December 11th

Israeli soldiers 'assault staff' at Bethlehem school ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 11, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Monday assaulted a headmaster and two teachers at a secondary school near Bethlehem, a Ma'an correspondent said. Three Israeli military jeeps arrived at the school in Tuqu village at midday, and several soldiers assaulted headmaster Salim Abu Mufarrih and teachers Nabil al-Tamamri and Mahmoud Zawahra after they tried to block the soldiers entering into school grounds. Locals said there were no confrontations or stone-throwing in the area at the time. » Read more

Israeli forces raid NGO offices in Ramallah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 11, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces raided three civil society organizations in Ramallah early Tuesday, a Ma'an correspondent said. Soldiers raided the offices of the Agricultural Work Committees, prisoners group Addameer, and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, located in Qaddura refugee camp. Four laptops, one hard disk and a video camera were taken from Addameer's office, a statement from the group said. It is the first time the prisoners group has been raided since 2002, during the height of the second Palestinian intifada. » Read more

Half of Israeli Arabs not to vote in upcoming elections: poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 10, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- A new poll released Monday shows that half of Israeli Arabs would not vote in the Jan. 22 elections. The poll, aimed to check patterns of behavior related to the elections among Israeli Arabs, who constitute 20 percent of Israel 's population, was conducted by the Statnet Company for the Political Science department in the University of Haifa. » Read more

Hamas bans Israeli-provided internet service in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 11, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Hamas authorities on Tuesday ordered telecommunication companies, mobile stores and internet providers to stop offering services obtained from Israel. In a statement, the ministry said offering services from Israeli companies is banned, especially 3G and WiFi services. Hamas justified its decision that the Israeli internet providers allow access to pornographic websites, which local internet companies in Gaza blocked upon an earlier order from Hamas. » Read more

PLO calls on EU to 'reconsider' relations with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 11, 2012 - 1:00am The Palestine Liberation Organization called on the European Union on Tuesday to "reconsider" it's political and trade relations with Israel over what it called "provocations." The EU said on Monday that it was “deeply dismayed by and strongly opposes Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem, and in particular plans to develop the E1 area,” and said all of its agreements with Israel only applied to the pre-1967 lines. » Read more

EU dismayed at Israeli settlements, takes no action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Justyna Pawlak - December 10, 2012 - 1:00am BRUSSELS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The European Union expressed dismay on Monday over Israel's plans to build settlements in a highly sensitive part of the West Bank, but spelled out no punitive measures in response. After meeting in Brussels, foreign ministers of the 27 EU states said the Israeli plan would seriously undermine the prospects of successful peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. » Read more

Hamas chief ends Gaza visit with Palestinian unity call ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - December 10, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal ended his first visit to the Gaza Strip on Monday with a pledge his Islamist movement would strive to heal political rifts with Palestinian rivals who hold sway in the occupied West Bank. His comments reinforced promises he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the rival Fatah movement, made to each other in a telephone conversation a month ago, to forge ahead with a stalled unity deal opposed by Israel. » Read more

Netanyahu wards off criticism: Israeli settlement plans won't prevent Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by DPA - December 10, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday dismissed international criticism of Israel's recently announced plans to build in an area near Jerusalem, saying it's "simply not true" that the settlements are an obstacle to Palestinian statehood. "I don't understand how this will prevent territorially the establishment of a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said, referring to Israeli construction in the area east of Jerusalem and west of Ma'aleh Adumim - the so-called E-1 area. » Read more

Israel's Netanyahu: World has double standards ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - December 10, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —Israel's prime minister on Monday accused the international community of "deafening silence" in response to recent vows by the head of the Hamas militant group to fight on until the Jewish state is destroyed, and appeared unmoved by the gathering storm of global condemnation of his government's plans to continue settling the West Bank. » Read more

U.S. intel predicts: Palestinian state to exist by 2030, but not peace with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amir Oren - December 11, 2012 - 1:00am A U.S. intelligence report predicts growing conflicts between secular Israelis and the ultra-Orthodox and settlers, with the Palestinians getting a state based on the 1967 borders with land swaps by 2030. The state, however, won't necessarily be formally declared, and the issues of Jerusalem, refugees and the demilitarization of the West Bank might not be solved. The report predicts that with the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and eventually Afghanistan, support for Israel will remain the last cause for Muslim anti-U.S. sentiments. » Read more