February 12th

Arabs Look for Decisive Obama in Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Michel Abu Najm - February 11, 2013 - 1:00am Following the announcement that US President Barack Obama will visit Israel and Palestine for the first time next spring, Arab ministerial sources warned Asharq Al-Awsat that the US president has only a short window to advance peace. They said: "Obama has 18 months to achieve something on the question of peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. Afterward, there will be the midterm elections and the presidential campaign, which will lead to a decline in interest in this issue." » Read more

Palestinian leadership condemns Israeli settlement plans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 11, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian leadership said Monday Israel was signaling "negative" indications by planning more settlement constructions ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama 's visit. "This is another negative message to the U.S. administration," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said, speaking of Obama's upcoming visit to the region in March. "This is a deliberate declaration by the Israeli government that it insists to destroy what has been left of the peace process, " Erekat told Xinhua. » Read more

Netanyahu hints Israel will prevent Syria transferring arms to Hezbollah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 11, 2013 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted Monday that Israel will prevent the transfer of "chemical and strategic" arms from Syria to Hezbollah. Speaking in Jerusalem at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyhau stressed, "I said it before and I'll say it again, we cannot allow these weapons to fall into terrorist hands." » Read more

In Israel, hatred begins at home. Every home. So does hope. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - February 12, 2013 - 1:00am I was born into an America of segregation and skewed horizons, of ingrained prejudice of word, of heart, of workplace, of residence. Yet it was not until I came to live in Israel that I began to understand racism. I was born into an America where the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party taught people to hate people like me. But I was taught to be a minority secreted inside a majority, and it was only when I came to live in the Middle East that I began to understand extremism. » Read more

Egyptian court sentences 2 Israelis in prison over illegal entrance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Egypt's South Sinai Court has on Monday sentenced two Israelis to two years in jail on the charge of entering the Egyptian territories illegally, an intelligence source told Xinhua Tuesday. Both were also fined 3,000 Egyptian pounds (about 446 U.S. dollars) respectively, said the source, who requested anonymity. "The two Israeli persons were caught in Taba city after they infiltrated to Egypt ... without crossing the Taba crossing," the source told Xinhua, adding that they were prisoned for two months pending investigations. » Read more

Israeli forces arrest Hamas-affiliates across West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli forces launched multiple arrest raids overnight Monday against Hamas affiliates in the West Bank, Hamas sources and locals said. Hamas leader Rafat Jamil Nasif, 45, was detained in Tulkarem in an arrest raid on his home, sources in the Islamist movement said. Nasif's family were forced to stand outside in the cold while sniffer dogs searched his home. Musab al-Ashqar, Abdullah Ismail al-Khalil and Ammar Jihad Ameir, students at al-Khadouri university, were also arrested in Tulkarem, together with the local Imam's son Qitad Amar Bidawi. » Read more

PNA: Israel responsible for death of any hunger striker ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 12, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Tuesday shouldered Israel the responsibility for the life of hunger-striking prisoners. "Some of the hunger strikers reached a high level of danger and they could die anytime as their health deteriorating," said Ziad Abu Ein, deputy minister of prisoners' affairs. Six prisoners have gone into a hunger strike for different periods, with two -- Ayman Al-Sharawneh and Samer Issawi having been fasting since July and August, respectively. » Read more

Fatah, Hamas to meet in Cairo Feb. 19, official says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Fatah and Hamas will meet in Cairo on Feb. 19 to continue reconciliation talks, a Fatah official said Tuesday. Sakhr Bseiso told Ma'an that the factions will meet under Egypt-mediation a day after the Central Elections Commission has finished updating the election register in Gaza. The rival factions met in Cairo to discuss reconciliation over the weekend, but reached no agreement on the formation of a unity government or on a revision of the Palestine Liberation Organization. » Read more

Build two-state bridges not walls ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ibrahim Shomali - (Opinion) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Today, an Israeli court in Tel Aviv will decide the fate of our land. It will judge whether Israel’s annexation Wall will be built right through the heart of our community. » Read more

Soccer racism raises concern in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - February 11, 2013 - 1:00am With 10 minutes left to play, Dzhabrail Kadiev, a Muslim soccer player from Chechnya, took the field for the first time for Beitar Jerusalem, a local team notorious for fan violence and racism. A chorus of catcalls went up from the stands, quickly drowned out by a welcoming ovation. Yet every kick of the ball by the newly signed player was met with jeers and whistles, punctuating Sunday night’s tense game that ended in a 2-2 tie with a squad from the Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin. » Read more