February 19th, 2013

Pro-Israel group's primer on West Bank settlements shows just how disastrous they are
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Eric H. Yoffie - (Opinion) February 18, 2013 - 1:00am


Finally, a serious effort has been made to offer college students a compelling explanation of Israel’s settlement policy. To be sure, it did not succeed, but it was an effort worth making, if only to demonstrate just how vulnerable Israel is on the settlement issue.    


Gazans Suffer As Foreign NGOs Refuse to Deal with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Omar Shaban - February 18, 2013 - 1:00am


The relationship between international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the Hamas government has been marked by tension and distrust. This is especially true, since these organizations have taken the same positions as the West — including the U.S. and Israel — to sever ties with the Hamas government and with any of its affiliated institutions, while at the same time seeking to implement their work in the Gaza Strip.


Obama's best and worst-case scenarios for Israel's new government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) February 19, 2013 - 1:00am


For Benjamin Netanyahu, it wasn't supposed to break this way.  Four months ago, when he called early elections, advisers assured the prime minister that his best-case scenario was also among the most likely:


Moving past stalemate in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
by Maen Areikat - (Opinion) February 19, 2013 - 1:00am


With the U.S.


Israelis Begin to See Continuity In Mubarak, Morsi Policies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Jacky Hugi - February 18, 2013 - 1:00am


The clamor rising from Tahrir Square in Cairo was a common scene, familiar to all and sundry. The masses packing the square were calling out for the resignation of the president and crying for his prosecution on charges of killing demonstrators, while opposition politicians tried to outdo each other denouncing him on satellite TV channels.


Hamas condemns Egypt’s flooding of Gaza tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
February 17, 2013 - 1:00am


Hamas released a statement on Saturday condemning Egypt’s closure of tunnels with Gaza, saying this renews Israel’s blockade on the strip, reported AFP. Khalil El-Haya, a senior Hamas official, said at a conference in Gaza that the tunnels were the only means available to Palestinians to face Israel's “brutal blockade,” reported the agency.


Israel to return West Bank farmland to Palestinian owners after wrongly allocating land to kibbutz
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - February 18, 2013 - 1:00am


Israel is slated to return some 1,200 dunams (‏300 acres) of farmland in the northern Jordan Valley to its Palestinian owners, following the Israel Lands Administration’s admission it had mistakenly assigned the land to Kibbutz Merav, which is within the Green Line.


Israeli Siege Snuffing Out Gaza's Camel Industry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Rami Almeghari - February 14, 2013 - 1:00am


Salama Jbara, a long-time camel rider and breeder, participated last Friday [Feb. 8] in a camel marathon near the destroyed and abandoned Gaza International Airport in the southern city of Rafah. Salama's camel and 12 others took part in the race, which many consider here a part of the local culture that some tribes, including the Malalha, al-Semairy and Abu Amra, continue to preserve despite years of turmoil that have reduced camel production in Gaza.


Is Qatari cash keeping the calm in Gaza?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Lappin - February 19, 2013 - 1:00am


Israeli deterrence has so far successfully kept Hamas from violating the cease-fire reached after an eight-day round of violence in November, but a second factor might also be playing a role in upholding the unprecedented calm along the Gaza-Israel border: economics.


Taking a hike in the Holy Land on the Jesus Trail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Christa Case Bryant - February 17, 2013 - 1:00am


For Christian pilgrims in hiking boots, Israel’s 36-mile Jesus Trail offers glimpses of the kind of biblical scenery the master Christian may have seen as he made the rounds in verdant Galilee.



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