February 25th

NEWS: Palestinians say an autopsy shows Arafat Jaradat, a 30 year old prisoner who died in Israeli custody, was tortured, while Israel insists he passed away from a heart attack. (Ma'an/New York Times) Palestinians demand an international inquiry into Jaradat's death, and into conditions for Palestinians in Israeli prisons generally. (New York Times/AP) Palestinians across the occupied territories protest in support of prisoners. (Xinhua) Dozens are injured in West Bank clashes over the prisoner's death. (Ma'an) Israeli settlers shoot two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (AP) The Israeli military says it's preparing for a potential third Palestinian uprising, as its forces go on high alert throughout the occupied territories. (Xinhua/Washington Post) Israel demands the PA suppress Palestinian demonstrations. (Reuters) A Fatah official says "Israeli arrogance" may indeed result in a third intifada. (Ma'an) Hamas calls for the capturing of more Israeli soldiers by armed Palestinian groups. (Ma'an) In a letter to its US sponsors, Palestinians protest the route of the Jerusalem Marathon. (New York Times) Hamas bans a Fatah official from leaving Gaza. (Xinhua) A Hamas court cuts in half the sentence for the murderer of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni from 10 to 5 years. (AFP) Egypt seizes 20,000 liters of fuel being smuggled into Gaza. (Ma'an) The US and Israel say they have successfully tested the Arrow anti-missile system for the first time. (AP) A Palestinian citizen of Israel in Haifa, who is a noted artist, is using his work to try to save an elderly refugee relative in Syria by finally bringing her home. (Ha'aretz) There are signs of a slow but steady reconciliation between Israel and Turkey. (The Media Line)

COMMENTARY: Chaim Levinson says West Bank demonstrations are not yet a third intifada. (Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el says the protests are in place of negotiations that were never held. (Ha'aretz) Dalia Hatuqa says the PA may be trying to use the specter of a third intifada to pressure Israel. (Al Monitor) Amos Harel says Israel is trying to calm the situation, and whether a third intifada breaks out or not depends on how the PA handles the situation. (Ha'aretz) Shlomi Eldar says Pres. Abbas is also trying to calm the situation and offers the best hope for avoiding a third intifada. (Al Monitor) Ha'aretz says Israel has no choice but to deal seriously with Palestinian issues if it wants to avoid a third intifada. (Ha'aretz) Khaled Abu Toameh says some think Abbas and other PA leaders may have an interest in escalating tensions with Israel. (Jerusalem Post) Hassan Barari says PM Netanyahu's coalition building efforts may backfire. (Arab News) Michael Ross looks at why Israel's "Prisoner X" might have committed suicide. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Sharif Nashashibi looks at how Pres. Morsi's government is much tougher on Hamas in many ways than Pres. Mubarak's was. (Al Arabiya)

Israel and Turkey Might be Headed for Reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - February 24, 2013 - 1:00am


Economic Ties Continue Despite Tensions


Arab-Israeli in Haifa uses art to help Palestinian refugee sister
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - February 22, 2013 - 1:00am


  A childhood memory documented in a photo: A little boy is holding his mother's hand; his four siblings stand alongside them. The place is a refugee camp near Damascus. The year is 1950. This is where the Abdi family eventually fled to after escaping from their home in Haifa, which had been captured by the Haganah during the War of Independence.


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."


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


 


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.


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.


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


 


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.


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.



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