February 1st

Palestinian Cabinet in West Bank says it will hold municipal elections 'as soon as possible' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 1, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian Cabinet in West Bank says it will hold municipal elections "as soon as possible."

PA accuses Hamas of selling donated medicine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 1, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry on Monday accused its counterpart in the Gaza Strip of selling donated medical aid to private pharmacies. The Ramallah-based ministry said five convoys had delivered almost 1,600 tons of medical aid to the coastal enclave so far in 2011. However, only a few tons of the donated medicine reached the PA ministry's warehouse in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said in a statement. » Read more

2 Gaza rockets explode in Israeli towns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 31, 2011 - 1:00am The Israeli military says two rockets fired from Gaza have exploded in Israeli towns. No one was hurt, but there was some damage. The attacks came a few minutes apart late Monday. One rocket hit Netivot, 9 miles (14 kilometers) east of Gaza, and the second exploded in Ofakim, 15 miles (25 kilometers) from Gaza. The military says the range indicates the rockets were Grads. Israel charges that Iran supplies Gaza militants with Grads. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. » Read more

Movement for equality ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Elad Smorzik - January 2, 2011 - 1:00am On the pale parquet floor of the Rabeah Murkus Dance Studio in Kfar Yassif a few students are warming up to a backdrop of purple walls and a decorated Christmas tree. After Murkus hustles the last of the lingerers in the dressing room, samba music starts coming through the loudspeakers and the lesson in modern dance begins. Couple by couple, the youngsters bound along the length and breadth of the space, energetically carving the air. » Read more

Palestinian media mum on Egypt protests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Nasser Laham - February 1, 2011 - 1:00am Silence prevailed, from the Palestinian Authority, the government in Gaza, the factions and the people; all kept a safe distance from the Egyptian hot potato for fear that coming out on the wrong side would impact their future. » Read more

ISRAEL: Is the U.S. attitude to Egypt a message? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Blog) January 31, 2011 - 1:00am The U.S. position on Egypt has taken Israel by surprise and left people wondering what the Americans are doing and what this means for other allies in the region, including Israel. » Read more

For Palestinians, Egyptian Unrest Is Bittersweet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - January 31, 2011 - 1:00am Ordinary people cheer on protestors, but Hamas and Fatah are both hesitant to take sides Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank expressed both hope and anxiety as unrest went into its seventh day in Egypt, a country that has acted as a lifeline to besieged Gaza and a patron to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank but also as the object of anger and resentment. » Read more

EGYPT AND ISRAEL: Israel approves first Egyptian military deployment in Sinai since 1979 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - (Blog) January 31, 2011 - 1:00am Responding to a request from Egypt, Israel has approved the deployment of Egyptian troops in Sinai amid civil unrest in Egypt. According to news reports, two battalions -- about 800 soldiers -- are headed for the resort of Sharm el Sheik. This is a first since the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, which limits the security presence in Sinai to police forces. » Read more

Israel Denies Sending Egypt Riot Equipment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward January 31, 2011 - 1:00am Israel has denied an Al Jazeera report that Egypt had requested Israel to send riot-dispersal gear and that two airplanes had landed in Cairo with the equipment. Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday denied both that Egypt had made the request and that Israel had sent the equipment. Some 250,000 protesters gathered Monday in Tahrir Square in Cairo as Egypt entered its seventh day of protests against the government of President Hosni Mubarak. » Read more

Israel's human rights abuses in the name of security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Janan Abdu - January 31, 2011 - 1:00am "Israeli security" is the sacred cow of the Israeli street and ruling establishment. Practically all the manifestations of Israeli racism directed at the state's Palestinian citizens, as well as those living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, fall within this elastic slogan. In the name of this slogan, too, Israeli human rights organisations working to expose the practices of the state and army have recently had restrictions placed upon them. » Read more