April 5th

Norman Finkelstein bids farewell to Israel bashing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Interview) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am In June, Norman Finkelstein will mark 30 years of criticizing Israel. He remembers the exact day - the beginning of the Lebanon war, which ended his indifference to the Middle East's troubles. He'll have a new book coming out - "Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End" - that focuses on Jewish public figures who represent, in his view, the narrative of beautiful Israel that's coming to an end. He is sure to make a lot of people mad again. » Read more

Netanyahu did the right thing by clearing Hebron outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Another attempt by the settlers to bend the law in the West Bank to their extremist ideology failed on Wednesday, with the evacuation of the so-called Machpela House. The eviction came after Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that delaying the execution of the Civil Administration's eviction order could ignite the area, in addition to constituting contempt of court and undermining the authority of the military commander and the defense minister. This was an important reminder that the West Bank is not the settlers' state. » Read more

Springwater flows in the West Bank, but who controls it? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zafrir Rinat - April 4, 2012 - 12:00am The settlers have been investing special efforts of late to persuade the Israeli public to make its way to numerous tourism sites on the other side of the Green Line. Internet sites of regional councils in the territories and advertisements placed by various nonprofit groups are replete with stories about the wonders of gourmet restaurants, boutique wineries, farms producing high-quality cheeses, and especially the many springs in the region. » Read more

AP Interview: Prosecutor says Palestinians could join ICC as a UN non-member observer state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press (Interview) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am UNITED NATIONS — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said Wednesday the war crimes tribunal would allow the Palestinians to sign up if the U.N. General Assembly approves a resolution recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer state. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo ruled Tuesday that only internationally recognized states can join the court, and therefore the Palestinian Authority’s bid for membership could not be accepted. » Read more

Mishal sole candidate for Hamas presidency –sources ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat April 4, 2012 - 12:00am Occupied Jerusalem, Asharq Al-Awsat – A well-informed source within the Hamas movement informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the internal elections for the Hamas Shura Council and Political Bureau are expected to take place within the next two weeks. The source revealed that in the first phase, members of local Consultative Councils are selected, who in turn vote for the Hamas Shura Council, which ultimately elects the movement’s administrative leadership, the Hamas Political Bureau. » Read more

PM looks to convert three outposts to settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff, Joanna Paraszczuck - April 5, 2012 - 12:00am In a move likely to be condemned by the international community, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that his government planned to transform three West Bank Jewish outposts – Bruchin, Rehalim and Sansana – into new settlements. All three communities were created on state land over a decade ago, Rehalim in 1991, Sansana in 1997 and Bruchin in 1999, but were never authorized as settlements by the government. The government last authorized a settlement, Negahot, in 1999. » Read more

Israel asks US for $700 million in military aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ron Ben-Yishai - April 4, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has asked the United States for assistance estimated at $700 million in order to produce more Iron Dome and Magic Wand missile and rocket defense batteries, sources told Ynet on Wednesday. The Iron Dome is designed to intercept rockets fired from a relatively short range, while the Magic Wand intercepts missiles fired from a range of at least 70km, including cruise missiles and missiles with ballistic warheads such as the Squd, Shihab and Sejil. » Read more

German author Grass says Israel endangers world peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Gareth Jones - April 4, 2012 - 12:00am BERLIN (Reuters) -- Nobel Prize-winning German writer Guenter Grass has attacked Israel as a threat to world peace and said it must not be allowed to launch military strikes against Iran, in a poem that led one German newspaper to brand him "the eternal anti-Semite." Grass, 84, a seasoned campaigner for left-wing causes and a critic of Western military interventions such as Iraq, also condemned German arms sales to Israel in his poem "What must be said", published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily on Wednesday. » Read more

Woman jailed for Abbas insult 'in isolation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 4, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The condition of a woman arrested over her critical writings about President Mahmoud Abbas is deteriorating in isolation, a member of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said Tuesday. Ismat Abdul Khaliq was seen by doctors late Tuesday before being returned to her cell, said Nihad Abu Ghosh, a member of the syndicate. He said the prosecution is refusing to let her see visitors. » Read more

Presidency: Israeli settlement tender 'harms peace' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 5, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian presidency on Wednesday condemned Israel's issuing of tenders for hundreds of new settler homes near Bethlehem. Israel's Housing Ministry published tenders on Tuesday for 827 new houses in illegal settlement Har Homa, between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Israeli daily Haaretz reported. » Read more