February 25th

Gaza court slashes jail term in Italian murder case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 24, 2013 - 1:00am A Palestinian military court in Gaza on Sunday cut by half the jail sentence of a man involved in the abduction and murder of Italian national Vittorio Arrigoni. An AFP reporter said the tribunal's judge accepted the appeal of former policeman Khadr Faruq Jerim, who last year was convicted of kidnapping Arrigoni, and cut his prison term from 10 to five years. Jerim's lawyer Mohammed Zaqut told AFP that "the conviction was adjusted from abduction for the purpose of murder to abduction for the purpose of holding captive." » Read more

Israel, US successfully test anti-missile system ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ian Deitch - February 25, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Hamas bans Fatah official from leaving Gaza: statement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 24, 2013 - 1:00am Hamas security officers prevented an official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party from leaving the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Fatah said in a statement on Sunday. The move is part of finger-pointing between the rival groups over their failure to form a transitional unity government to achieve national reconciliation under the Egyptian-sponsored mediation efforts. » Read more

Palestinians Protest Route of Marathon to Sponsors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - February 22, 2013 - 1:00am A lawyer representing Palestinian government agencies sent letters this week to an American sneaker company and an international hotel chain threatening a boycott and legal action if they did not withdraw their sponsorship of the Jerusalem Marathon, which the Palestinians say violates international law. » Read more

Egypt seizes 20,000 liters of fuel en-route to Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Editorial) February 24, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Hamas calls on resistance to capture Israeli soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 25, 2013 - 1:00am Senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil on Sunday urged resistance fighters to kidnap Israeli soldiers at a rally to protest the death of a Palestinian in Israeli custody. Hamas organized two huge rallies in Khan Younis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip to protest the death of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat in Megiddo prison. Palestinian officials say an autopsy conducted in Israel showed Jaradat died of extreme torture. » Read more

Fatah: Palestinian Authority supports escalating popular resistance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 25, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority supports and helped organized an escalation in popular resistance in the West Bank, a senior Fatah official said Sunday. "Resistance is a natural right and we agree unanimously on escalating popular resistance," Azzam al-Ahmad told the Beirut-based al-Mayadeen satellite channel. Al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, said the Palestinian Authority had helped escalate popular resistance in the West Bank. » Read more

Palestinians say detainee tortured before death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - February 24, 2013 - 1:00am The death of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat in an Israeli jail on Saturday and a hunger strike by four inmates have flared tension across the occupied West Bank, where stone-throwing protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Sunday. The Palestinian autopsy findings could further fuel unrest that has surged in the Palestinian Territories weeks before U.S. President Barack Obama is due to visit the region. Israel demanded the Palestinian Authority restore calm to the area. » Read more

No light at the end of Gaza’s tunnels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Sharif Nashashibi - (Opinion) February 25, 2013 - 1:00am “The Egypt of today isn’t the Egypt of yesterday ... (We) won’t leave Gaza on its own,” President Mohammed Mursi said in November amid Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian territory. It is ironic, then, that the Egypt of today has been actively partaking with Israel in the blockade of Gaza, much like it did under dictator Hosni Mubarak. » Read more

Prisoner’s death fuels Palestinian protests, as Israel braces for more ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - February 25, 2013 - 1:00am The death of a Palestinian prisoner under Israeli interrogation after a week of demonstrations for the release of four other inmates on hunger strikes triggered fresh clashes Sunday and heightened concerns in Israel about a swelling wave of unrest in the West Bank. » Read more