February 12th

Fatah, Hamas to meet in Cairo Feb. 19, official says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Fatah and Hamas will meet in Cairo on Feb. 19 to continue reconciliation talks, a Fatah official said Tuesday. Sakhr Bseiso told Ma'an that the factions will meet under Egypt-mediation a day after the Central Elections Commission has finished updating the election register in Gaza. The rival factions met in Cairo to discuss reconciliation over the weekend, but reached no agreement on the formation of a unity government or on a revision of the Palestine Liberation Organization. » Read more

Build two-state bridges not walls ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ibrahim Shomali - (Opinion) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Today, an Israeli court in Tel Aviv will decide the fate of our land. It will judge whether Israel’s annexation Wall will be built right through the heart of our community. » Read more

Soccer racism raises concern in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - February 11, 2013 - 1:00am With 10 minutes left to play, Dzhabrail Kadiev, a Muslim soccer player from Chechnya, took the field for the first time for Beitar Jerusalem, a local team notorious for fan violence and racism. A chorus of catcalls went up from the stands, quickly drowned out by a welcoming ovation. Yet every kick of the ball by the newly signed player was met with jeers and whistles, punctuating Sunday night’s tense game that ended in a 2-2 tie with a squad from the Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin. » Read more

Netanyahu’s coalition options seen to be closing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - February 12, 2013 - 1:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s efforts to build a broad national unity government suffered multiple setbacks on Monday when his potential coalition partners refused to compromise on key issues. » Read more

PA Employees in Gaza Key to Reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Omar Shaban - (Editorial) February 11, 2013 - 1:00am In response to the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the Palestinian Authority (PA) took several measures, all of which — according to their claims — aimed to render the Hamas government’s task of running the Gaza Strip impossible, and to push it to quickly be exposed and collapse. » Read more

Why a Palestinian settlement is elusive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Lihi Ben Shitrit, Mahmoud Jaraba - (Editorial) February 12, 2013 - 1:00am In recent weeks Fatah and Hamas celebrated their movements’ founding in Gaza and the West Bank. It was the first time since the Hamas-Fatah rift of 2007 that thousands of Hamas supporters were allowed to rally in the West Bank in mid-December and thousands of Fatah supporters were able to show open support for Fatah in the Hamas stronghold of Gaza in early January. On Jan. » Read more

February 11th

Yasser Arafat's widow says her marriage was 'a big mistake' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - February 10, 2013 - 1:00am Yasser Arafat's widow has said she tried to leave her husband hundreds of times and that had she known what marriage to the Palestinian leader would be like, she would never have gone through with it. » Read more

Cyprus gives Palestinians full diplomatic status ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Google News February 9, 2013 - 1:00am Cyprus said on Friday it has upgraded its relations with the Palestinians to full diplomatic mission status, one of just eight European Union countries to do so. » Read more

Israeli Says Syrian Media Misreported Exile’s Views ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Anne Barnard, Isabel Kershner - February 9, 2013 - 1:00am A public relations controversy erupted Saturday after a leading Israeli newspaper published comments from a brief interview with the leader of Syria’s main exile opposition group. » Read more

Witnesses: Settlers vandalize Hebron community center ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 11, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more