January 1st

Mosque arson: Suspect released ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Efrat Weiss - January 1, 2010 - 1:00am The youth suspected of torching the mosque in the West Bank village of Yasuf was released on bail Thursday evening, after the police verified his alibi. Nevertheless, the minor's involvement in the case is still investigated. The youth, who is a relative of Kach founder Rabbi Meir Kahane, was arrested in the morning hours and interrogated for several hours. Attorney Yehuda Shushan, representing the suspect told Ynet that his client has no criminal record and that he adamantly denies all the allegations against him, adding that he was "traumatized by the arrest." » Read more

Netanyahu proposes peace summit with Abbas this month ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 1, 2010 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later this month in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, government sources said Thursday. "There is a possibility of a breakthrough surrounding the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office said earlier Thursday. The Egyptian administration began efforts to bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table following Netanyahu's recent visit in Cairo, the officials said. » Read more

Settlers can stay, but only as citizens of Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Alexander Yakobson - (Opinion) January 1, 2010 - 1:00am The time has come to say to the settler leaders: Okay - you've convinced us. It seems that a mass evacuation of settlers is an impractical idea. You showed us clearly that you're prepared to turn such a removal into a national trauma. It's doubtful that any Israeli politician would chance it. » Read more

Construction in West Bank settlements booming despite declared freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - January 1, 2010 - 1:00am Despite the construction freeze, dozens of settlements in the West Bank are experiencing a building boom, even on the eve of another visit to the region by U.S. envoy George Mitchell to try to restart talks for a final settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Construction is being carried out mostly to the east of the separation fence; it began shortly after warrants were issued on November 26 freezing construction. » Read more

US market brief expects several growth sectors in Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 1, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem - Ma’an - Growth in several Palestinian sectors including energy and telecommunications is expected over the next few years, a report by the US Commercial Service published Tuesday. The Service, a division of the US Department of Commerce, highlights opportunities for American investors in emerging market. » Read more

Abbas: Gaza's suffering is our suffering ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 1, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas vowed on Thursday to spare no effort in supporting Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. “Your suffering is ours – we will continue supporting you. We will offer every possible means of support,” he said, speaking at a ceremony in Ramallah marking the 45th anniversary of the founding of his Fatah movement. He touted the role of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) in supporting Gazans. He said the PA still pays the salaries of 77,000 employees in Gaza, devoting 55% of its budget to the territory. » Read more

Gaza war anniversary: How one group helps victims overcome trauma ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - December 28, 2009 - 1:00am Jerusalem — Rawya Hamam was watching her son deteriorate. Hisham wouldn't sleep, clung to her incessantly, and said he wanted to go back into her belly so he'd be safe. "Grandma is lucky she died so she doesn't have to live here now," the boy told his mother. » Read more

In reversal, Egypt allows some foreign activists to enter Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor December 31, 2009 - 1:00am Cairo, Egypt — Egypt has allowed 84 pro-Palestinian foreign activists to march to Gaza, which is under an Israeli-led blockade, an Egyptian official in the North Sinai governorate said. Some 1,400 activists from 43 countries had gathered in Cairo since Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the Israeli three-week offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Egypt said 100 activists would be allowed to pass through. » Read more

In sharp contrast with Gaza, casualties decline in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider, Samuel Sockol - January 1, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM -- The first year in a decade without a suicide bombing, as well as an expanded Palestinian security force, resulted in a decline in the number of Israeli and Palestinian casualties in the occupied West Bank in 2009 -- a contrast to the hundreds of Palestinian lives claimed by last winter's war in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. » Read more

Hundreds Demonstrate on Border With Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - December 31, 2009 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on both sides of the Israeli-Gazan border on Thursday to mark a year since Israel’s three-week war in Gaza, and to call for an end to the blockade of the area imposed by Israel and Egypt. About 85 of the several hundred demonstrators inside Gaza were foreigners, part of a group of more than 1,000 who arrived in Cairo in hopes of entering the territory but who were stopped by the Egyptian authorities. After days of negotiation, Egypt permitted a small delegation to cross the normally closed border at the southern Gazan city of Rafah. » Read more