February 11th

The furor over Meshaal’s PLO comments ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Ramzy Baroud - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am When Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal declared the need for a new leadership before a cheering crowd in Doha, Qatar, on Jan. 28, his words generated panic among leaders of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) as well as among the traditional Palestinian leadership elites in various Arab capitals. The reaction to Meshaal’s call was more furious than most of the statements issued by the PA and its backers during the 23-day Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip which killed and wounded thousands of innocent Gazans. » Read more

UN to probe IDF damage to Gaza premises ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 11, 2009 - 1:00am UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council Monday he was about to establish a commission to look into Israeli damage to UN premises during the recent Gaza conflict, Reuters quoted diplomats as saying. Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu, the current council president, told reporters that during a closed-door briefing, Ban had promised to provide the council with details on the panel's mandate and the names of its members in the coming days. » Read more

Hamas raising money to rebuild mosques ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Doron Peskin - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am The Hamas government in Gaza announced Sunday it would start raising money to rebuild the mosques destroyed by IDF strikes during Operation Cast Lead. Dr. Taleb Abu Shaar, minister for religious affairs, launched the fundraising campaign at a special press conference that was held on the ruins of the al-Taqwa mosque in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. » Read more

Arabs fear rise of hard-right in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 11, 2009 - 1:00am Arabs on Wednesday saw little hope for peace from whatever government emerges from Israel's inconclusive elections, and they expressed fears over the rising power of Israel's far right. With the prospect of a hard-line Israeli government, some in the region said any progress in Arab-Israeli negotiations will now rely even more on pressure from President Barack Obama, who has said his administration will take an active role in pursuing a Mideast peace. » Read more

Gaza mortar shells strike western Negev; no casualties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired four mortar shells at the western Negev during the course of the day Wednesday, a day after Israel held general elections, the results of which are likely to influence any future peace deal in the region. A Qassam rocket fired by Gaza militants exploded late Tuesday evening in an open field near the western Negev city of Sderot, just half an hour before the polls were to close. » Read more

With 99% of votes counted, Kadima leads Likud 28 to 27 seats ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz February 11, 2009 - 1:00am With 99 percent of the votes counted, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party is in first place with 28 of the Knesset's 120 seats, with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party following closely behind with 27 seats. As the vote progresses, Labor stands at 13 seats, while Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party is expected to garner 15 seats. Exit polls by Israel's three main television stations on Tuesday night came to the same conclusion with Kadima as the leader and Likud coming a narrow second. » Read more

The American Task Force on Palestine Blogs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by Ziad Asali - (Blog) February 11, 2009 - 1:00am I am delighted to be among the early contributors to the first blog postings on this new part of the Israel Policy Forum (IPF) website. The close relationship that my colleagues and I at the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) have built with IPF is fundamental to what we, at ATFP, are working towards. » Read more

February 10th

Elections 2009 / Fatah rooting for Livni, says Netanyahu win will boost Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority will work with any government Israel elects, as long as it is committed to the peace process, President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said in a press statement Monday. Off the record, however, senior PA officials said they are worried by the apparent strengthening of the Israeli right. If, as seems likely, Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu becomes prime minister and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu greatly increases its representation, this would bolster Hamas, which opposes negotiations with Israel, they argued. » Read more

Netanyahu: No Return of Golan Heights to Syria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat February 9, 2009 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, (AP) – Benjamin Netanyahu, the front-runner in polls ahead of Israel's election this week, declared Sunday he would not give up the strategic Golan Heights for peace with Syria, an apparent attempt to toughen his right-wing credentials after a last-minute charge by a hardline party. Israelis go to the polls Tuesday after one of the calmest campaigns in the nation's history, despite the vital issues facing Israel — war, peace, terrorism and economic recession. The electorate has appeared fatigued after Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers last month. » Read more

Israelis Go to the Polls - At Stake: Future Relations With Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times February 10, 2009 - 1:00am These are troubled times for Israel as it faces new threats from new enemies in wars which have proven to be harder to combat than the traditional armies and traditional wars it faced in the past, as in the 1948 War of Independence, the June 1967 Six-Day War, or the 1973 October War. In retrospect, fighting conventional armies has been far less complicated than fighting asymmetric wars, or small wars, as has been the case with battling Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south. » Read more