March 22nd

Egypt-Hamas standoff leads to Gaza power crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - March 22, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A dispute between Egypt and Gaza's Hamas government has produced the worst energy crisis here in years: Gazans are enduring 18-hour-a-day blackouts, fuel is running low for hospital backup generators, raw sewage pours into the Mediterranean Sea for lack of treatment pumps and gas stations have shut down. The fuel and electricity shortages, which have escalated over the past two months, are infuriating long-suffering Gazans who say their basic needs, perhaps more than ever, are being sacrificed for politics.

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PA: Abbas, Clinton discuss upcoming Quartet meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of the international Quartet scheduled for next month, state media reported. Clinton's call to Abbas was to follow up on discussions between Abbas and Obama a day earlier, the official Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa reported Wednesday. According to the report, Clinton said a group of US officials will arrive to the region soon. Abbas told Obama on Monday he would return to negotiations if Israel committed to Quartet requirements.

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PA says funds needed to reverse water crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

BRUSSELS (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Wednesday said he hoped donors would fund a desalination plant to ease the water crisis in the Gaza Strip. Speaking from Brussels in a weekly interview to the official Voice of Palestine radio, Fayyad said the plant would cost almost half a billion dollars. Over-pumping of the coastal aquifer has reduced the quality and quantity of water in Gaza, Fayyad said. According to a 2009 World Bank report, between 90 and 95 percent of the water available in Gaza is not fit for human consumption.

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PA 'spent $7 billion' in Gaza since split
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority has spent over $7 billion in Gaza since 2007, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf said Wednesday. The Fatah-led government in Ramallah has continued to meet its obligations in Gaza even though Fatah was ousted from the coastal enclave by Hamas in 2007, Assaf said in a statement. The PA spends around $120 million each month on the Gaza Strip, paying the salaries of around 80,000 civil servants, the Fatah official said.

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Israeli defense minister says Israel and US disagree on timetable for effective Iran action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel and the US disagree on what would be a realistic timetable for stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Israel’s defense minister said Thursday, but stopped short of threatening unilateral Israeli action. Ehud Barak reiterated concerns that Iran is trying to make its suspected nuclear weapons program immune from attack before taking a decision on assembling atomic bombs. Israel “cannot afford” to wait in such a situation, Barak told Israel Radio.

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March 21st

NEWS: After a deadly anti-Semitic attack in France, PM Fayyad says extremists should stop exploiting the Palestinian cause to justify terrorism. The PLO, PA and Palestinian missions denounce the attack. Israel indicts a Hamas member for allegedly plotting attacks on Israelis. Iran's supreme leader says it will retaliate if attacked by Israel or the US. An Israeli human rights groups says the number of Palestinians killed by Israel rose last year to 115, including 18 children. Fatah claims Iran is paying Hamas to thwart national unity talks, while Hamas says Fatah prefers US aid to national unity. Hamas denies that Iranian experts are helping militants in Gaza. Pres. Abbas meets with the family of a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner. An Israeli anti-discrimination organization says racist incidents against Arabs in Israel dropped following last year's social protests. COMMENTARY: Zvi Bar'el says Israel should warn its population before attacking Iran. Bradley Burston asks whether the Zionist Organization of America can really claim to be pro-Israel. Ron Kampeas says Peter Beinart's call for a Jewish American boycott of settlements and settlement goods is not resonating yet, as he defends his position against critics. Nathan Guttman previews J Street's upcoming conference. Robert Zaretsky says French officials have promoted suspicion and distrust between Jews and Muslims in that country. Husam Itani looks at the question of the Golan Heights, Israel's occupation and the Syrian uprising. Nachman Shai says Hamas may become a viable negotiating partner for Israel. Roni Shaked says Israel's policy of assassinations is backfiring. Tal Becker urges a more nuanced debate on Iran

Targeted-Killing Policy is Backfiring on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth
by Roni Shaked - (Opinion) March 11, 2012 - 1:00am

No one in Israel was surprised by the blizzard of rocket fire [on the western Negev, in the southern part of the country] that followed the killing of [Popular Resistance Committees leader] Zuhair al-Kaisi. There is no single focused foiling or targeted prevention – as such operations are known in Israel – carried out in the Gaza Strip in the past decade that has not provoked a massive rocket barrage on Israel.

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Hamas May Become Viable Negotiating Partner
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Nachman Shai - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am

In the present confrontation between Israel and the Popular Resistance Committees, Israel has been treading very carefully. As of the writing of these lines, we have been very fortunate. The cutting-edge technological systems developed by Israel have been doing their jobs in the best possible manner. Regarding the offensive-attack perspective, Israeli drones have struck targets on the ground with surgical precision based on reliable intelligence information. They have succeeded in stopping missiles from being fired with minimal harm to innocent bystanders.

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The Golan Heights are Waiting for the Revolution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Husam Itani - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

An important progress was achieved with respect to studying the Syrian society, its constituents, and the factors that affected it throughout the year that has elapsed since the revolution started. On the other hand, the issue of the conflict with Israel remains a taboo and a prejudice.

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Toulouse Tragedy Shows Depth of Hatred
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Robert Zaretsky - (Opinion) March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

France, and the rest of the world, is still reeling from the shock of events in Toulouse, where a lone gunman killed a teacher and three children at a local Sephardic Jewish school on March 19. In the coming days, all of us ardently hope that we will learn not about another massacre, but instead of the capture of the killer. But in the confusion and uncertainty of the moment, it is important to recall what we know, and what we don’t know, about this event.

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