February 13th

Election body: 70,000 register to vote in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 13, 2013 - 1:00am Around 70,000 people have registered to vote in the Gaza Strip since the Central Elections Commission began updating the electoral roll two days ago, a statement from the group said Wednesday. Some 257 registration centers will be open for one week to update the electoral roll in the Gaza Strip, with an estimated 350,000 unregistered eligible voters living in Gaza. The roll has not been updated in Gaza since Jan. 2005 and the operation of the CEC in Gaza is seen as a boost to reconciliation efforts between Fatah and Hamas. » Read more

Hamas to demolish 75 houses built on public lands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Members of the Abu Amrah family in Gaza City demonstrated Tuesday in front of offices of the Palestinian Legislative Council protesting a decision by the Hamas-run government to demolish 75 houses belonging to the family in the al-Rimal neighborhood. The government says it decided to demolish the houses because they were illegally built on public lands. The demolition is scheduled to be conducted Wednesday morning. » Read more

Is There Any Hope Left For Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Arab MK to raise issue of prison hunger strikes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ariel Ben Solomon - February 13, 2013 - 1:00am MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) is trying to internationalize the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by seeking help from the UN and other countries with regards to the release of four Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike in Israeli jails, he told The Jerusalem Post this week. Zahalka has written a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Last week he sent a letter to Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi via the Egyptian Embassy in Israel. » Read more

Obsessive Are the Peacemakers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations by Steven A. Cook - (Opinion) February 11, 2013 - 1:00am Lost in all the reporting and blogging about President Obama’s planned March visit to Israel were the first phone calls his new Secretary of State, John Kerry, made even before entering office.  Even before figuring out how to use his new email, learning the way to the cafeteria, and filling out “Emergency Contact” forms, Secretary Kerry called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Shimon Peres and president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abb » Read more

Anticipating Obama In Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

"Herod the Great" show in Israel angers Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ori Lewis - February 13, 2013 - 1:00am The Israel Museum in Jerusalem on Tuesday unveiled a display dedicated to Herod - branded a baby-killer in the Christian tradition but remembered by many in Israel for rebuilding the Jewish Temple two millennia ago. » Read more

Palestinian Spokeswoman Urges Obama: Don’t Miss Opportunity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am   TML:  Nour, how did you get into this position? It’s the first time that a woman is carrying this weight…   » Read more

Gazan farmers attend Israeli meet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) February 13, 2013 - 1:00am More than 50 Palestinian farmers attended a conference in southern Israel aimed at supporting Gaza's agricultural sector, the Israeli army said. Last month's conference introduced participants to new technologies and developments that will enter the market this year, Lt. Col. Avi Shalev, head of the Economic Branch of the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration said. » Read more

Palestine’s Democratic Deficit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David Keyes - (Opinion) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am LAST week, a 26-year-old Palestinian activist, Anas Awwad, was sentenced in absentia by a court in Nablus, the West Bank, to one year in prison for “extending his tongue” against the Palestinian Authority’s president,  » Read more