January 20th

Brigades claim fire on Israeli civilians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

A statement from the Gaza militant group the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades said Wednesday that fighters targeted a civilian Israeli vehicle traveling on the main road near the border and fired. The brigades, affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said the attack was against "three settler cars" near Kissufim, an Israeli military base north of Khan Younis, and that militants "opened fire directly" on the vehicles. The statement said the attack took place in the afternoon, and that injuries had been sustained by the cars' passengers.

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Palestine hopeful US won't use veto
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Member of the Palestinian negotiating committee Nabil Shaath told a French delegation Tuesday that he believed the US would have a hard time using their veto on a draft resolution submitted to the UN over Israeli settlement building. US officials, however, the same day warned at the United Nations that putting the resolution to a Security Council vote would "complicate" peace efforts. While the US has still not said though whether it would veto the measure, Israeli media has said indications are that the resolution will be quashed.

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Israel drops investigation into police shooting of Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli officials said Tuesday they were dropping a criminal probe of an Israeli border policeman who shot to death a Palestinian motorist after the man sideswiped a foot patrol of soldiers and then tried to escape when they opened fire. Justice Ministry officials described the incident as a "lethal and rapid chain of events that ended tragically with a man's death," but said in a statement that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

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Israeli human rights groups sound alarm over parliamentary panel on funding
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

An initiative in the Israeli parliament this month to investigate the funding of local human rights organizations has intensified debate here about the role of the groups, which rightist critics have accused of harming Israel. Human rights advocates say they are working in an increasingly hostile public climate - particularly since the Gaza war two years ago, which brought allegations of Israeli war crimes - and they warn that free speech and the right to dissent are being challenged.

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Israeli army to discharge soldier in mistaken killing of Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli army said Wednesday that it will discharge a soldier for fatally shooting a 66-year-old Palestinian man in his bed in the West Bank city of Hebron during an early-morning roundup of Hamas militants on Jan 7. The man, Omar al-Qawasmeh, was killed by special forces troops who apparently mistook him for a militant who lived in the same building. Qawasmeh's wife said he had been sleeping and she was praying when soldiers came to their bedroom and immediately opened fire.

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Israeli Soldier Discharged Over Killing of Unarmed Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli military announced Wednesday night that a soldier’s military career had been terminated after the fatal shooting of an unarmed 65-year-old Palestinian man in his bed during an arrest last week in the West Bank city of Hebron. Soldiers apparently mistook the man, Omar al-Qawasmeh, for a Hamas militant whom they had come to arrest, and who lived in an apartment in the same building.

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January 19th

Israel has a mixed blessing in the GOP midterm successes. Palestinians issue a report questioning the history of the Western Wall. Israel refuses to allow Palestinians to use a road they have built in Area C. Italian officials call for easing restrictions in Gaza. Occupation forces seize parts of Nablus. Islamists claim the PA is discriminating against them. A Gaza boy recalls being used as a human shield by Israeli troops. Israeli plans for a train line deep into occupied territory spurs Palestinian concerns. US efforts to restart peace talks stumble. DM Barak says the Israeli cabinet may have to change. Israel will allow limited exports from Gaza. Activists try to reenergize the Israeli left. AB Yehoshua says Zionism is not an ideology. Settler schools agitate against any settlement freeze. Israeli scholars say Jews are now a minority between the river and the sea. Two new books look at the refugee issue. Khaled Diab says the EU should pressure Israel on peace. The Forward says the proposed settlement freeze deal is bad for both Israel and the US. George Hishmeh says it's high time for the UN to include Palestine as a member state.

Memories and maps keep alive Palestinian hopes of return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - November 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Refugees remain the most intractable issue of the Middle East conflict, as two new books show A Palestinian girl at a refugee camp in Jordan. 1948 is a key date in Palestinian collective memory. Memories and maps feature prominently in the experience of Palestinians – a people scarred by dispossession, dispersion, occupation and profound uncertainty about their future. So amid the latest wrangling over the stalled peace talks with Israel come two sharp reminders of the depth of the conflict and how difficult it will be to resolve.

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'Jews now a minority between the River and the Sea'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Shefler - November 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Jews no longer constitute a majority in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, according to an expert on Jewish demographics. Prof. Sergio DellaPergola of the Hebrew University told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Jews – as defined by the government – now number less than half of the total population in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

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How the EU could entice Israel to seek peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Khaled Diab - November 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Making Europe's cosiness with Israel dependent on commitment to fair peace would be more effective than a blunt boycott In Israel, the European Union is often regarded as too pro-Palestinian. But it would be a mistake to see the occasional criticisms of Israel delivered by European politicians as a sign of anti-Israeli sentiment. It may come as a surprise, for instance, to learn that the EU – not the United States – is Israel's main trading partner, with a relationship worth a handsome €20bn (£17bn) per year.

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