Those who care need to act ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Several weeks ago, at a Doha conference promoting solidarity with occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas encouraged Arabs and Muslims to visit the occupied city as a form of support for Palestinians under occupation. This call generated a great debate, one simultaneously enflamed by a series of controversial visits to Jerusalem holy sites by prominent Arab personalities. » Read more

Is there a viable strategy here somewhere? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Last February, at a conference for the defense of Jerusalem in Qatar, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Arabs to visit East Jerusalem and the mosques on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. The declared objective was to enhance and support the Palestinian claim to East Jerusalem and the Old City and break Israel's "siege" of the city. » Read more

Submit to the strikers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shay Fogelman - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am It's impossible to determine precisely how many days people can survive without food. The medical history of hunger strikes indicates that healthy people of average weight can expect to lose consciousness on the 55th day of their fast. The data also indicates that hunger strikers can expect to die by day 75. As these lines are being written, administrative detainees Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are approaching the 70th day of their hunger strike. They are reportedly both still conscious but, statistically speaking, they can expect to die any minute. » Read more

Habeas Corpus for Palestinians? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Libby Lenkinski - (Opinion) May 4, 2012 - 12:00am This week, the topic of the Palestinian hunger strike again made headlines.  This issue first came up in social and mainstream media in the recent case of Khader Adnan—and was followed with a second hunger striking Palestinian prisoner, a woman named Hanna Shalabi.  Both Adnan and Shalabi planned to bring themselves to nearly fatal starvation in protest of being held in administrative detention by Israel and mistreated during arrest. » Read more

A putsch against war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Generals and secret police chiefs get together for an attack on the politicians. In some countries, they arrest the president, occupy government offices and TV stations and annul the constitution. They then publish “Communiqué No. 1,” explaining the dire need to save the nation from perdition and promising democracy, elections etc. In other countries, they do it more quietly. They just inform the elected leaders that, if they don’t desist from their disastrous policies, the officers will make their views public and precipitate their downfall. » Read more

Green light to next killer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Smadar Shir - May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Had he said that he understands the gravity of his actions, had he expressed his remorse, and had he declared that the years behind bars taught him that violence isn’t the way to resolve problems and disagreements – maybe, just maybe, there would have been a reason to consider whether Hagai Amir’s release was the appropriate move. » Read more

Netanyahu will win the elections, with Obama's help ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's upcoming elections will not be a referendum over destroying Iran's nuclear facilities. Yuval Diskin, the former head of the Shin Bet security service, is not the only person who claims that an Israeli attack will, at best, delay the development of an Iranian bomb by two years. Dennis Ross, who was a senior adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, recently voiced a similar assessment and warned that a move like that would stiffen the ayatollahs' necks even more. » Read more

The Visionary ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic by Ben Birnbaum - (Opinion) 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. » Read more

Fatah says Cairo meetings with Hamas over reconciliation failed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am The recent meetings with Hamas held in Cairo accomplished nothing toward Palestinian reconciliation, Fatah central committee member Azzam al-Ahmed said Monday. Egyptian officials and Hamas leaders held several meetings to consider ways to achieve reconciliation between Palestinian factions, Ahmed told the official Palestinian radio. Hamas has not yet responded. » Read more

The Battle for Arafat's Secret Archive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Smadar Peri - May 3, 2012 - 12:00am Piles of documents revealing the activities of Yasser Arafat, the iconic chairman of the Palestinian Authority, are presently held in Tunis. Sources familiar with the material say that the documents constitute true archival treasures, as they include fascinating information on the planning of attacks, funding sources of terror organizations and contacts with political and security figures in Israel. The current chairman of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, is demanding to receive the documents. » Read more