February 18th

Israel Supreme Court rules Hebron Jews can't reclaim lands lost after 1948
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - February 18, 2011 - 1:00am

The Jewish community in Hebron celebrated this week the decision of Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar to fund Jewish heritage trips for students to the city’s Tomb of the Patriarchs. But last week, the community suffered a setback when the Supreme Court ruled that Jews could not be given property which belonged to them in the city before 1948, and that they are also not entitled to be given any compensation for it.

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UN set to vote on settlement resolution; U.S. set to veto
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - February 18, 2011 - 1:00am

The UN Security Council is expected to vote today on a resolution brought by the Arab states and the Palestinian Authority declaring the Jewish settlements in the West Bank illegal and an obstacle to a two-state solution. The United States is expected to veto the resolution, its first such action since President Barack Obama took office two years ago.

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Israel sees benefits from Mideast turmoil
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn, Yuan Zhenyu - February 18, 2011 - 1:00am

After the overthrow of the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, mass anti-government protests erupted across the Middle East. Analysts told Xinhua that the recent turmoil in the region seems to be bad news for Israel at first glance, but in the long term the situation could work to its advantage. NEW REALITY The single most important event from an Israeli point of view over the last month was the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was viewed as a strong ally during his 30-year rule.

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Palestinians say U.S. presents new ideas to revive Mideast peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 18, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian leadership will meet Friday in the West Bank to discuss new U.S. ideas aimed at reviving peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, sources said Thursday. President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization and the Central Committee of his Fatah movement for an urgent meeting to discuss the ideas, the sources said. The sources said they do not have details about the new ideas, while Palestinian officials contacted by Xinhua refused to comment.

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Abbas: National vote must include Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 17, 2011 - 1:00am

Elections must be held simultaneously in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday. It is "not acceptable to hold them in the West Bank only," Abbas said. At a news conference alongside President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta, Abbas said efforts would be made to ensure that the vote could go forward by September in all Palestinian areas. Last week, the Palestinian Authority announced it would hold presidential and legislative elections by September. A local election is also scheduled to take place on July 9.

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Crusades redux: Will Jerusalem soon be surrounded by hostile Islamists?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Walter Rodgers - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am

The other night I found myself dreaming, drifting simultaneously through two parallel worlds, 800 years apart. In the first vision, I was on the ramparts of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in July 1187. News came in from Galilee that the Crusader Armies had been decimated by the overwhelming Muslim forces of the great Sultan Saladin at the Battle of Hattin. Jerusalem, already an island in an angry, surging Muslim sea, was about to be totally engulfed.

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Hamas sees opportunity in change in Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - February 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Egypt's revolution brought sudden and unintended freedom to Ayman Nofal. During the chaos in Cairo, the senior Hamas commander broke out of an Egyptian jail with thousands of other prisoners, traversed the Sinai desert in a series of getaway cars, crawled through a smuggling tunnel at the border and emerged back home in the Gaza Strip to a hero's welcome. Now Nofal has one thing on his mind. "I'm anxious to get back to fighting Israel," the 37-year-old Palestinian militant said in his Nuseirat refugee camp home, surrounded by several of his six children and a plastic flower bouquet.

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WEST BANK: Obama calls Mahmoud Abbas, who calls for urgent leadership meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am

On the eve of a planned United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, President Obama called his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday to discuss the measure. Palestinian sources said Obama tried to dissuade Abbas from proceeding with the resolution, which the U.S. strongly opposes on grounds that it will obstruct efforts to resume Palestinian-Israeli negotiations suspended since September.

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WEST BANK: Obama calls Mahmoud Abbas, who calls for urgent leadership meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am

On the eve of a planned United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, President Obama called his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday to discuss the measure. Palestinian sources said Obama tried to dissuade Abbas from proceeding with the resolution, which the U.S. strongly opposes on grounds that it will obstruct efforts to resume Palestinian-Israeli negotiations suspended since September.

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February 17th

Israeli troops kill three Palestinians near the Gaza border. Palestinians seek international recognition. Israel organizes field trips for students to the West Bank. A Fatah official warns that Israel is exploiting international focus on Egypt to build settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, and Pres. Abbas says the Armenian quarter will be part of Palestine. An Israeli human rights group says Israel is not restraining settler violence. Jordan says a murderer of Israelis will serve a life term. PLO officials say elections can go ahead without Hamas. Jordan calls for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks. PM Netanyahu faces international criticism. The US urges Palestinians to drop a UN resolution on settlements, and may be proposing a statement instead. Larry Derfner says Israel must reach out to the Arab world. Palestinians are largely quiet as unrest grips the Arab world. The Arab News says Israel fears change.

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