March 13th, 2013

Hamas urges collaborators to hand themselves in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 12, 2013 - 12:00am The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has a list of collaborators who will be detained if they do not turn themselves in, a security official said Tuesday. "Collaborators must contact dignitaries to help them turn themselves over to security services," said Muhammad Lafi, of the Internal Security Service. Informers who give themselves up by April 11 will not be detained or sent to interrogation centers, Lafi told reporters in Gaza City. » Read more

Let's face it: Israel has a racism problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ilene Prusher - March 12, 2013 - 12:00am A schoolteacher was attacked on a Jerusalem street last week for no other reason than that she was wearing the headscarf of a religious Muslim woman. The pack of religious teenagers who accosted Wahad Abu-Zamira and her colleague Revital Valkov called the latter “a Jewish bitch who has Arab friends.” » Read more

Hamas threatens to issue own passports for Gaza people ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 12, 2013 - 12:00am Hamas accused Tuesday the rival Fatah movement of "depriving thousands of Gaza people of passports, " threatening to issue its own version of Palestinian travel documents. Ibrahim Salah, spokesperson of the Hamas interior ministry, accused the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank, where President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party holds sway, of " depriving thousands of Gaza people of passports." » Read more

The silence after the lynch of Israel's Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Uri Misgav - (Opinion) March 12, 2013 - 12:00am A young man from Tel Aviv who was injured in a road accident last week wrote on Facebook: “In the emergency room at Ichilov, on the bed next to mine, lay the waiter who was beaten by a mob because he is an Arab. He didn’t stop crying, and I wanted them to run me over again.” » Read more

Palestinians to High Court: Israel's West Bank land claim will cut Bethlehem off from south ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - March 12, 2013 - 12:00am The Israeli government is seeking a ruling from the High Court of Justice on Wednesday that would permit it to declare ownership of a large swath of land in the West Bank settlement of Efrat. » Read more

Why Middle East Peace Is So Elusive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Mortimer B. Zuckerman - (Opinion) March 12, 2013 - 12:00am This month President Obama makes his first visit to Israel since he became president. His first term did not begin auspiciously in this regard, with critical remarks on settlements that pre-empted negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Indeed, in the following four years, the prospects of peace have seen only a savage deterioration. In Israel, Obama has been regarded as the least friendly U.S. president ever, and in the region the United States is perceived as having lost both interest and clout. » Read more

Economists: Extra taxes on foreign imports hasty decision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 13, 2013 - 12:00am But economic experts believe the decision is likely to increase indirect imports through Israeli middlemen, and that will eventually support the Israeli economy and maintain stagnation in Palestine's economy. West Bank economist Mahmoud al-Jaafari highlighted that poor Palestinian families depended on goods imported from China, because they were relatively cheaper, especially goods which are not produced in Palestine. After extra taxes, he added, these products will become more expensive and poor families will be unable to find something cheap to cover their needs. » Read more

The End of the Two-State Solution: Why the window is closing on Middle-East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic by Ben Birnbaum - (Opinion) March 11, 2013 - 12:00am One Friday evening last November, Mahmoud Abbas made a rare appearance on the popular Israeli TV station, Channel 2. In his boxy suit and tie, the Palestinian president looked every bit his 77 years, his olive skin tinged with gray, his voice soft and whispery. He shifted in his seat with every answer. » Read more

The Case For Incrementalism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Week by Martin Raffel - (Opinion) March 12, 2013 - 12:00am Secretary of State Kerry and President Obama are hitting the road to the Middle East this month, and, among other important strategic objectives, they will try to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that can lead expeditiously to a permanent peace agreement. » Read more

Needed: A New Approach to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Robert K Lifton - (Opinion) March 12, 2013 - 12:00am The expectation that President Obama will visit Israel and the West Bank around March 20th has generated renewed focus on how he should approach the Israel-Palestinian issues. Israel's President Shimon Peres has said that the President's visit is a "good occasion" to restart the stalled peace process. At the same time, Obama's press spokesman has said, "while the President is not going with any specific peace plan in hand, the president thinks...it's in the interests of both parties, Palestinians and Israelis to pursue a peace agreement." » Read more