January 11th, 2013

Official: Settlers destroy over 200 olive trees in Nablus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 11, 2013 - 1:00am


Settlers destroyed over 200 olive trees in a Nablus village on Friday, an official said.


Critics of Likud's new vanguard say party has abandoned founder's ideals
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - January 10, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Israel's arms exports reached 7 bln USD in 2012
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 10, 2013 - 1:00am


  According to estimates published Thursday by the defense ministry, Israeli defense equipment exports reached 7 billion U.S. dollars in 2012. The figure marks a 20-percent increase from the amount of defense-related exports in 2011. Official data will be provided by the ministry in March 2013.


Israeli officials try to expedite construction of controversial East Jerusalem neighborhood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 11, 2013 - 1:00am


  The Israeli government along with the Jerusalem municipality are working hard at marketing the controversial East Jerusalem construction project prior to the Jan. 22 elections, local media reported Thursday.


Walls and winter rains afflict Palestinian towns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Noah Browning - January 9, 2013 - 1:00am


  Heavy winter downpours have turned some Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank into a morass of filth and flooding as an Israeli barrier blocks the waters from draining away.


Israeli police say blast criminally motivated
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 10, 2013 - 1:00am


   


January 10th

NEWS: Pres. Abbas and Hamas leader Mishaal meet in Cairo. A car has exploded in Tel Aviv but no clear explanation is yet determined. Abbas rejects a conditional Israeli offer on Palestinian refugees from Syria. A Palestinian man in Gaza, and four in the West Bank, die due to extreme weather. Hamas' University in Gaza is training Hebrew teachers. At least two Palestinians are shot in confrontations with settlers near Nablus. Peace Now says the Israeli government has secretly approved yet another "unauthorized" settlement outpost. Israeli occupation forces demolish a Palestinian home in occupied East Jerusalem. Human rights groups express concern about the death of a Palestinian man in Hamas custody. Israel is persisting in new settlement expansion plans in occupied East Jerusalem in spite of unanimous international opposition. Rap music faces increasing censorship by Hamas in Gaza. COMMENTARY: Reuters interviews extremist Israeli politician Naftali Bennett. Zvi Bar'el says it's absurd that Israel's Arab citizens are so irrelevant to its elections and in the Knesset. Dov Weisglass says the only way forward now is the creation of a temporary Palestinian state with provisional borders, along the lines of Phase II of the Roadmap. Eitan Haber says Pres. Obama's appointment of Chuck Hagel signals Israel cannot move independently against Iran. Mendy Finkel says Israel's critics are too quick to dismiss prospects for a two-state solution. Chris McGreal says Hagel is a true friend of Israel. Laura Rozen says the campaign against Hagel has backfired against right-wing Jewish groups. Osman Mirghani says Hamas' acknowledgement that there is a big difference between opposition and governance, or fantasy and reality, should be a lesson to Islamists everywhere. Abeer Ayyoub says Iran has become the principal backer of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Shlomi Eldar interviews MK Tibi. Aaron David Miller says the short-term future may be a three, not a two, state reality.

The Three-State Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) January 10, 2013 - 1:00am


 


Ahmad Tibi: No Apologies For Being a 'Palestinian Patriot'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Shlomi Eldar - (Opinion) January 9, 2013 - 1:00am


"I’m a Palestinian patriot whether you like it or not. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be Ahmad Tibi.” That’s how the Arab Knesset member who has spent fourteen years on the opposition benches of Israel’s parliament, describes himself in a special interview with Al-Monitor.


Iran Top Backer of Palestinian Islamic Jihad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Abeer Ayyoub - (Opinion) January 9, 2013 - 1:00am


  As far as the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are concerned, 2012 was their golden year. For the first time, it managed to use qualitative weapons that seemingly altered the pace of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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