Israel, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told reporters Friday. President Mahmoud Abbas was the explicit target of the warning, and was told of the danger of returning to peace talks with Israel before Palestinian unity is achieved, as US pressure to return to negotiations mounts. Hamas distributed the statement to journalists on Friday, saying the party considered negotiations with Israel as a dangerous confiscation of Palestinian rights and a denial of justice for the people.

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Why Hamas is denying it targeted civilians in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Erin Cunningham - January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Ahead of a looming deadline for Israel and Hamas to respond to war crimes charges in the UN-sponsored Goldstone report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) hit back today at a claim made by Hamas earlier this week that its fighters did not commit war crimes in its three-week war with Israel last winter. Instead, said Hamas, its fighters struck civilian areas in Israel “by mistake” when launching rockets at the country’s military installations.

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'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - (Blog) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

"Avatar" may be rocking the box office, but it's rocking the casbah too, getting people to ask who's who with the blues and who exactly are the meanies in Israel. This week, a screening of "Avatar" erupted into a small ruckus in a suburb when one moviegoer loudly announced that the Palestinians should learn from this movie what to do to the Jews, causing a commotion and angering others in the audience.

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Israel Signals Tougher Line on West Bank Protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

For more than a year, this village has been a focus of weekly protests against the Israeli security barrier, which cuts through its lands. Now, the village appears to be at the center of an intensifying Israeli arrest campaign. Apparently concerned that the protests could spread, the Israeli Army and security forces have recently begun clamping down, arresting scores of local organizers and activists here and conducting nighttime raids on the homes of others.

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Palestinians working with Mitchell toward talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says conditions aren't yet right to return to peace talks with Israel but that the Palestinians are working with U.S. envoy George Mitchell on ways to break the deadlock. Fayyad, in an interview with The Associated Press at the World Economic Forum, said Mitchell and the Palestinians "are working on trying to get talks restarted."

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January 28th

Hussein Ibish explains why Palestine must be a secular state. Hamas clears itself of Goldstone report war crimes charges. PM Netanyahu says Israel's relief efforts in Haiti have boosted its image. Israel appoints a more moderate chief military rabbi. Pres. Abbas says the Palestinian capital must be in Jerusalem. An outspoken Palestinian MK denounces Holocaust denial. Gideon Levy says Holocaust remembrance cannot excuse the occupation, and Ha'aretz says settlers who attacked Palestinians are terrorists. At Davos the head of the Arab League presses for a Palestinian state. The long-neglected cinema in Jenin is being renovated. A financial dispute threatens a key Gaza power plant. The new Fatah charter does not call for the elimination of Israel. Israel plans to relocate the separation barrier at the site of nonviolent protests. Palestinians are divided in supporting the Egyptian and Algerian soccer teams. Gaza fishermen defy dangers. The Jordan Times backs PM Fayyad's warning on peace, and Daoud Kuttab says Jerusalem is the key. Hani Almadhoun says Hamas benefits from the siege of Gaza.

The Upsides of the Siege for Hamas: An Honest Assessment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Hani Almadhoun - (Blog) January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Spending more than four months in Gaza with not much to do but observe the situation on the ground, I interacted with the Palestinian people in Gaza, listened to Israeli jets fly over, noticed minimal Israeli military campaigns against Hamas, and did not see nor hear news of any significant homemade rockets. One cannot help but conclude that there is a sort of unspoken ceasefire between Hamas, the local ruling party, and the Israelis.

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At the centre of peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

As negotiators and politicians wonder who needs to do what before moving, it is clear that all good minds and good people should focus on one issue: how to resolve the conflict over Jerusalem. If the 1980s and 1990s witnessed a relatively nonviolent first Palestinian uprising and a breakthrough mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel, the first 10 years of the third millennium were violent and destructive. The decades-long hard work and sacrifice of Palestinians, Israelis and international supporters of peace evaporated almost overnight.

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Where the problem lies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is right to warn Europeans that the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, such as it is, is headed for failure. He is also absolutely right in his prescription. Israel is not serious about finding an equitable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; until such time, talks are pointless. Moreover, while building the institutions of state is an important task and one that Europeans have been particularly keen on supporting, it is not an alternative to ending the occupation. This is a message that Europeans would do well to heed.

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Gaza fishermen risk lives for survival
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Erin Cunningham - January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

While the rest of the Gaza Strip is deep in slumber, Fathi Sayadi, 30, and his brother, Hatem, 26, steal away under the cover of darkness and into neighbouring Egyptian waters. Using small, dinghy-style boats purchased especially for their covert missions, the Sayadis slip across the border with Egypt, returning to the Gaza Strip with their contraband just before dawn.

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