December 12th

Hamas official: Mashaal will not run for re-election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hamas' chief-in-exile Khaled Mashaal will not run for re-election as leader of the Islamist movement, a group official said Wednesday, reiterating a position outlined several months ago.


Israel to withhold Palestinian funds until March, at least
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel will withhold tax revenues from President Mahmoud Abbas's administration until March at least in response to his statehood campaign at the United Nations, Israel's foreign minister said. Under interim peace deals, Israel collects some $100 million a month in duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank -- money that is badly needed to pay public sector salaries.


Report: Jordan to host peace talks in February
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian and Israeli officials will meet in Jordan in February in efforts to support the peace process, King Abdullah II of Jordan was quoted as saying by Al-Hayat newspaper on Wednesday. Officials from both sides will meet under the auspices of the European Union and United States, the Jordanian King said while visiting the United Kingdom on Tuesday, Al-Hayat reported.


Vandals target Jerusalem monastery, Palestinian cars in price tag attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Two price tag attacks occurred overnight as vandals sprayed hate slogans on a monastery in Jerusalem and torched and spray painted a car in Ramallah, local news outlets reported Wednesday.


Israeli FM further slams EU critique over settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman continued Wednesday to slam the European Union's critique on Israel's construction in the settlements.


Gaza's tunnels rebound from Israeli offensive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Rafah's biggest industry is back in business: Gazans are rebuilding the network of underground smuggling tunnels crisscrossing the Egyptian border that were pummeled in a recent Israeli offensive, restoring the illicit conduit for consumer goods and weapons so crucial to Hamas rule.


West Bank: Israeli Military Raids 3 Palestinian Organizations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 12, 2012 - 1:00am


Israeli soldiers raided three Palestinian nongovernmental organizations in Ramallah before dawn on Tuesday, seizing computers and other equipment from two of them: Addameer, which supports Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees.


December 11th

NEWS: A new US intelligence report predicts a Palestinian state will be created approximately along the 1967 lines, but possibly without a full peace agreement with Israel, by 2030. PM Netanyahu accuses the international community of "double standards," and claims settlements are no obstacle to a Palestinian state. Hamas calls for Palestinian national unity. The EU, though saying it is "dismayed" by Israeli settlement expansion plans, takes no action. PLO leaders call on the EU to review relations with Israel. Hamas bans Israeli-provided Internet services in Gaza. Approximately half of the Palestinian citizens of Israel may not be planning to vote in the upcoming election. Israeli occupation forces raid the offices of a Palestinian NGO in Ramallah and reportedly assault the staff at a Bethlehem school. Israeli occupation authorities say they will yet again demolish the access road to the West Bank village of Qarawat Bani Hassan. Israel's Foreign Ministry says it's launching a campaign to equate Pres. Abbas with Hamas. FM Lieberman says Palestinian police officers who clash with Israeli occupation troops "should not remain alive." The BBC looks at "unusual careers" for youth in Gaza due to the blockade. Sources say Khalid Mishal is preparing to retract his resignation as Hamas' leader. COMMENTARY: Alan Baker points out that no Palestinian state has been created. Reuven Pedatzur says the recent UN vote was the best in 65 years. Charles Freilich criticizes the policies of both Netanyahu and Abbas. Linda Heard says Mishal's Gaza speech only bolsters Israeli propaganda. Ophir Pines-Paz thinks Abbas has reached the end of the road politically. Frank Jacobs says Israel doesn't have to worry about running out of oil. Frida Ghitis says Israeli leaders need to start making more intelligent strategic decisions.

Israel's leaders need to make smarter decisions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald
by Frida Ghitis - (Opinion) December 11, 2012 - 1:00am


You have seen the headlines from the Middle East. Now imagine listening to the same stories as you stand in Israel, just a few miles from Syria, Egypt, Gaza, the West Bank. Considering the range of unhappy outcomes the Israeli people may have to face, it is stunning to see their political leaders create unnecessary problems for their country.


Keeping the Flame Alive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Frank Jacobs - (Opinion) December 10, 2012 - 1:00am


Recent developments have ruined one of Golda Meir's favorite jokes. The former Israeli prime minister was known to quip: "Know why Jews don't like Moses? For 40 years he leads them through the desert, and then he brings them to the only place in the Middle East without oil!"



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