February 3rd

Tunisia as a model
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

In early 1994, I visited Tunisia. I was sent there by then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and then-foreign minister Shimon Peres to pay condolences to Yasser Arafat and the PLO leadership in the aftermath of the horrendous Hebron massacre committed by Baruch Goldstein. It was obviously not an easy trip, but an occasion for me to get acquainted for the first time with the PLO leader, and to encounter a new Arab country. It is with the latter that this article will deal.

»

Israel: New Subsidies Don’t Apply to Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — New financial incentives designed to lure Israelis to poorer, outlying areas have been revised to exclude West Bank settlements, officials said Thursday. A government announcement about the Cabinet decision earlier this week identified some 550 communities that qualified for the subsidies, including 70 West Bank settlements. Many of them are deep inside the West Bank, the heartland of what the Palestinians hope will be an independent state. In the original announcement, the government said the subsidies are "meant to encourage positive migration to these communities."

»

U.S. Jews should put themselves before Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

The second-richest Jew in the world is once again in the spotlight. Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miri have together donated $10 million to Winning Our Future, the political action committee supporting Newt Gingrich's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, and the pundits are asking how one man and his wife can be allowed to sway an election with the weight of their money.

»

2 Hurt in Israeli Attack on North Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes fired on sites across the Gaza Strip early Friday, injuring a young man and a child in northern city Beit Lahiya, a Ma'an correspondent and medical officials said. Medical officials said the child suffered serious injuries to the head and hands. A young man was also hurt, and he was taken to hospital, said Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmiya. In southern Gaza, Israeli forces fired on a house east of Rafah and open lands near Bani Suheila east of Khan Younis, Salmiya added.

»

A foul smell is rising from Hebron, and it’s here to stay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

What did you learn in school today, dear little child of ours? Well, dear parents, I learned a lot, and you should learn, too. This tour was a real eye-opener. Someone should be ashamed of all the lies we've been fed. And we're considered a good school, the Hebrew University high school, better known as Leyada. So, yada yada, just imagine what's happening in other schools, where they don't know anything this country from a hole in the ground.

»

Viral photo of Abusive Israeli Soldier Called a Fake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- A controversial photograph that has been circulating on the Web in recent weeks is challenging such pre-Internet truisms as "seeing is believing" or "sharing is everything." About six months ago, @madlamin tweeted a picture with a message in French encouraging users to spread it around the world in 48 hours. The photograph of a soldier pointing a rifle at a little girl on the ground with his boot on her was marked with a #Syria hashtag, suggesting to users it was related to the bloody riots that have been occurring in that country in recent months.

»

Politicians can fight all day, Netanyahu is here to stay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

If we keep using letters in every sex scandal or quasi-scandal, we run the risk of using up the alphabet. Did N. harass R.? And what was P.'s mobile phone doing near R.'s skirt? And suppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is being run scandalously, and the bureau chief, with everything on his plate, has to update Sara about what's happening in our little world and our big world. So what?

»

Ban Says ‘Time Running’ for Israel, Palestinian Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Thursday Israel and the Palestinians were running out of time to solve their conflict and ought to give "highest priority" to resuming stalled peace talks. Ban, wrapping up a two-day visit to the region, said he had pushed for faster progress in separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas.

»

Protesters in Gaza Throw Shoes and Sticks at U.N. Chief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA — A convoy carrying Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations was pelted with shoes and sticks by Palestinian protesters when it entered the Gaza Strip from Israel on Thursday, witnesses said. About 100 men and women who said their family members were being held in Israeli prisons had arrived in buses near a checkpoint in Gaza, a few hundred yards from the Erez crossing, blocking traffic and complaining that Mr. Ban, on his third visit to Gaza, had no plans to meet with them.

»

February 2nd

NEWS: A new poll finds a majority of Palestinian youth in favor of a two-state solution. UNSG Ban says that a Palestinian state is long overdue. Israelis and Palestinians bitterly dispute the propriety of a TV show that included interviews with family members of convicted murderers. Israel's Supreme Court again orders the evacuation of the largest “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Analysts speculate that Hamas' policy shifts are designed to gain ascendancy. Palestinian security services detain two journalists on suspicion of mocking the leadership. Germany upgrades Palestine's diplomatic status. Israel may renege on designating 70 settlements as “national priority” areas. Israel asks the US to prompt the Palestinians into continuing low-level negotiations. Israeli military leaders warn against attacking Iran. Changes in Hamas' policies may be connected to a financial crisis. COMMENTARY: Chuck Freilich says Israel faces a momentous choice on Iran. Israeli Maj.-Gen. Kochavi says the Arab world is rediscovering its power through the uprisings. Ray Hanania says it's easier to be caught up in emotions than to make the hard choices for peace. George Hishmeh says Israel appears to be systematically undermining all hopes for peace. Leila Hilal looks at potential options dealing with the Palestinian refugee question. Steven White and P.J. Dermer ask if “hypocrisy is becoming the norm at the Jerusalem Post?” The Forward looks at the depiction of the Israeli occupation at the Sundance Film Festival. Victor Kotsev blames Israel largely for the failure of recent negotiations. Amira Hass asks if helping Palestinians serves as cover for the occupation.

American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017