December 7th

Canada frowns on Israel’s settlement expansion plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Canadian Jewish News by Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf - December 7, 2012 - 1:00am Canada believes Israel went too far when it declared its intent to build 3,000 new settlement units in a controversial tract of the West Bank in response to the Palestinians achieving non-member state status at the UN last week. » Read more

Germany's Merkel cautions ally Israel on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alexandra Hudson - December 6, 2012 - 1:00am BERLIN (Reuters) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to avoid "one-sided moves," amid uproar over Israeli plans to build 3,000 settler homes in a highly sensitive area of the West Bank. » Read more

Jordanian king carries U.S. assurances to Abbas: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian King Abdullah II conveyed U.S. assurances to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington will not allow a new Israeli settlement plan to pass, a Palestinian official said Thursday. » Read more

Rights group: Israeli strike on Gaza home unlawful ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - December 7, 2012 - 1:00am   JERUSALEM —  » Read more

Israel threatens to cancel Hamas truce if Islamic Jihad leaders enter Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 6, 2012 - 1:00am Members of Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad say Israel has warned the militant group's two top leaders against trying to enter the Gaza Strip this week. The pair had planned to visit Friday, along with Khaled Meshal the leader-in-exile of Hamas, Islamic Jihad's sister group. » Read more

Hitmen on hold, Israelis might talk to Meshaal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Crispian Balmer - December 6, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Israel once tried to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a botched assassination attempt on the streets of the Jordanian capital, Amman. » Read more

Hamas leader returns to Gaza with wider ambitions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Samia Nakhoul - December 7, 2012 - 1:00am Dec 7 (Reuters) - Fifteen years after Israel tried to assassinate him in Jordan, Islamist leader Khaled Meshaal says the Jewish state would not risk trying again on his triumphant return to Palestinian land. » Read more

Hamas chief's Gaza visit sign of regional embrace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - December 6, 2012 - 1:00am   GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —  » Read more

Choosing Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) December 7, 2012 - 1:00am The State of Israel is conducting regular negotiations, more or less, with Hamas. About once a week an Israeli delegation travels to Cairo, where it holds talks on easing financial constraints, which effectively means Israel is holding talks on easing the siege on Gaza.  » Read more

Both Bibi And Abbas Pander To Extremes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Gil Troy - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am The tired, depressing scripts too many of us follow regarding the Middle East have been on full pathological display these last two weeks. Unfortunately, during this time, neither the Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas nor Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu displayed the grace, vision, or creativity needed to move forward. » Read more