January 13th

Racing in Ramallah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Julia Niemann - January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

"Be careful, you're a female driver," says the Israeli soldier at the checkpoint. His warning smacks of irony, considering the fact that the car is headed to Ramallah to meet Noor Daoud, one of the most successful female racers in the Palestinian territories.

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A Glimpse into the Life of an Israeli-Palestinian Couple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

The occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967 united, for the first time since 1948, the Palestinian community that remained within Israel. Families that were divided with the founding of the state came together, friends saw each other after 19 years, refugees in the West Bank and Gaza hastened to revisit their birthplaces (now destroyed, or resettled by Jews). Palestinians from both sides of the Green Line met at work, school and places of entertainment. This reunification naturally resulted in a number of marriages.

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Interview: Holding Palestinian Elections on May “Impossible”: Official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Holding the Palestinian presidential and legislative elections on May, as it was agreed upon in the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation pact signed in Cairo last year, "is practically impossible," the executive director of the Palestinian Central Elections said Thursday. There is a bunch of obstacles that made the agreed principle to hold the general elections in the Palestinian territories on May 2012 "practically impossible," Hisham Keheil said in an interview with Xinhua.

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Medics: Israeli Fire Injures 2 in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces fired on the central Gaza Strip early Friday injuring two people, medics said. Medical services spokesman in Gaza Adham Abu Salmiya told Ma'an that two people were moderately injured after forces shelled east of al-Bureij refugee camp shortly after midnight. The injured were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, he said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces opened fire after they "saw a number of suspects approach the security fence and tamper with the ground suspiciously."

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Abbas on Diplomacy Tour of Europe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to Britain, Germany and Russia next week, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said on Thursday. Abbas will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the tour, Rdainah told official Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa. Rdainah emphasized that the three countries are members of the UN Security Council, indicating that diplomacy around the stalled bid for UN membership may be ongoing.

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Obama, Netayahu Talk After Peace Contacts Resume
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed recent Israeli-Palestinian talks on Thursday as U.S. officials signaled that a January 26 target date for the two sides to exchange proposals could slide. Obama and Netanyahu, who have at times appeared out of sync on Middle East peace efforts, spoke after two rounds of diplomatic contacts between Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jordan's capital in recent weeks.

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Israel, Palestinians to Hold Further Talks Saturday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

* Will be third round of exploratory face-to-face talks * Negotiations frozen 15 months ago over Jewish settlements JERUSALEM, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Israelis and Palestinians will hold their third round of face-to-face meetings this year on Saturday in what diplomats hope might lead to the resumption of full peace talks, sources on each side said on Friday. The exploratory discussions began on Jan. 3 and followed a long break in negotiations after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks 15 months ago over Israel's expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

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West Bank: ‘Nothing New’ Offered by Israelis in Talks, Abbas Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Israel has made no new proposals in meetings with Palestinians about the possibility of resuming formal peace talks, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said Thursday. The sides have met twice in Jordan, and plan two more meetings. Mr. Abbas has said he will not resume negotiations unless Israel freezes settlement construction in the West Bank, a demand Israel rejects. He said Thursday that the low-level exploratory talks had not broken that impasse. “There is nothing new in the dialogue that is going on in Amman,” he said, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

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Palestinians Insist on Israel Talks Deadline
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Tia Goldenberg - January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Palestinian negotiators are sticking to an end of January deadline in talks with Israel despite U.S. calls for flexibility, a Palestinian official said Friday. The Palestinians say they want to hold Israel to a schedule that might pressure it to come forward with proposals, but the tight time frame could prevent the nascent talks from getting off the ground. Palestinian and Israeli negotiators met last week for the first time in more than a year, kicking off low-level contacts aimed at reviving formal peace negotiations.

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January 12th

NEWS: PM Fayyad says he is very concerned about Iran's behavior and nuclear ambitions. The Israeli Supreme Court upholds a law banning Palestinians who marry Israelis from living in Israel. Hamas leader Haniyyeh may go on another regional tour soon including Qatar and Iran. Hamas sentences a Palestinian man to death for alleged collaboration with Israel. The CSM looks at whether Israel was responsible for the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. The rise of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community is creating an identity crisis for the state. A committee on Palestinian national reconciliation will reportedly begin work “immediately.” Palestinians say Sec. Clinton has asked Pres. Abbas to extend the Quartet deadline for resumed negotiations. An EU report says Israel's policies in the occupied territories are endangering the two-state solution and the Palestinians should develop in “Area C.” A makeover for Gaza's beachfront is controversial. Jordan is reportedly working on how to accommodate some Hamas members as residents. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel must stop stalling on peace. Jihad el-Khazen thinks that if Pres. Obama is reelected, a Palestinian state should be attainable in 2013. Michael Young says it's high time to discard the hoax about a “resistance axis.” Donald Macintyre says the EU is on the brink of abandoning hopes for Palestinian statehood. Natasha Mozgovaya looks at a new fictional book about Middle East peacemaking. Elliott Abrams says 2012 is a year for elections, not diplomacy. Shmuel Rosner says the Supreme Court decision is worthy of indignation but should be respected, while Noam Sheizaf says it just legalizes racial discrimination against Arabs.

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