February 12th

U.S. Assistance to the Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United States State Department (Press Release) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Question: What is the status of the funding Congresswoman Granger approved for the Palestinian Authority? » Read more

Only by fear of international sanctions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) February 11, 2013 - 1:00am It's doubtful if there was such foolishness in global politics since World War II as the settlement enterprise. The fact that the Israeli political leadership has engaged in it since 1967 makes the pill all the more bitter. » Read more

Kerry seeks to unblock $700 million in aid for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 11, 2013 - 1:00am Secretary of State John Kerry is working to try to free up almost $700 million in aid for the Palestinians which has been held up in Congress, a top US official said Monday. “The secretary feels extremely strongly that it is time now to get this support to the Palestinian Authority,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. » Read more

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