January 28th

A film-maker's eye on the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Peter Kosminsky - January 28, 2011 - 1:00am It's April 1988, about five in the morning, 40km outside Kabul in Afghanistan. I'm taking shelter in a scrape in the rock, flattening my cheek against the cold surface, semi-automatic gunfire and the concussion of departing mortars beating in my ears. In theory, I'm making a documentary about young Soviet army conscripts in Afghanistan. In reality, I've been marooned on this "zastava", or mountain outpost, for days. The 17-year-old kids, who are the heroes of our documentary, fire back at the attacking mujahideen, in the grip of a kind of hyper-bravado. » Read more

Israel has never had better peace partner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 27, 2011 - 1:00am Former US president Bill Clinton on Thursday urged Israel to make peace with the Arabs, saying the Jewish state will never have a better partner than the current Palestinian leadership. Clinton spoke for an hour before an adoring audience of global leaders from business, government and academia at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. » Read more

Israel’s apartheid image ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Gadi Taub - (Opinion) January 28, 2011 - 1:00am Just before going through passport control at Ben-Gurion airport, one sees a stand with small brochures packed with some basic, catchy information about Israel. These booklets are meant to equip Israelis traveling abroad with some flattering anecdotes and fundamental facts to help them improve Israel’s image overseas. » Read more

Palestine papers spotlight surprisingly serious Mideast peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - January 28, 2011 - 1:00am The diplomatic archive made public thanks to Al Jazeera and the Guardian documents talks held between Israel's Kadima government and the Palestinian Authority, and exposes in detail the positions put forward by the two sides before negotiations were aborted by Operation Cast Lead in Gaza and the advent of a new government in Jerusalem. Ma’aleh Adumim » Read more

Israel should focus on Mideast peace, not Iran's nukes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) January 28, 2011 - 1:00am When in June 1981 the Israel Air Force bombed the nuclear reactor under construction in Iraq, opinions about the operation were divided. This writer thought that Menachem Begin, the prime minister and defense minister at the time, was at his best. Others considered it a mistake because Iraq would neither forgive nor forget, and at the first opportunity would bomb Israel. This “opportunity” really did present itself 10 years later, when the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait led to Operation Desert Storm, led by the United States and its allies. Iraq launched 39 Scud missiles at Israel. » Read more

Hezbollah agents entering Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - January 27, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's minister of strategic affairs said Thursday the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group has infiltrated agents into the Gaza Strip to train Palestinian militants. Gaza is ruled by the Hamas militant group, which, like Hezbollah, is sworn to Israel's destruction. The minister, Moshe Yaalon, Israel's former military chief of staff, told reporters that "Hezbollah experts can get into the Gaza Strip, like the Iranian rockets are coming to the Gaza Strip." He said Hezbollah militants can go from Lebanon to Sudan, then to Egypt and on to Gaza. » Read more

Leaks deepen Palestinian split ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - (Analysis) January 28, 2011 - 1:00am If an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal seemed remote before, it looks downright unattainable after a stormy week of leaks of confidential Mideast protocols by Al-Jazeera TV. The disclosures hurt the credibility of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas among his people, weakening him as a leader. They deepened the chasm between him and Hamas, distancing already faint hopes of restoring Palestinian unity as the Islamic militants burned him in effigy and branded him a traitor. » Read more

Israelis act out Palestinian independence push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - January 27, 2011 - 1:00am An Israeli simulation of reactions to the Palestinian push to declare independence concluded on Thursday that it would isolate and divide Israel but that big powers would not rush to recognise a state declared unilaterally. The gathering of academics and ex-officials, playing key political roles, saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambling to calm rightists in his government while Washington urged accelerated peace talks as an alternative to U.N. approval of "Palestine" within 1967 borders. » Read more

Little recourse for victims of gender-based violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 28, 2011 - 1:00am Gender-based violence in the occupied Palestinian territory remains at epidemic levels, according to UN agencies, local NGOs and women, while victims lack legal recourse and often face a family backlash for reporting crimes. The number of sexual assault cases reported from 2006 to 2009 increased more than seven times, while the number of attempted murder cases [of women] increased five times, according to the Palestinian Authority women's affairs ministry. The figures do not including numerous cases of drowning and falling in which a family member was responsible for the incident. » Read more

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ramallah resigns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 27, 2011 - 1:00am The Ramallah correspondent for Al-Jazeera International resigned Wednesday, Ma'an has learned. Nour Odeh was the English-language network's first reporter in the occupied Palestinian territories. She joined in 2006. Odeh declined to comment on her departure. Al-Jazeera International did not return calls. » Read more