February 13th

Australia to Investigate Suspected Spy’s Death in Israeli Prison ATFP World Press Roundup Article from February 13, 2013 - 1:00am Australia’s foreign minister on Wednesday ordered an investigation into his government’s handling of the 2010 detention and death of an Australian immigrant to Israel who was known as Prisoner X and may have b » Read more

Abbas to issue decrees on elections, unity govt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 13, 2013 - 1:00am President Mahmoud Abbas will issue decrees announcing elections and declaring a new unity government, a senior Fatah official said Tuesday. At a news conference in Ramallah, Azzam al-Ahmad said the two decrees would be issued at the same time. Abbas has already started consultations to form a unity government of technocrats, which will be sworn when the Central Elections Commission finishing updated the voter registry, by the end of March, al-Azzam told reporters. » Read more

Israeli airstrike on Syria shows strategic strength ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Daniel Nisman - (Opinion) February 11, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

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