November 13th

My President Is Busy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) November 10, 2012 - 1:00am ISRAELI friends have been asking me whether a re-elected President Obama will take revenge on Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for the way he and Sheldon Adelson, his foolhardy financier, openly backed Mitt Romney. My answer to Israelis is this: You should be so lucky. » Read more

The Foreign Policy Agenda ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) November 11, 2012 - 1:00am National security didn’t play heavily in the presidential election. But President Obama’s legacy, and the country’s future, will be shaped as much by the foreign policy and defense decisions he makes over the next four years as by those on the domestic side. » Read more

Arab Americans Need Political Normalization ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 12, 2012 - 1:00am Following the recent election, and noting the growing influence of nontraditional power blocs such as Latinos, Arab Americans have again raised the question of how they can become politically empowered. There is only one answer: become politically "normal" Americans. » Read more

Breast Cancer Screening Comes to Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours - November 12, 2012 - 1:00am DURA, Occupied West Bank, Nov 12 2012 (IPS) - Fatmeh Abu Hrar Tabeel has had her first ever breast cancer screening. “It feels good to know, of course. Thanks to god, I am well,” the 51-year-old mother of seven told IPS. “Now I can examine myself once a month from home; the doctor showed me how.” » Read more

Egypt to Destroy Gaza Tunnels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm November 12, 2012 - 1:00am Security sources have revealed that the security services in North Sinai governorate are preparing to destroy the most dangerous underground tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in the town of Rafah. The location of these tunnels was determined via extremely accurate intelligence and investigations. The sources noted that the extensive security operation to demolish the tunnels will start in a few days. » Read more

1,200 tunnels operating between Egypt and the Gaza Strip- Sinai tribal leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Mohammed Mohsin - November 12, 2012 - 1:00am Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat - The leader of the Al-Akur Tribe in Sinai, Arif Abu-Akr, has revealed that the 1,200 tunnels between the borders of Egypt and Gaza Strip are working at full capacity. Abu-Akr told Asharq Al-Awsat that these tunnels were being used to carry out terrorist attacks, “but we cannot arrest them or present them to justice.” » Read more

Abbas says Russia to join in Arafat's death investigation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 11, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday revealed that Russia will take part in investigating the death of his predecessor Yasser Arafat alongside France and Switzerland. "There is a complete coordination between us and the French and also experts from the Russian government to exhume Arafat's body," Abbas said during a festival in the West Bank city of Ramallah marking the eighth anniversary of Arafat's death. » Read more

Barak approves plans to build 500 new homes in West Bank settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - November 12, 2012 - 1:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak has agreed to advance a plan to expand the Itamar settlement to five times its size by adding 538 homes, according to documents obtained by Haaretz. Barak approved the plan in September, even though there is still no master plan in effect for the settlement, which was founded in 1984 on state land, which means that no legal building permits can be issued. But since the murder of five members of the Fogel family on the settlement in March 2011, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria has been pressing to advance the construction. » Read more

Barak approves plans to build 500 new homes in West Bank settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - November 12, 2012 - 1:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak has agreed to advance a plan to expand the Itamar settlement to five times its size by adding 538 homes, according to documents obtained by Haaretz. Barak approved the plan in September, even though there is still no master plan in effect for the settlement, which was founded in 1984 on state land, which means that no legal building permits can be issued. But since the murder of five members of the Fogel family on the settlement in March 2011, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria has been pressing to advance the construction. » Read more

PA says to pay partial salaries Sunday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 11, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority finance ministry announced Sunday that it would pay part of salaries owed to public sector employees by the end of the day. The salaries of prisoners families will be paid completely while public sector employees will receive 52 percent of their salaries, the ministry said in a statement. The aid-dependent Palestinian economy in the West Bank faces a financial crisis due to a drop in aid from Western backers and wealthy Gulf states, as well as Israeli restrictions on trade. » Read more