December 20th

Israel’s problem isn’t Thomas Friedman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by James Adler - (Opinion) December 19, 2011 - 1:00am There is a common thread linking The Jerusalem Post’s attack on Thomas Friedman last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s refusal to write an opinion column for The New York Times and an attack on my views by Haifa resident Ella Berkovitz on the Post letters page last Thursday. In all three instances, the individuals in question showed they prefer to take the easy road of crowd-pleasingly attacking the New York Times and one of its senior columnists, without addressing the fact that similar views are held by the United States government and most Western democracies. » Read more

Ex-Palestinian prisoner: No regrets on Yosef plot ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 20, 2011 - 1:00am A Palestinian jailed by Israel for plotting to kill one of Israel's most influential rabbis said after his release on Sunday that he had no regrets about the path he had chosen. Salah Hamouri, 26, was one of 550 prisoners freed to complete a deal in which Israel released 1,027 prisoners for soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive in the Gaza Strip for more than five years. Many of the 450 prisoners freed on Oct. 18 under the Egyptian-brokered swap for the soldier had been serving life sentences for deadly attacks. » Read more

A short history of Arab feelings toward Zionism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Salman Masalha - (Opinion) December 19, 2011 - 1:00am The Arab attempt since the start of the 20th century to understand the Zionist movement has long produced mixed feelings. A new Arabic monthly, Lughat al-Arab ("the Arabic language"), began publication in Baghdad 100 years ago. The third issue, from September 1911, contains an investigative report by the editor called "The Founder of Zionism." » Read more

Democracy is favorable for right of self-determination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Amal Jamal - (Opinion) December 19, 2011 - 1:00am The Arab Spring has been a source of pride and happiness for many Arab citizens of Israel. Most of the Arab public in Israel has expressed unequivocal support for the courage shown by thousands of Arab civilians around the region in calling for the ouster of corrupt regimes, endangering themselves and their families. » Read more

Israeli leaders are also advocates of 'Greater Israel' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aner Shalev - (Opinion) December 20, 2011 - 1:00am It is easy to perceive terror. It is easy to perceive a terrorist wave. It is easy to discern a breach in the Jordanian border fence. It is easy to see a brick thrown into a military jeep. It is easy to discern a mass raid on a brigade base. It is easy to discern torched mosques. It is easy to detect black letters sprayed on a wall. But is it easy to understand their meaning? » Read more

London 2012: Gaza blockade threatens Olympic hopes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am Nader el Masri feels the loneliness of a long distance runner. The 32-year-old 5,000 metre specialist is the fastest man in Gaza but he has few places to train and few people to train with. "I have a coach but there's nobody at my level in Gaza," says Nader. "I have to do most of my training sessions on my own." And the facilities in Gaza are far from great. There is not a single tartan track in the Palestinian territory and Nader does much of his training on the pot-holed cinder track that loops around the football stadium in Gaza City. » Read more

Salem Jubran, Israeli Arab poet and journalist, dies at 71 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ido Blass - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli Arab poet and journalist Salem Jubran died Sunday at his home in Nazareth at the age of 71. He was laid to rest in his hometown yesterday. Born in 1941 in the Galilee village of Peki'in, Jubran published three books of poetry, the last of which appeared about 30 years ago. Poet Marwan Makhoul said Jubran's poetry was the most important ever published by an Israeli Arab author. » Read more

Egypt's radical Islamist party vows to respect peace treaty with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am Egypt's radical Salafi movement has announced for the first time that it intends to respect all treaties that Egypt has signed, including the peace deal with Israel. The Salafi Al-Nour party, which won 25-30 percent of the votes in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, said that they are also in favor of negotiating with Israel. » Read more

PA: Israeli forces demolish main road near Nablus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 20, 2011 - 1:00am NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday bulldozed a main road serving several villages in southern Nablus, a Palestinian Authority official said. Ghassan Daghlas, the PA official for monitoring settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that over 30 military vehicles entered the Nablus village of Beita before bulldozers demolished a road in-between the villages of Beita, Osarin and Aqraba. The Mayor of Huwwara, Moeen Damidi, told the official news agency Wafa that the 4km road was demolished without any warning. It had cost $400,000 to build, he added. » Read more

'Price tag' slogans painted on Hebron mosque ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 20, 2011 - 1:00am HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A Hebron village mosque was spray-painted with racist slogans on Monday, locals said, in the fourth such attack in two weeks. Suspected extremist settlers daubed "price tag" and "Yitzhar" on the walls of the mosque in Bani Naim, which lies opposite the Kiryat Arba settlement. Yitzhar settlement in the northern West Bank is notorious for so-called price tag incidents, in which settlers exact revenge on Palestinians and their property for Israeli government policies towards unauthorized settler outposts. » Read more