October 9th, 2012

Israelis Moving to Golan Heights As Development Booms ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Ofer Petersburg - October 8, 2012 - 12:00am A peace agreement with Syria seems to be far away, more so than ever before. Meanwhile, the Golan Heights is enjoying an unprecedented development boom and highly generous incentives are offered to potential settlers. Just come and settle here! Where else in Israel can you receive these days a plot of land for free? » Read more

The Palestinian Great Escape? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Adam Nicky - October 7, 2012 - 12:00am AMMAN, JORDAN  -- Abdullah Ashee, a 45-year old investor, is wanted in the West Bank for alleged fraud. But two years ago, while his case was being considered in a court in the West Bank city of Ramallah, he fled to neighboring Jordan. He says he entered Jordan legally and that he fled his home because he does not trust the Palestinian Authority’s legal system. » Read more

Erekat: UNGA bid the only way to stop settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - October 9, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday that the Palestinian bid for non-member status at the United Nations is the only way to stop the expanding Israeli settlement enterprise in the West Bank, official PA news agency WAFA reported. Speaking after meetings with foreign diplomats, Erekat called on the international community to support the Palestinian UN maneuver when it comes to a vote in the UN General Assembly, likely in November. » Read more

PA: No date set for payment of September salaries ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 9, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority has not set a date for the payment of government employees' September salaries, PA spokeswoman Nour Odeh said Monday. The Ministry of Finance will release a statement when the salaries are available to employees, Odeh told Ma'an. On Wednesday, the PA paid part of employees' August salaries. Their full salaries had been put on hold to pay lower wage earners. » Read more

Hamas election boycott leaves West Bank Palestinians with only one choice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - October 6, 2012 - 12:00am Municipal elections in the West Bank are still three weeks away, but the self-styled patriarch of Nablus politics, Ghassan Shakaa, speaks as if he is already in the mayor's office. He describes one of his key plans – an after-school program for teens who, he laments, currently languish in coffee shops – as if it's a sure thing. » Read more

Prominent Israeli figures hold send-off for a settler who abused Palestinian teen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - October 7, 2012 - 12:00am Prominent rabbis, public officials and a Knesset member, on Saturday, held a send off for a criminal about to enter prison after being convicted of abusing a Palestinian youth. » Read more

Settlers attack undercover Israeli police in Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 8, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Three young Israeli settlers are in custody on suspicion of attacking undercover Israeli officers posing as Palestinian shepherds in southern Hebron, Israeli media reported on Sunday. Israeli police said the settlers punched the officers and attacked them with clubs last week, assuming they were Palestinians, Israeli news site Ynet reported. Another suspect fled the scene when police identified themselves to the masked group, the report said. » Read more

Settlers' assaults in West Bank obstruct olives picking again ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 8, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Right after Jom'aa Abu Fkheida and his family members had hardly managed to escape from Israeli settlers' truculent dogs, which tried to attack them in Ras Karkar village near Ramallah, an Israeli army force blockaded them for several hours under their olive trees. » Read more

Iran says drone incursion displays Israel's vulnerability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 9, 2012 - 12:00am TEHRAN, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general said the fact that an unmanned aerial vehicle recently penetrated into Israeli airspace shows the vulnerability of Israel's air defenses, Tehran Times daily reported Tuesday. According to media reports on Saturday, the Israeli military announced in the day that a warplane of Israel had shot a drone down near the occupied West Bank in the southern country. » Read more

Israel deploys missile defense system days after shooting down suspect drone over its skies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press October 9, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel’s military has deployed a missile defense system near the Lebanese border, days after warplanes shot down a mysterious unmanned aircraft that entered its skies. An army spokesman said on Tuesday that the Patriot missile defense battery was deployed in the northern city of Haifa. He refused to say if the battery’s deployment was connected to Saturday’s drone incident. The drone is widely believed to have originated in Lebanon. He spoke anonymously in line with military regulations. » Read more