February 25th

PLO: If Netanyahu wants our holy sites, he can't have peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 25, 2010 - 1:00am The Executive Committee of the PLO will not support talks with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu government in light of its decision to declare sites in Palestinian areas "Israeli heritage sites," the body announced after a meeting Wednesday. "We will reject any kind of negotiations, even indirect talks," Secretary General of the PLO body Yasser Abed Rabbo said after the meeting in Ramallah. » Read more

Israeli: Mossad hit didn't upset intel ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Eli Lake - February 25, 2010 - 1:00am The embarrassing trail left by a suspected Israeli hit team — a trail that began with doctored European passports, led to the assassination of a Palestinian terrorist in a Dubai hotel room, and ended on the front pages of world papers — has not worsened the country's intelligence cooperation with Western countries, a senior Israeli official insists. » Read more

GOP Senate race grows heated over Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Seema Mehta - February 25, 2010 - 1:00am In a dispute that commingles foreign policy and a quest for political advantage, U.S.-Israel relations have taken an unexpectedly central role in the California race for Senate. Rivals in the race for the Republican nomination are questioning whether former Rep. Tom Campbell is sufficiently supportive of Israel. They base their criticisms on his voting record, statements about a Palestinian homeland and capital, and some of his past associates. » Read more

Dubai names more suspects in Hamas assassination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Borzou Daragahi - February 24, 2010 - 1:00am Adam Korman loves to travel. According to police in Dubai, an Australian passport holder by that name visited the United Arab Emirates city-state three times in 10 months. The last time the muscular young man visited, police said Wednesday, he allegedly joined 25 other European and Australian passport holders and a pair of Palestinians who allegedly made up the hit team that killed suspected Hamas weapons procurer Mahmoud Mabhouh. » Read more

Son of Hamas founder says he served Israel as an informant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 25, 2010 - 1:00am The son of one of Hamas's founders says in a new book that he served as a top informant for Israel for more than a decade, providing top-secret intelligence that helped prevent dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis. » Read more

February 24th

Palestinian Prime Minister to Israeli Leaders: We are Building a State While Under Occupation to End the Occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) February 23, 2010 - 1:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad forthrightly brought his case for building a Palestinian state to Israeli political and military leaders, and they applauded. The new Palestinian attitude towards how to end the occupation that began in 1967 was on full display during Fayyad's speech at the Herzliya conference in Israel earlier this month, and it has had a considerable impact on its Israeli audience. With reports that "proximity talks" between Israelis and Palestinians will begin soon, attention must be paid to Fayyad's remarks and their reception. » Read more

U.S. Jewish leaders press incitement issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Harris - February 23, 2010 - 1:00am U.S. Jewish leaders pressed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on incitement and the need to keep Israel a Jewish state. At a meeting Feb. 18 in Jenin between Fayyad and a visiting delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Alan Solow, the chairman of the Jewish umbrella group, said the actions of the Palestinian leadership set back the cause of peace. » Read more

Rachel Corrie's family bring civil suit over human shield's death in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy - February 23, 2010 - 1:00am The family of the American activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago, is to bring a civil suit over her death against the Israeli defence ministry. The case, which begins on 10 March in Haifa, northern Israel, is seen by her parents as an opportunity to put on public record the events that led to their daughter's death in March 2003. Four key witnesses – three Britons and an American – who were at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed will give evidence, according the family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein. » Read more

Report: Mabhouh aide arrested in Syria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - February 23, 2010 - 1:00am Syrian authorities have arrested one of the associates of assassinated Hamas member Mahmoud al-Mabhouh for possible involvement in the plot, a Fatah-affiliated website reported Tuesday. The man, Mahmoud Nasser, was said to have been aware of all of Mabhouh's movements and flights. According to an Arab diplomatic source, the Dubai police asked the Syrians to turn over Hamas members for questioning, including Nasser. » Read more

Palestinian group threatens attacks over heritage sites ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - February 24, 2010 - 1:00am The decision to declare the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb national heritage sites ahead of their renovation may lead the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to another boiling point: Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad's military wing, threatened Tuesday to launch attacks within Israel. "If the Israelis continue to damage our mosques and holy places, we will respond within the Zionist territory," the al-Quds Brigades spokesman told Ynet. Israel's ministers, however, insist that the government will not renege on its decision. » Read more