March 12th

Israel needs an anthem that represents Arabs and Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am It turns out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message of support to Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran after the jurist chose not to join in singing the Israeli national anthem at the recent ceremony marking the installation of Asher Grunis as the court's new president. In his message, which was transmitted by diplomatic envoy Isaac Molho, Netanyahu informed the justice that he didn't expect an Israeli Arab like Joubran to sing lyrics such as "a Jewish soul yearns," which are in "Hatikva." » Read more

Israel's Red Riding Hood and the Arab wolf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am During a quiz show on Channel 2 television last week, a contestant was asked which of three towns - Kalansua, Tul Karm or Jenin - was located within the Green Line. The contestant, a nurse with an M.A., hesitated for quite a while and then said she thought the answer was Tul Karm. In order to verify her answer, she requested the assistance of 71 fellow contestants. Seventeen of them - almost one in four - responded that either Tul Karm or Jenin was an Israeli town. » Read more

West Bank Jewish settlers agree to relocate from Migron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Settlers at the Migron outpost will be moved to a nearby hill and the current site will be put under Israeli military control, Israel radio said. The Israeli Supreme Court had ordered the Migron outpost, north of Jerusalem, to be demolished by the end of March. Campaigners against Jewish settlements said the relocation was "a disgrace". The deal follows months of talks between settlers and Benny Begin, a minister without portfolio in the Israeli government. He said the agreement would avoid further clashes between settlers and Israeli security forces. » Read more

Palestinian solar power: why Israel may turn out the lights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - March 11, 2012 - 1:00am She'b El Buttum, West Bank Israeli scientists defying military occupation restrictions have brought a great leap forward to the lives of traditional Palestinian herders in a remote corner of the West Bank. Over the last several months, tent dwellers in this hamlet on a rocky hillside south of Hebron have been brought out of the dark ages by Comet-Middle East, a German-funded project headed by two Israelis that affords them electricity for the first time through solar panels and wind turbines. » Read more

Ex-Israeli spymaster: Iran response to Israeli attack would be devastating ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said that an Israeli strike on Iran would lead to a missile attack on Israel that would have a "devastating impact" on the country, in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS's 60 minutes. According to Dagan, an attack will start a regional war. “And wars, you know how they start. You never know how you are ending it," he said. “I think that Israel will be in a very serious situation for quite a time,” Dagan told 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl, when asked about a possible Israeli response to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program. » Read more

Gaza rockets strike 40 km south of Tel Aviv, on fourth day of heavy barrage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gili Cohen, Avi Issacharoff, Yanir Yagna - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 40 rockets at Israel on Monday, as the heavy cross-border barrage continued into its fourth day. Two of the rockets fired Monday exploded near Gedera, just 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, and another struck inside the southern city of Ashdod. A woman and one other person sustained light to moderate shrapnel wounds as a result of a grad rocket striking Ashdod. The woman was evacuated to Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital. Four Israelis were also treated for shock. Damage was caused to store buildings and cars in the city. » Read more

PLO envoy at the UN condemns Israeli 'terrorism' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 12, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The PLO ambassador at the UN on Sunday sent a letter to UN officials to update them on the current round of violence in the Gaza Strip. Riyad Mansour condemned Israel's "violence and terrorism against the Palestinian people," saying the latest escalation threatens stability in the region. The fragile situation in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories is getting worse, he said. Mansour sent notifications to UN secretary-general Ban ki-Moon, among other officials.

5 killed, 46 injured in fourth day of Gaza airstrikes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 12, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli airstrikes killed two Islamic Jihad militants and three civilians on Monday, bringing the death toll since Friday to 23 people, medics and Ma'an's correspondent said. An airstrike on Monday afternoon in Beit Lahiya killed Muhammad al-Hasoumi, 65, and his daughter, 30, medical spokesperson in Gaza Abu Salmiya said. Earlier, hospital officials said a 15-year-old schoolboy was killed in a separate air strike during the day on Monday. Nayif Shaaban Qarmout was killed in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza, Ma'an's correspondent said. » Read more

Gaza militant assassinated by Israel, sparking fears of wider violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ahmed al-Dabb - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli air strike today killed the chief of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a pro-Hamas militant group that today declared it will no longer honor the tenuous cease-fire with Israel. PRC Secretary-General Zuhair al-Qaissi and his aide, Mohammed Hannani were instantly killed when their car was targeted by Israeli rockets in Gaza City's densely populated Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. Witnesses said unmanned drones were flying overhead just before the attack. » Read more

Fighting between Israel, Gaza continues for 3rd day ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY — Cross-border fighting between Gaza and Israel, touched off by Israel’s killing of a top Palestinian militant leader, showed no signs of letting up after three days Sunday. Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at Israeli towns, hitting an empty school, and Israeli airstrikes killed three Gazans, including a boy and a farm guard. Egypt tried to mediate but failed to end the violence, the worst in more than a year. The fighting has killed 18 Gazans, all but two of them militants, and disrupted the lives of about 1 million Israelis living within range of rocket fire from Gaza. » Read more