February 5th

Dissenters on Panel Blast Study Claiming Palestinian Textbooks Don't Vilify Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - February 4, 2013 - 1:00am


Controversy quickly engulfed a new study that said Palestinian textbooks do not incite hatred for Jews with Israel blasting the report — with some members of the report’s advisory panel claiming they were blindsided by its release.


February 4th

NEWS: A new study undermines long-standing narratives that Palestinian textbooks teach hatred, in contrast to Israeli ones. The study says both sides have textbooks that privilege their own narratives but few instances of demonization. Israelis are reportedly unhappy with the study. PM Fayyad welcomes the study and calls on Israel to stop undermining its findings. Israel arrests 20 Hamas members in the occupied West Bank. Secretary of State Kerry is expected to visit Israel early in his tenure. A senior PLO official dismisses PM Netanyahu's call for a return to negotiations without preconditions. Palestinian despair appears to be growing in the aftermath of the recent Israeli election. Two more Palestinian refugees are killed by government forces in Syria. The OIC recommends the creation of a "financial safety net" for the PA. The LA Times profiles a Palestinian farmer now nominated for an Oscar. Jerusalem police begin a crackdown on Palestinian residents. The Media Line looks at nightlife in Ramallah. East Asian leaders are meeting with Fayyad in Japan to discuss aid to the PA. Egyptian authorities accuse Israel of fomenting a campaign of sabotage by the so-called "Black Bloc." COMMENTARY: Roger Cohen says Israelis are in a state of denial, and Palestinians are becoming invisible to them. Dmitry Shumsky says that in rejecting the idea of forming partnerships with Arab MKs, Lapid is rejecting Jewish values. Dov Weisglass warns that Israel is greatly imperiled by the lack of peace with the Palestinians. Rami Khouri says Defense Secretary nominee Hagel is paying for years of bad US foreign policy. Ben Caspit says Israel "changed the rules of the game" by attacking a target in Syria. Hazem Balousha says NGOs face difficulties operating in Gaza, not least with Hamas authorities. Nachman Shai says Israel was right to reject the "grotesquely biased" UNHRC report into its settlement activities.

Israel right to say 'Enough!' to grotesquely biased UNHRC inquiry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nachman Shai - (Opinion) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am


As a re-elected Member of Knesset for the Labor Party, I was disturbed by two developments in the past couple of days: the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) call for sanctions against the State of Israel, and the decision of the New York Times to lambast 


NGOs Face Challenges in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Hazem Balousha - (Opinion) February 3, 2013 - 1:00am


For decades, Palestinian society has suffered from instability in the provision of basic needs, volatile political conditions and constantly changing authorities, while its civil institutions remain relatively stable. But the relationship between Palestine’s vast non-governmental network and authorities has often been fraught with tension.


Egypt holds Black Bloc member over 'Israeli sabotage plan'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 1, 2013 - 1:00am


Egyptian authorities on Thursday detained a member of the Black Bloc group suspected of planning to carry out an Israeli-directed sabotage plan, the official MENA news agency said. One person "belonging to the Black Bloc organisation was arrested inside a building overlooking Tahrir Square carrying Israeli plans to target petrol companies and vital installations, maps of these places and instructions on setting fire to some places," MENA reported. Israel firmly rejected the notion of its involvement in any such plot.


East Asian nations to meet Fayyad in Japan on Palestinian aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 4, 2013 - 1:00am


Japan is to host a meeting of Asian countries next week to discuss financial assistance for the Palestinian Authority. Ministers from Japan, South Korea and several member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, such as Thailand and Indonesia, will get together on February 13 and 14, Kyodo News agency reported today. The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is expected to attend the meeting aimed at helping pave the way for resuming direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the agency quoted government officials as saying.


Dancing in Ramallah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Diana Atallah - February 3, 2013 - 1:00am


  They're dancing the night away, here of all places. While it might be normal to see men offering to buy women at the bar a drink, that hasn't always been the case in this city, where such establishments were once shut down during the second intifada and remain controversial among Palestinians.


Changes in Jerusalem police brass bring crackdown on Arab residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - February 4, 2013 - 1:00am


   Changes at the top of the Jerusalem District police are being felt in the eastern part of the capital. Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem have complained that the police, under New district commander Maj. Gen. Yossi Prienti, have been implementing an almost declared policy of collective punishment against neighborhoods considered too disruptive.


Israel Rewrites Rules of Game To Deal With Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) February 3, 2013 - 1:00am


When big, historic structures disintegrate, laws are written anew. When familiar frameworks break up, rules change. This, more or less, is what’s happening now in the Middle East.


Palestinian farmer, activist, filmmaker — and Oscar nominee
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - February 2, 2013 - 1:00am


  Like many Palestinians, West Bank farmer Emad Burnat punctuates his life story with events from the Israeli occupation of his village. His first son was born amid the optimism that followed the 1993 Oslo peace accords, and another came just as the 2000 Palestinian uprising erupted.



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