Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Indictment on Lesser Charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s blunt-talking and polarizing foreign minister, will be charged with breach of trust but not with fraud and money laundering, prosecutors announced Thursday, ending an investigation lasting years and throwing a curve into Israel’s coming elections. |
Truce brings extra gleam to Gaza marketplace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The horizon of the claustrophobic Gaza Strip stretches further out to sea after a bloody eight-day battle last month and its main market gleams with extra supplies of locally-caught fish. In a low-key move it has yet to acknowledge, Israel moved a naval blockade it imposed in 2009 back to six miles (10 km) from the Palestinian enclave's coast from three on Nov 23, two days after signing an Egypt-brokered truce with Gaza's Hamas rulers. |
Hamas announces second day of West Bank rallies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 14, 2012 - 1:00am TULKAREM (Ma'an) -- Hamas will hold rallies in the West Bank on Friday in the second day of its celebrations to mark the movement's 25th anniversary. On Thursday, thousands turned out in Nablus to celebrate the founding of Hamas, the first time Hamas was authorized to hold a mass political event in the West Bank by the Fatah-dominated government. |
Hamas subdued despite Gaza victory claim-Israeli military
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - December 14, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Israel's offensive on Gaza has deterred Hamas from new hostilities despite its claims of victory and the front is now at its quietest in 20 years, a senior Israeli military officer said. Vastly lopsided shelling exchanges over eight days killed 170 Palestinians and 6 Israelis before the Nov. 21 truce brokered by Egypt. |
In Step Toward Palestinian Unity, Hamas Holds Rally in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am NABLUS, West Bank — Hundreds of men and boys sporting the signature green of the militant Hamas faction marched through the narrow alleys of the old city here on Thursday afternoon, calling for Palestinian unity but also renewed attacks on Israeli cities, in the first public demonstration by the Islamist party allowed in the West Bank in years. |
Hamas Gains Allure in Gaza, but Money Is a Problem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY — Hamas has been riding high of late, after its professed victory in the recent conflict with Israel and the overthrow last year of Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, an avowed enemy. |
Gaza conflict deters Bethlehem Christmas pilgrims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Tim Hume - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am CNN) -- Authorities in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem are hoping it won't be a silent night this Christmas Eve, following a spate of tourist cancellations due to recent violence in Gaza. The West Bank town of around 29,000 people, eight kilometers (five miles) south of Jerusalem, contains the Church of the Nativity, venerated by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus. |
Palestinian anti-corruption body gets boost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Kafah Zaboun - December 12, 2012 - 1:00am Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat - Rafik Natsheh, head of the Palestinian anti-corruption body, has stated that his organization will now resume its pursuit of corrupt government figures who have fled abroad. Given that Palestine has obtained non-member observer status at the United Nations, the anti-corruption body has the right to pursue corrupt fugitives who have court judgments issued against them. |
Rooftop gardens provide food and hope for cash-strapped Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am DHEISHEH, WEST BANK // High in the sky above a narrow, noisy and congested street in this West Bank refugee camp is a veritable paradise of green, shade and quiet. Throat-burning exhaust, blaring horns and clinging dust seem to choke the life from the Palestinians navigating the street below. But atop this overcrowded, dilapidated apartment block is a garden that bursts with cucumbers, bell peppers and strawberries - and hope. |