NEWS: Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are meeting this week to try to revive peace talks, but this time the US is not playing a central role. Palestinian leaders say their policies will depend on the outcome of the talks with Israel. Hamas leader Haniyyeh is visiting Turkey on the first leg of a wider regional tour. The Israeli government is preparing to deal with court orders to dismantle “unauthorized” settlement outposts. Hamas leaders in Gaza say nonviolent resistance does not apply there. Palestinian anti-corruption officials are reportedly looking into foreign bank accounts. Pres. Assad may meet with Hamas leaders in Damascus. Israel revokes the amnesty granted to the co-founder of a theater in Jenin. Israel announces 230 additional settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. COMMENTARY: In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, PM Fayyad says Palestinians have proven they are ready for independence. Arron David Miller says PM Netanyahu and Pres. Obama do not like or trust each other. Ron Gilran says Israel may be closer to another large-scale military operation in Gaza. Shimon Shiffer says Israel has a peace partner even if national narratives are not compatible. H.D.S. Greenway says the occupation is Israel's tragedy. Barak Ravid says the Israeli right wing is deliberately suppressing the truth about Palestinian-Israeli demographics. Musa Keilani welcomes European pressure on Israel. Rami Khouri says Palestinian national unity is essential in 2012. Nida' Tuma says Palestinian women are increasingly demanding equal rights in their society.

Fight for Palestinian women’s rights takes on a new dimension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Nida' Tuma - (Opinion) January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

A Facebook page with nearly 2000 members has recently attracted the attention of the Palestinian public and media. "Puzzled young women" is becoming an important arena in the debate on women's rights in the Palestinian territories, a debate which previously lacked one essential element: Dialogue with proponents of a more traditional role for women.

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A critical moment for Palestinian unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) December 31, 2011 - 1:00am

What event this month is likely to reverberate across the Middle East most clearly next year? My prediction is that it will be the continued attempts by the leading Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, to reconstitute a unified national leadership and government. If this initiative succeeds in holding elections for a new parliament and government, it will soon generate a more coherent Palestinian strategy for dealing with Israel. This in turn will allow democratic and legitimate Arab leaderships to harness public support for the Palestinian cause in a more credible and effective manner.

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Lieberman’s fury
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) January 1, 2012 - 1:00am

It is an understatement to say that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is hopping mad at some of his European counterparts because of their objective observations about Israel’s practices and policies against not only the Palestinians living under its occupation but also its own Arab citizens.

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Israel's right-wing is trying to stifle the reality of Palestinian demographics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Blog) January 2, 2012 - 1:00am

Every year, in almost every country, government reports detailing statistics and demographics of the country's citizens are published during the last week of December. The reports detail how many babies were born that year and how many people died. Some of those reports are turned into semi-comic articles on the back page of the newspaper, or discussed on current event radio programs, and sometimes they are simply thrown to the wastebasket.

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Israel’s modern tragedy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by H.D.S. Greenway - (Opinion) January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

IN THE last days of the dying year, Israel’s foreign office issued a sharp rebuke to the European nations on the UN Security Council, accusing them of “interfering with Israel’s domestic affairs.’’ Britain, France, Germany, and Portugal had pointed to the upsurge in violence against the Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, and called upon Israel to reverse its settlement policies. The Europeans are part of the “quartet’’ of peacemakers, made up of the United States, Europe, Russia, and the UN.

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Israel has a partner
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Shimon Shiffer - (Opinion) December 28, 2011 - 1:00am

Officials at the Prime Minister’s Office are again angry at Mahmoud Abbas. Did I say angry? I meant stunned. The Palestinian leader met in Turkey last week with Amna Muna, who was involved in the murder of teenager Ophir Rahum. “Those who make pretenses of making peace with Israel are going all the way to Turkey to meet a despicable murderer,” Netanyahu’s office charged. Well said.

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Moving closer to Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ron Gilran - (Opinion) January 1, 2012 - 1:00am

Tensions in southern Israel remain high after the Air Force targeted an Islamic Jihad cell Friday as it prepared to fire a rocket into Israel, the latest incident in a string of tit-for-tat attacks in recent days.

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Bibi and Barack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) January 2, 2012 - 1:00am

Barack Obama has an Israel problem. Almost three years in, the president still can't decide whether he wants to pander to the Israeli prime minister or pressure him. The approach of the 2012 elections makes the former almost mandatory; the president's reelection may make the latter possible. Buckle your seat belts. Unless Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu find a way to cooperate on a big venture that makes both of them look good, and in a way that allows each to invest in the other, the U.S.-Israel relationship may be in for a bumpy ride.

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Interview with Salam Fayyad: To Act and Not to Fall
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth
by Nahum Barnea - (Interview) December 30, 2011 - 1:00am

One of the few privileges enjoyed by an Israeli journalist is the privilege to drive to Ramallah in his car. Going to Ramallah is going abroad while remaining close to home. For Christmas and New Year, its main streets are lit with colored lights: Red, blue and golden. On Wednesday evening, the city was very quiet. The cars did not honk their horns. The muezzins did not issue calls for prayer. One of the members of the Fatah leadership called for a third Intifada in a gathering in Ramallah, but his words were carried away by the wind. This week belongs completely to Santa.

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