Life Without Water a Growing Threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Eva Bartlett - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

"Everything will be affected: drinking and washing water, sewage and sanitation, hospitals, schools and children," says Ahmed al-Amrain, head of power information at the Palestinian Energy and National Resources Authority (PENRA). The Israeli Electric Company provides 60 percent of the Strip's needs, paid by Palestinian customs taxes collected by the Israeli authorities. Gaza buys 5 percent from Egypt and tries to generate the remaining 35 percent at Gaza's sole power plant, maimed by the 2006 Israeli bombing and destruction of its six transformers.

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NEWS: The US says it's “disappointed” by new Israeli settlement plans. Another Palestinian militant is killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. Rockets are fired into southern Israel. Israel closes a ramp leading to holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. Deputy FM Ayalon calls UNRWA "morally and politically unacceptable." Many Israelis are deeply embarrassed by FM Lieberman's latest controversial statements. The Palestinian flag is raised at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. A Palestinian man is badly wounded by occupation forces during a West Bank protest. Reports continue to suggest Hamas is trying to relocate its headquarters from Damascus. An appellate court has upheld the convictions in the “Holy Land Foundation” case. Gaza continues to face serious shortages of water. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says PM Netanyahu is setting himself up as the only possible leader of Israel. Ha'aretz says hard-line nationalism is isolating Israel. Stuart Weiss says religious extremism is harming Israel and the Jewish people. JJ Goldberg says Amb. Gutman was only telling the truth. Saleh Abdel Jawad says Israel doesn't want to undermine the Jordanian regime. Carlo Strenger says Israel has apparently decided to no longer be a Western state. Muath Al Wari says Palestine remains a central issue for most Arabs. Jeffrey Goldberg says a one-state arrangement will only lead to more conflict and two states are the only real solution. Scott Clement thinks Israel will not be a big factor in the 2012 election.

Appeals court upholds convictions in Holy Land Foundation case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
December 8, 2011 - 1:00am

NEW YORK (JTA) -- A U.S. appeals court upheld the convictions of five Holy Land Foundation organizers on charges of conspiring to send money to Hamas. The ruling was handed down Wednesday by a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Texas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation had its assets frozen by the Bush administration in December 2001. The Islamic charity and five defendants were found guilty in 2008 on charges of funneling money to Hamas.

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Arab World: Searching for a new home?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

There, Hamas came out in support of the demonstrators and even urged them to topple their leaders. Hamas was the first Palestinian group to welcome the downfall of Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Ghaddafi. With Syria, however, Hamas has found itself in a delicate situation. On the one hand, Hamas can’t afford to voice support for those who are seeking to overthrow a regime that has been hosting and backing the movement for more than two decades.

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Palestinian seriously wounded at West Bank protest by Israeli forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian demonstrator was seriously wounded on Friday when he was apparently hit by a teargas canister fired by Israeli security forces in the West Bank. The incident occurred during the weekly demonstration in the village of Nabi Saleh. Preliminary details indicate that security forces fired teargas at demonstrators who were protesting the alleged takeover of a nearby spring by Israeli settlers. One demonstrator was shot in the head at close range by a teargas canister and began to bleed. He was rushed to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.


Does Israel matter in 2012?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Scott Clement - (Opinion) December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

President Obama and Republicans have repeatedly clashed over policy towards Israel, incited most recently by comments from the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, who argued that some anti-Semitism was rooted in territorial tensions between Israel and its neighbors. On Wednesday, Republican presidential hopefuls looked to court Jewish supporters at a forum held by the Republican Jewish Coalition. The entire hubbub raises a critical question: How important is Israel as a voting issue?

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UNESCO to raise Palestinian flag
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- UNESCO will raise the Palestinian flag at its Paris headquarters on Tuesday to mark the admission of Palestine as a full member, a press statement said on Wednesday. President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki will preside over the ceremony with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, it said. UNESCO voted to admit Palestine as a member on Oct. 31. which triggered a funding cut by the United States, the largest contributor to the UN cultural agency.

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Peter Beinart Is Right—or, a One-State Solution Is Inevitable if Settlements Continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

A number of Goldblog readers have forwarded me this video of Peter Beinart speaking at the recent General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. These readers are critical of Peter's assertion that Israel is, in essence, forcing a one-state solution on itself by continuing the occupation and settlement of the West Bank. I watched the video, and, alas, I don't find much to dispute with what Peter says. This isn't the easiest thing for me to acknowledge; I disagree with much of Peter's Middle East political analysis, and I disagree with many of his peacemaking suggestions.

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Israel mortified over Lieberman's latest gaffe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli officials were squirming in embarrassment on Friday over remarks by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman after he described Russia's contested parliamentary elections as "free and democratic." Lieberman's comments, which were reported by Russian news agency Itar-Tass, come as Moscow struggles with a wave of protests over allegations of vote rigging in Sunday's elections. Top world diplomats have also expressed grave concerns over the outcome of the vote, which observers say was marred by widespread irregularities.

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Israel deputy FM: UNRWA 'morally, politically unacceptable'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel's deputy foreign minister accused the UN agency for Palestinian refugees of perpetuating Palestine's conflict with Israel, in a speech at the UN refugee headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported. Calling UNRWA "morally and politically unacceptable," Danny Ayalon said the UN applied double standards by not resettling Palestinian refugees through its central body for refugees, UNCHR, and creating the separate Palestinian refugee agency.

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