March 3rd

Escalation with Gaza will likely be contained within a few days ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - February 25, 2011 - 1:00am The extraordinary tension along the border with the Gaza Strip, which included the unusual launching of a Grad-type Katyusha at Be'er Sheva on Wednesday, appears now to have been a minor incident and not some sort of strategic turning point. » Read more

Gaza Strip banks close in protest of Hamas cash seizure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 3, 2011 - 1:00am Banks in the Gaza Strip closed on Thursday in protest against Hamas's seizure of $250,000 in cash in a dispute between the Islamist movement that runs the enclave and its West Bank rival, the Palestinian Authority. A banking official said Hamas police went to the Palestine Investment Bank on Wednesday and demanded the money from the account of the PA-backed Palestine Investment Fund, which Hamas alleged had been illegally transferring money out of Gaza. The PIF said its withdrawals from the bank were legitimate. » Read more

Palestinians reject Israeli interim plans for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 2, 2011 - 1:00am A senior Palestinian official on Wednesday announced rejection of any Israeli proposal for interim or partial solutions to the stalled peace process. The Palestinians only want the end of the Israeli occupation in the areas that were occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and a fair solution to the issue of refugees, said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee. » Read more

Mideast turmoil may boost Israeli-Syrian negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Editorial) March 2, 2011 - 1:00am The prospect of restarting the suspended peace negotiations between Israel and Syria may be advanced by the current unrest in the Middle East. Earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is willing to reach out to Israel, he will find a willing partner for negotiations. Barak's remarks came a few days after it was revealed that the United States Senator John Kerry had been working with Assad over the last couple of months on a plan to renew the negotiations. » Read more

Hamas: Fayyad unity plan 'born dead' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 3, 2011 - 1:00am Political adviser to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan to create a new unity cabinet was "born dead, it is of no political value." In a government statement, Yousef Rizqa said Hamas officials never received information on Fayyad's plan, splashed across Palestinian newspapers, which said the re-appointed prime minister was consulting with Hamas members in an effort to bring the party into a new government body ahead of national and municipal elections set for September and June respectively. » Read more

Gaza banks strike after robbery, demand money back ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 3, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian Monetary Authority announced Thursday that all banks in Gaza would close on Thursday, following the perpetration of a robbery by unknown gunmen who stole cash from the Palestine Investment Bank in Gaza City. PMA officials did not report the amount of cash taken from the bank, but said the financial institutions would remain closed until the funds were returned. A statement from the body condemned the robbery, saying the use of weapons against the people of Gaza was unacceptable. The PMA "resents, denounces and condemns the attack," the statement said. » Read more

Right-wing Israelis, settlers 'rage' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 3, 2011 - 1:00am Following a string of protests and vandalism in the West Bank, right-wing Israelis and settlers blocked the road to Jerusalem with burning tires, and closed down train tracks to the country's airport on Thursday, in what was billed as a "day of rage." Israeli news organizations said police evacuated protesters from highway 1 after a brief closure of the main artery, with the daily newspaper Haaretz saying that in Jerusalem, tires were set alight in a separate protest action. The English news site Ynet noted that no arrests had been made. » Read more

Israel closes Gaza commercial crossing, leaving just one ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - March 3, 2011 - 1:00am After agreeing last year to relax its blockade around the Gaza Strip, Israel moved Wednesday to tighten the security cordon by permanently closing what was once its largest commercial crossing point. Israeli military officials cited unspecified security concerns for the closure and promised that all goods that would have passed through at the Karni crossing, southeast of Gaza City, would go through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, the last operational commercial crossing, which is about 21 miles to the southwest at the point where Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip meet. » Read more

Israelis Float an Interim Peace Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am There were signs on Wednesday of a new effort to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after months of stagnation, but chances of a resumption of talks looked slim, and Israel appeared to be stepping back from the stated goal of reaching a framework agreement resolving the core issues of the conflict by September. Instead of a final accord on Palestinian statehood by fall, Israel is now floating the idea of an interim arrangement as a step toward a two-state solution, even without Palestinian agreement. » Read more

The Palestinians' Long Wait in Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Josh Wood - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am Lebanon hands out and renews hundreds of thousands of work permits every year to people from Africa, Asia and other Arab countries. But until now, only a handful have been given to the country’s large Palestinian refugee population. Six months ago, the Lebanese government was internationally applauded for passing legislation granting the Palestinian population the right to work. But real changes remain to be seen. » Read more