December 7th

Israel threatens to cancel Hamas truce if Islamic Jihad leaders enter Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 6, 2012 - 1:00am Members of Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad say Israel has warned the militant group's two top leaders against trying to enter the Gaza Strip this week. The pair had planned to visit Friday, along with Khaled Meshal the leader-in-exile of Hamas, Islamic Jihad's sister group. » Read more

Hitmen on hold, Israelis might talk to Meshaal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Crispian Balmer - December 6, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Israel once tried to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a botched assassination attempt on the streets of the Jordanian capital, Amman. » Read more

Hamas leader returns to Gaza with wider ambitions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Samia Nakhoul - December 7, 2012 - 1:00am Dec 7 (Reuters) - Fifteen years after Israel tried to assassinate him in Jordan, Islamist leader Khaled Meshaal says the Jewish state would not risk trying again on his triumphant return to Palestinian land. » Read more

Hamas chief's Gaza visit sign of regional embrace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - December 6, 2012 - 1:00am   GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —  » Read more

Choosing Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) December 7, 2012 - 1:00am The State of Israel is conducting regular negotiations, more or less, with Hamas. About once a week an Israeli delegation travels to Cairo, where it holds talks on easing financial constraints, which effectively means Israel is holding talks on easing the siege on Gaza.  » Read more

Both Bibi And Abbas Pander To Extremes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Gil Troy - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am The tired, depressing scripts too many of us follow regarding the Middle East have been on full pathological display these last two weeks. Unfortunately, during this time, neither the Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas nor Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu displayed the grace, vision, or creativity needed to move forward. » Read more

Why is Obama handcuffed? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am   A front-page headline in The New York Times last Monday startled me for a few seconds. It read: “Obama brings end to giving in”, which for a few seconds I thought was related to how US President Barak Obama was on the verge of adopting a more even-handed stance towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, or more correctly twisting the arm of Israel. » Read more

Hamas Leader Makes First Visit to Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - December 7, 2012 - 1:00am RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Khaled Meshal, whom the Israelis tried to assassinate in Jordan in 1997, arrived for his first visit to the&n » Read more

Could Plan for E1 Be Just a Bluff? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - (Opinion) December 7, 2012 - 1:00am   For Israelis living at the epicenter of the settlement-building storm, there’s widespread suspicion that Bibi is bluffing. » Read more

Palestinian Artist Chips Away at the Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Diana Atallah - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am   In a small gallery in an ancient house in the village of Qalandiya, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, Khaled Jarrar stands alongside his latest art project placed on a podium: a small soccer ball made of cement. But not just any cement – this cement had been cut out of the barrier built by Israel separating the West Bank from Israel. » Read more