January 28th

Algeria v Egypt clash is dividing Palestinian supporters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - January 27, 2010 - 1:00am It may only be a football game and it does not even involve their own team. Even so, Palestinians will be eagerly awaiting the Algeria versus Egypt clash tonight in the semi-final of the African Cup of Nations, and support will be divided and highly partisan. The game is a repeat of the two countries’ highly charged World Cup qualification games two months ago, when violence flared causing Egypt to withdraw its ambassador from Algeria. The two countries have since mended relations, but a footballing rivalry that dates back decades will not be quelled so easily. » Read more

Israelis To Move Security Barrier At Site of Palestinian Protests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - January 27, 2010 - 1:00am Two-and-a-half years after a Supreme Court order, Israel’s army is preparing to adjust the route of the long security barrier it has constructed on the West Bank at a key flashpoint where a fence cuts off Palestinian villagers from their own land. » Read more

New Fatah charter omits language on Israel’s demise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) January 27, 2010 - 1:00am The new Fatah charter maintains a militant tone but emphasizes democratization and omits language in earlier documents that called for Israel's destruction. The office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence translated the document that emerged from Fatah's council in Bethlehem last summer, and Secrecy News, a project of the Federation of American Scientists watchdog group, obtained a copy and published it Wednesday. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: Segregation blues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) January 27, 2010 - 1:00am I spent the day in Nazareth recently, doing a story about Israeli Arabs in hi-tech, and when I got in the car with the (Jewish) photographer to leave, I said to him, "Isn't it a relief to talk to Arabs as regular people?" He smiled in agreement. » Read more

Gaza key power plant could shut over money row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post January 27, 2010 - 1:00am A money dispute between the rival Palestinian governments is threatening to shut down Gaza's only power plant. The dispute pits the internationally backed government of the West Bank against Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers. The plant provides power to much of northern Gaza. The European Union used to pay for the plant's fuel as part of an aid package to the Palestinian Authority. However, the EU decided to start scaling back and said it wants the Palestinian Authority to find other ways to pay for the fuel. The Palestinian Authority demands that Hamas pay its share. » Read more

Renovated cinema to bring new life to Jenin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - January 28, 2010 - 1:00am Standing in the dusty, half-lit lobby of Cinema Jenin with paint splattered builders beavering away all around, it's hard to imagine that this venue was once the place to be on the Jenin social scene. The cinema in the centre of the West Bank city was first opened in 1957. But over the years, Jenin has seen some of the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and the cinema was eventually forced to close during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the mid 1980s. But now it is being renovated, and is due to re-open in August 2010. » Read more

Arab League chief presses for Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews January 28, 2010 - 1:00am Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Wednesday that if a Palestinian state is not established soon there will be a single state for Israelis and Palestinians. "We cannot just continue to raise the flag of two states living next to each other in peace," he told a panel on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. » Read more

Badge of terror ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am There is no way to describe the West Bank settlers' attack on the Palestinian village of Bitilu but as a well-planned terror attack. The settlers' "military" organization and violent resistance to the cabinet decision to destroy the illegal outpost of Givat Menachem, as described by Chaim Levinson in Haaretz yesterday, are no different from the activities of other terrorist organizations. » Read more

Holocaust remembrance is a boon for Israeli propaganda ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am Israel's bigwigs attacked at dawn on a wide front. The president in Germany, the prime minister with a giant entourage in Poland, the foreign minister in Hungary, his deputy in Slovakia, the culture minister in France, the information minister at the United Nations, and even the Likud party's Druze Knesset member, Ayoob Kara, in Italy. They were all out there to make florid speeches about the Holocaust. » Read more

Abbas: Palestinians will accept only Jerusalem as our capital ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 28, 2010 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Thursday that Palestinians would not accept any alternative to Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, despite other proposals. Abbas told Russian television that Jerusalem should not be divided and that there should be free passage for people of various faiths. The Palestinian leader added it must be made clear what belongs to the Palestinians and what belongs to Israel. » Read more