Hamas rejects holding parliamentary elections in West Bank only ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 8, 2012 - 12:00am Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday rejected a proposal of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to hold the Palestinian legislative council elections in the West Bank only. Salah al-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, told Xinhua that any elections that are not held in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip "would devote to internal division and is against our national interests." » Read more

EU: We expect Israel to cancel demolition orders for Palestinian villages in Area C of West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am The European Union is searching for new ways to express its opposition to Israeli policy in Area C of the West Bank, regions under Israeli security and civil control. The EU's fundamental stance, opposing the non-development of the area for Palestinians, was underscored in conclusions forged by the EU's foreign affairs council during a meeting on May 14. Since that meeting, EU officials have discussed ways of translating this position into policy action. » Read more

Fayyad raps Israeli plan to evict Palestinian shepherds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Jihan Abdalla - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli plan to evict 12 shepherd communities in the occupied West Bank to make way for army training zones was condemned by the Palestinian Authority premier on Wednesday as a move to depopulate Palestinian areas. Israel has designated the area south of the city of Hebron as a closed military zone and asked for Supreme Court approval to move the residents to the nearby village of Yatta, where the Israeli Defense Ministry claims many of them have permanent homes. » Read more

Official: bullet hits Palestinian premier's office ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - August 8, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian government official says shots have been fired at the office of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. No one was hurt. The official says Fayyad was not in his office at sundown Wednesday when at least one bullet hit a building in his government compound. The official says guards told him they heard several shots being fired in the air. It was not clear whether the shots were fired by gunmen on foot or in a car. The assailants escaped. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the incident with reporters. » Read more

Official: bullet hits Palestinian premier's office ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - August 8, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian government official says shots have been fired at the office of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. No one was hurt. The official says Fayyad was not in his office at sundown Wednesday when at least one bullet hit a building in his government compound. The official says guards told him they heard several shots being fired in the air. It was not clear whether the shots were fired by gunmen on foot or in a car. The assailants escaped. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the incident with reporters. » Read more

Swiss lab wants guarantee in Arafat inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Noah Browning - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am A Swiss laboratory will help investigate the unexplained 2004 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat only if it receives guarantees its findings will not be used for political purposes, a spokesman for the lab said on Wednesday. A committee looking into the Palestinian president's death has asked the Swiss Radiophysics Institute, which found traces of a deadly polonium isotope on Arafat's clothing provided by his widow for a recent Al Jazeera television documentary, to examine his remains. » Read more

Swiss experts invited to conduct Arafat autopsy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am Swiss experts have been invited to the West Bank to test Yasser Arafat's remains for possible poisoning, the chief investigator looking into the 2004 death of the Palestinian leader said Wednesday. The announcement followed weeks of zigzagging on the autopsy issue by officials in the Palestinian Authority, the self-rule government that Arafat established. Their conflicting positions and hesitation triggered speculation they were trying to quietly kill the investigation. » Read more

Israel says Egypt shifting policy towards terror groups in Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 9, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad on Wednesday said that Egypt's policy toward the threat of flourishing terror organizations in the Sinai Peninsula is turning after Sunday's attack. Gilad told Israel Radio that he believes that Egypt is now trying to restore control in the area after 16 Egyptian guards were killed by militants on Sunday. » Read more

Israel-Egypt security cooperation at one of highest levels since peace deal, say officials on both sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am It might sound strange, but the current security coordination between Israel and Egypt is perhaps at the highest level it has been since the peace agreement was forged by the two nations. During an age in which the Muslim Brotherhood controls both houses of Egyptian Parliament, and Mohammed Morsi, one of the moment’s leading figures in Egypt serves as president, the level of security cooperation between the two nations has undergone a significant upgrade, right under the nose of the Israeli and Egyptian publics. » Read more

Egypt demands extradition of 3 Hamas militants over support for Sinai terrorists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am Egyptian intelligence made a request to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, using senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar as an intermediary, to extradite members of  the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ paramilitary wing, according to an al-Quds newspaper report on Thursday. A senior official informed the newspaper that the three militants provided indirect support to radical groups in Sinai, and are connected to weapons smuggling as well. » Read more