Palestinians count cost of settlement work ban ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am Although they regard Israel's settlements as a threat, tens of thousands of Palestinians such as Mohammed Ali, 26, a labourer, fear their families would starve without them. Every morning he and dozens of other informal workers huddle near the entrance of Ma'ale Adumim, one of the largest of roughly 120 rapidly expanding settlements in the West Bank. The men wait for offers to paint Jewish houses or manicure gardens. The odd jobs can pay quadruple what they would earn in nearby Palestinian communities - that is, if they can find any work there at all. » Read more

Israeli Diplomacy at Standstill as Foreign Ministry Staff Stage Labor Action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Benjamin Peim, David Rosenberg - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am Everyone from the president of Russia to Filipino guest workers and new immigrants is being blocked from entering Israel as a work slowdown by the country’s diplomatic corps enters its 11th day. Foreign Ministry employees have stopped arranging official visits and processing visas for immigrants and foreign workers, and have stopped working with other branches of the government, said Amir Sagie, a member of the union’s negotiating team. The diplomats are coming to their offices and embassies, but they have shed their suits and ties for jeans and sneakers, he said. » Read more

Protest Death Spurs Scrutiny of Israeli Tactics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Danielle Cheslow - January 5, 2011 - 1:00am The Israeli army’s alleged killing of Jawaher Abu Rahmah, the unarmed woman who reportedly died from tear gas inhalation during a protest of Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, is putting the army’s tactics at such demonstrations under greater scrutiny, along with its moral credibility. Gas and Tears: With the January 1 death, Palestinian activists count 21 people dead from protests against the barrier wall. » Read more

Hamas leader denies Nazi Holocaust ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) January 6, 2011 - 1:00am A senior Hamas leader on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out "countless holocausts" against the Palestinians while saying the Nazi genocide was a "lie." Mahmoud al-Zahar made the remarks during a memorial ceremony for 43 Palestinians who were killed at a UN school in the Jabaliya refugee camp during Israel's 22-day war on Gaza that began in December 2008. » Read more

'It's not politics – it's just business' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Danny Rubenstein - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am Bashar Masri is trying to to calm the panic. "I'm not interested in Israeli real estate or any Israeli company, not in Tel Aviv and not in Netanya," he stresses, "but in a residential project in Jabel Mukaber, a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. I'm not a politician but a national Palestinian businessman who knows his work, and if my business serves my people – I feel better." » Read more

Freedom of expression in Israel is a hollow pretension ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) January 7, 2011 - 1:00am Jonathan Pollak is due to go to prison in another few days because of his views. The official reason for his arrest was his participation in a quiet protest by cyclists demonstrating in Tel Aviv against the Gaza blockade. The police said the demonstration slowed traffic. Not nice, to slow traffic, so off to prison with him. » Read more

Time to turn a page ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ron Gerlitz - (Opinion) January 6, 2011 - 1:00am The recent wave of racist attacks against Israel's Arab citizens has brought relations between Arabs and Jews in this land to a new and disturbing low point. These attacks join repeated threats by Yisrael Beiteinu and its coalition partners to revoke the citizenship of Israeli Arabs, threats that invoke blatant racist rhetoric, and government policies that have continuously discriminated against Arabs and excluded them from positions of powers, from decision-making circles and from public life in general. » Read more

PA seeks UN vote next week on resolution condemning West Bank settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 7, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinians are hoping for a vote next week on a UN resolution demanding that Israel stop all settlement activities immediately and completely, a Palestinian diplomat said Thursday. The draft Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would reaffirm that all Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. » Read more

Flurry of int'l diplomacy launched in bid to revive Mideast peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Gur Salomon - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am Following a long hiatus in international involvement in the stalled Mideast peace process, intense diplomatic activity was launched this week in an effort to get Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met in Egypt's resort town of Sharm el- Sheikh on Thursday to explore ways to break the current diplomatic impasse. » Read more

Ousted patriarch behind locked doors in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josh Lederman - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am Six years ago, Irineos I was the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem with about 100,000 followers. Today, he sits behind locked doors in his Old City apartment, claiming he has been imprisoned by the successor who ousted him in a dispute over sale of church land to Israelis. The only way Irineos could speak to The Associated Press Thursday was through a wireless microphone hoisted at the end of a rope to his roof — in the same black shopping bag supporters use nightly to deliver him groceries. » Read more