November 6th

Court addresses fumes, moving Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yonah Jeremy Bob - November 6, 2012 - 1:00am The High Court of Justice on Monday held another hearing in which settlers say Palestinians around Wadi Ara are harming them with the fumes created through coal production, while the Palestinians say that the settlers are just trying to force them off their land. » Read more

Russia FM: Hamas can play vital role in advancing Palestinian issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - November 5, 2012 - 1:00am Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the Palestinian issue must remain a top priority and should not be neglected as a result of the upheavals of the Arab Spring. Speaking after a meeting with the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, in Cairo, Lavrov clarified that Moscow thinks Hamas can play an important role in advancing the Palestinian issue. "We believe the Palestinian issue cannot be solved without Palestinian unity, and the same goes for solving the entire Middle East conflict." » Read more

Hamas denies preventing Fatah official from leaving Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 6, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Ministry of Interior in Gaza on Tuesday denied reports that security forces had prevented a Fatah official from leaving the Gaza Strip a day earlier, a statement said. Central committee member Amal Hamad waited at the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing for two hours before she was turned back, Fatah said on Monday. » Read more

Teacher strike closes West Bank schools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The teachers union undertook large scale strike action on Tuesday, forcing most schools in the West Bank to close for the day. The union had announced Saturday that it would hold half-day strikes for two weeks, blaming the Palestinian Authority government for ignoring their salary demands. Union head Muhammad Sowan had told Ma'an that school teachers would leave at 12 p.m. each day starting Sunday, and on Tuesdays teachers would not go into work at all. » Read more

3 Israeli soldiers wounded in bombing on Gaza border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 6, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Three Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were wounded in a bombing by Palestinian militants along the southern Gaza border early Tuesday. The IDF said in a statement sent to Xinhua that one of the soldiers sustained moderate wounds and the other two were hurt lightly in the blast, which took place near Kibbutz Nirim. » Read more

Turkish court tries Israelis in Gaza flotilla case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press November 6, 2012 - 1:00am ISTANBUL —A Turkish court on Tuesday opened a trial in absentia of four former Israeli military commanders in the killing of nine people aboard a Turkish aid ship that tried to break a Gaza blockade. Prosecutors have demanded life in prison for several officers in command at the time of the 2010 Israeli raid, but it appears unlikely that any sentence could be carried out. » Read more

Syria shutters Hamas offices in break with group ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press November 6, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —A spokesman for Hamas says the Syrian government has sealed its offices in Damascus, finalizing the break between the Islamic militant group and its former patron. Spokesman Ayman Taha said on Tuesday that the move had been expected after Hamas openly switched sides to support the armed rebellion against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Taha says Monday's move by Damascus was "a result of our siding with the Syrian people in their just struggle." Taha spoke from Cairo. » Read more

Israel moves ahead building of 1,200 settler homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - November 6, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that it was pushing forward with construction of more than 1,200 new homes in Jewish settlements, in an apparent warning to the Palestinians to rethink their plan to ask the United Nations to recognize an independent state of Palestine. » Read more

Senior Israeli ministers to discuss 'retaliatory actions' against Palestinians over UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - November 6, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's forum of nine senior ministers will meet on Tuesday to discuss the Palestinian Authority's decision to request an upgrade of its status at the United Nations. During the meeting, the country's most senior ministers will consider a range of retaliatory actions against the Palestinian leadership, an official in Jerusalem said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to request the United Nations General Assembly to upgrade Palestine's status to "non-member observer state" during November. » Read more

Israel preparing to ‘ensure collapse’ of Palestinian U.N. bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) November 6, 2012 - 1:00am Israel is preparing to counter a Palestinian bid for enhanced United Nations status later this month, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP on Tuesday. The comments came as Israel’s private Channel 10 reported that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman last month pledged to ensure the “collapse” of the Palestinian Authority if the bid for non-member status at the General Assembly goes forward. » Read more