Abbas, Fayyad send Netanyahu condolence letters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

In an unusual gesture, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday sent separate condolence letters to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is sitting the shiva mourning period for his father in Jerusalem. Direct communication between Palestinian and Israeli leaders has been scant since Netanyahu took office in March 2009.

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Shas insiders: Deri may yet return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jeremy Sharon - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Despite recent reports, Shas insiders are hopeful that former party leader Arye Deri will return to the party for the next general election and not form a separate one. Channel 2 reported on Monday that, according to associates of Deri, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef offered Deri the third spot on the Shas electoral list after current party chairman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Attias. According to senior Shas figures, Deri refused and demanded the top spot and the senior ministerial position.

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Parties agree on September 4 vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Coalition Chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) filed an official motion for the dissolution of the 18th Knesset on Wednesday. Likud officials told Ynet that the party will now push for elections on Tuesday, September 4.

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U.S. pressing UN Human Rights Commissioner to put off West Bank settlements probe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

The Obama administration is trying to delay the establishment of a panel appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. A U.S. official conveyed messages to UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay in the last few weeks, asking her not to advance the matter in the near future.

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Israeli settlement hotel plans 'threaten West Bank tourism'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli plans to build nine hotels in a settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem aim to undermine tourism in Bethlehem, a Palestinian researcher warned Tuesday. Israel on Tuesday pushed forward with plans to build 1,100 hotel rooms in Givat Hamatos, a neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem close to Israel's checkpoint to Bethlehem. Khalil Tufakji, a Palestinian expert in settlement affairs, told Ma'an that an Israeli committee had approved the plan, which includes nine hotels.

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Blame game defers solution to Gaza's energy crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from IRIN
May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (IRIN) -- From factories to the fishing industry, the Gaza Strip economy is being affected by more than two months of fuel shortages and power outages, taking a toll on the livelihoods of its 1.6 million inhabitants. To make a living on the sea, Madlene Kollab needs 20 liters of fuel each day. Unable to afford that, the Gaza Strip's only fisherwoman has seen her catch halve to just 1.5 kilos per day.

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Meshal loses control of Hamas military wing as authority moves to Gaza leadership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Hamas political bureau head Khaled Meshal, who now resides in Qatar, is expected to keep his post after an internal vote by the organization's leadership later this month. But sources have told Haaretz that Hamas leaders have decided to transfer some of Meshal's critical areas of authority to the leadership in the Gaza Strip, including control of the organization's budget and of its military wing.

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Israel army closes probe into deaths of 21 Gazans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - May 1, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Wednesday it has closed its investigation into the shelling deaths of 21 members of a single Palestinian family and would not file any charges in what was one of the gravest incidents in the 2009 war in the Gaza Strip.

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The Visionary
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The New Republic - May 4, 2012 - 12:00am

If you were to pinpoint one moment when it looked as if things just might work out for Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, it would probably be February 2, 2010. That day, Fayyad addressed the annual Herzliya Conference, a sort of Israeli version of Davos featuring high-powered policymakers and intellectuals. It is not a typical speaking venue for Palestinians; yet Fayyad was warmly received.

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NEWS: PM Netanyahu calls for early elections on September 4, in which he is expected to be returned to office. Palestinian journalists are fighting back against PA moves to censor them in the West Bank. Palestinian refugees reconnect with their families through Facebook. Israel's Supreme Court seems unsympathetic to government requests to delay the court-ordered demolition of a large “unauthorized” settlement outpost. The High Court also denies appeals for release by two hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners being held without charge, as the protest action becomes more widespread. Israel's internal security force recommends the demolition of the homes of two Palestinians convicted of murder. A Fatah official says PM Fayyad will likely remain prime minister even if there is a cabinet reshuffle. Israeli soldiers testify they threw stones at other occupation forces while posing as Palestinians during protests in the West Bank. Palestinian policewomen are breaking gender stereotypes. Pres. Abbas is reportedly trying to recover PLO intelligence documents from the Arafat era from Tunis. Fatah officials say the latest reconciliation talks with Hamas in Cairo yielded no results. COMMENTARY: Ben Birnbaum profiles Fayyad. Akiva Eldar says Pres. Obama's rhetoric will help Netanyahu get reelected in September. Smadar Shir says releasing a conspirator in the assassination of the late PM Rabin invites the next assassination. Uri Avnery says there is a virtual uprising of former military and security officials against Netanyahu, but he'll probably be reelected anyway. Libby Lenkinski says even if Palestinian prisoners under “administrative detention” were to get Israel's occupation version of “due process,” they wouldn't get fair trials anyway. Shay Fogelman says Israel should agree to the prisoners' demands and end “administrative detention.” Yossi Alpher says neither the Israelis nor the Palestinian leaderships seem to have a viable strategy for moving forward. Ghassan Khatib says all those who care about the future of Jerusalem and a two-state solution must act.

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