April 10th

Fatah: Govt reshuffle talks delayed until Abbas tour ends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Consultations over an expected reshuffle in the Palestinian Authority are to be delayed until President Abbas finishes as international tour due to start Monday, a senior Fatah official said. Azzam al-Ahmad told Voice of Palestine radio that rumors about a disagreement between Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad over a reshuffle were baseless.

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Palestinians accuse Israel of destroying prospects for two-state solution with new settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians accused Israel on Monday of systematically destroying prospects for a two-state solution to their decades-long conflict with its continuing campaign of settlement building. Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour sent a protest letter to the U.N. secretary-general, Security Council and General Assembly two days before the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., U.N., European Union and Russia — meets in Washington to discuss the long-stalled peace process.

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Fayyad hails popular resistance at Bil'in parlay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Popular resistance against Israel reflects the rights of Palestinians, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad asserted Tuesday. Speaking at the Bil'in 7th International Conference for Popular Struggle, Fayyad said, "Popular resistance is one of the best forms of resistance and reflects the rights of Palestinians." The PA prime minister also charged that settlements violate international law and go against the peace process.

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April 9th

NEWS: Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says the group intends to capture more Israeli soldiers to win the release of additional Palestinian prisoners. Israel bans German author Günter Grass from entering the country for criticizing its policies. Hamas executes three Palestinians in Gaza. Militants again attack Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan. Pres. Abbas says he will seek non-member observer state status for Palestine at the UN if talks with Israel do not resume. PLO official Hanan Ashrawi says she is concerned at recent threats to free speech among Palestinians. A Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank accuses Israeli police of beating him and covering up the evidence. The JTA profiles the political rise and fall of former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. The World Bank earmarks $55 million for Palestinian development this year. The Israeli military says it's ready for a major invasion of Lebanon in the case of any new conflict with Hezbollah. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood again promises not to tamper with the peace treaty with Israel. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel has reacted with hysteria over Günter Grass. Salman Masalha says letting Israeli ex-pats vote from abroad is political manipulation. Anshel Pfeffer looks at Israeli and American policies towards Iran. Harriet Sherwood says PM Netanyahu's relentless support for settlers bodes ill for the peace process. Robert O. Freedman says China is split over continuing its present Middle East policies. Talal Okal says Sinai has been out of control for a long time, and Yoram Meital says the area provides challenges and opportunities for Israel. Richard Stearns says this was another dark Easter for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

Tzipi Livni’s fall followed a meteoric political rise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Matthew Wagner - April 3, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Tzipi Livni's resounding fall in the leadership vote for Kadima, Israel's largest political party, was as dramatic as her rise to political power.

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A dark Easter for Palestinian Christians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Religion News Service
by Richard Stearns - (Opinion) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am

Each year during Holy week, Christians around the world anticipate what come call the “Old Faithful” of miracles. At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — built over the traditional site that encompasses Jesus’ tomb and the place of his crucifixion — the archbishop enters the tomb after being inspected by Jewish authorities to ensure he has no means of lighting a fire. After saying prayers and worshiping the risen Christ, the candles miraculously alight.

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Challenges and opportunities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yoram Meital - (Opinion) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am

Developments in the Sinai Peninsula during the past year clearly reflect dramatic changes in Egypt and highlight the delicate situation at the Israeli-Gazan-Egyptian border junction.

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A country of walls: an interview with Talal Okal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) March 29, 2012 - 12:00am

BI: What do the conditions in the Sinai peninsula have to do with you and others in the Gaza Strip? Okal: The border that separates Sinai in Egypt and the Gaza Strip is the only border that is open for our use. The town of Rafah [where the main crossing is located] is actually split across the border between the two sides and many of Egyptian Rafah's residents are relatives of those who live on the Gaza side of the town. The connections there are extensive. Moreover, the tunnel network operating out of Gaza opens onto the Sinai.

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Chinese Divided Over Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Robert O. Freedman - (Opinion) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

In recent years, China’s foreign policy has turned more assertive than it has been in decades. When it comes to the Middle East, it has expressed this aggressiveness mostly through the veto power it wields in the United Nations Security Council, protecting Iran, for example, from tough sanctions over its nuclear program. With regard to the Syrian uprising, the Chinese, along with the Russians, have prevented the international body from sanctioning the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for its bloody repression of its own population.

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Binyamin Netanyahu's support for settlers bodes ill for peace prospects
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - (Opinion) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

On its own, it seemed like an encouraging omen to anyone alarmed by the increasing entrenchment of Jewish settlers on the West Bank. Israeli security forces last week forcibly evacuated hardliners from a Palestinian house in the volatile city of Hebron, to the fury of the settlers and their backers. Hours earlier, Binyamin Netanyahu had intervened to halt the eviction; now he said the rule of law must prevail. Had the prime minister had a change of heart? Did the Hebron drama signal a new tough approach against radical settlers and their supporters inside Netanyahu's cabinet?

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