February 8th, 2012

Israeli Court Grants Reprieve to Abandoned Palestinian Village
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court has ruled against plans to build a luxury housing development on the remains of a Palestinian village abandoned in the 1948 war that followed the establishment of Israel. The court battle was seen as a test case for preservation of Palestinian heritage in Israel, where remains of Arab villages whose residents either fled or were expelled in the fighting have largely vanished under modern buildings, parks and planted forests.

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EU: No Change in Palestinian Aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

BRUSSELS, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The European Union says the Palestinian Authority's new Fatah-Hamas unity government will not change the EU's ongoing financial assistance to Palestinians. Hamas is officially considered a terrorist group by the European Union but it gained some recognition for freeing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a recent prisoner swap with Israel, the EUobserver reported.

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State Department Plays Down Warnings about Hamas-Fatah Announcement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Fox News
February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

The State Department played down warnings Tuesday over the latest step toward a unity government between Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, saying "the fundamentals have not changed" despite claims that the deal imperils the already anemic peace process. Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Tuesday with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and they discussed how "it's not particularly clear what this agreement will change."

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Is Palestinian Handshake Much Ado About Nothing?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM // After Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government and hold elections, you would think their rapprochement would be cause for optimism among Palestinians. But just ask Mohammed Youssef. He flatly dismissed Monday's accord as nothing more than a ruse between Fatah's chairman and the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and outgoing Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to quell public anger over the slow pace of their reconciliation.

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Legal Controversy on Abbas’ Posts Grows After Doha Delaration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A legal controversy over the posts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rose on Tuesday, one day after he agreed in Qatar with Islamic Hamas movement's chief Khaled Meshaal that Abbas will form and lead a unified transitional government. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that if Abbas as president of the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) also becomes the prime minister of the Palestinian government, "there would be doubts on whether he will be able to run in the upcoming presidential elections or not."

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Fatah Official: Abbas Can Head Government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas can appoint himself as head of the next government, a Fatah official said Wednesday, dismissing criticism that the move to bolster unity had no standing in Palestinian law. Azzam Ahmad said no law prevented Abbas from heading the government. "I advise those who reject this to read the laws again; we are a presidential system, not parliamentary." The Doha agreement signed Monday by Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal has been welcomed and criticized, with some saying the president had overstepped the parliament's authority.

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Who’s Pulling the Strings in the Middle East? Little Qatar, says Syria
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The New York Times - February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

LONDON — The Syrian regime is in no doubt about who sits at the center of a web of international conspiracy seeking to undermine it: the rulers of the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar. Like the regime of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and that of Muammar al-Qaddafi’s Libya before it, Syria has singled out Qatar as an éminence grise behind the unrest in its streets. In a dispatch on Tuesday, the Syrian State news agency SANA claimed to have discovered a document showing Qatar was funding writers in Russia to fabricate news about Syria.

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February 7th

NEWS: Both the Palestinian public and political leaders are deeply divided about the national reconciliation agreement, as is the Arab media. Hamas and Fatah are continuing their negotiations in Cairo. Salam Fayyad and Ismail Haneya both welcome the agreement. The EU lays out terms for continued aid to a new Palestinian government. Residents of Kafr Aqab in occupied East Jerusalem are cut off from most public services by Israel's separation barrier. A Jerusalem monastery is vandalized with hateful slogans by Jewish extremists, an attack condemned by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the PA Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs, and the Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land,. Israel says it is concerned that Hezbollah might get arms from Syria. PM Netanyahu orders his cabinet to cease “chitchat” about Iran. Palestinian MK Tibi's right to speak in the Knesset is again restricted. COMMENTARY: Ethan Bronner says the agreement between Hamas and Fatah carries risks for both Abbas and Netanyahu. Joe Klein says if it leads to the replacement of PM Fayyad, the agreement will be a disaster for the Palestinians. Khaled Abu Toameh doubts that the agreement will work. Robert Danin says implementing the agreement will be very difficult. The National says Palestinian unity is the only way forward. Magid Shihade says the agreement will have real consequences for all parties. Ha'aretz interviews Mohammed Bakri about his 2003 film “Jenin, Jenin.” Sefi Rachlevsky says the Israeli government isn't doing enough to protect its citizens. Moshe Arens says democracies around the world are warming to Israel. Larry Derfner says Israel is on the road to war with Iran.

Israel’s Silent March to War With Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

The atmosphere in Israel is pretty surreal these days. The whole world seems to be asking whether we’re going to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities this year — the whole world except this Israeli part of it.

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World democracies are warming up to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

No Israeli could have failed to notice the radical change in weather over the past two months. Forecasters predicted another dry winter, and fortunately they turned out to be wrong. And while Israel is still suffering from a water shortage, for the moment the situation is not as dire as we had thought.

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