January 6th

Israeli army investigating Jawaher Abu Rahma tear-gas incident in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - January 5, 2011 - 1:00am The Israeli army, which had questioned reports by Palestinian witnesses and doctors that tear gas led to the death of a woman after a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank on Friday, said Wednesday that it is still conducting its own inquiry into the death and will make an announcement after its completion. » Read more

January 5th

Another right step ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) January 5, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinians decided to go to the UN Security Council and seek censorship of Israel’s continued settlement activities on territories seized from them. It would not be the first time the Security Council condemns such act; it has repeatedly done so, calling on Israel to cease and desist from this illegal action. » Read more

Money can't buy love from Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) January 5, 2011 - 1:00am An "unbreakable" bond doesn't have to be inflexible. This holds in any marriage, and it's especially true for the United States and Israel, a relationship that is quickly becoming abusive. The prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement to the Knesset on Monday that he was ready to extend a settlement freeze in the West Bank late last year, and that it was Washington who got cold feet, was the political equivalent of tossing an old friend under the proverbial bus. » Read more

Mirror Image ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) January 3, 2011 - 1:00am The argument has long-since been familiar: If a two-state solution fails, dies from sheer exhaustion, then we’re looking either at a continuation of the status quo or at some form of one-state solution. The status quo is inherently noxious; it is also inherently unstable. It is folly to suppose that it can endure indefinitely, that it will not periodically be interrupted by ever more lethal confrontations. » Read more

Israel’s Iron Dome Anti-Missile Project Facing Fire at Home and Delayed Funding From U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Matthew Gutman, Nathan Jeffay - January 4, 2011 - 1:00am It has been promoted as a cutting-edge technological marvel and marketed as the ultimate solution to the misery Israeli civilians experienced facing rocket attacks from Gaza militants. But as the Iron Dome rocket defense system moves into its final stages of development, Israelis are questioning its effectiveness, and American lawmakers are seeking assurances that the system they are poised to fund will indeed be used to protect citizens in the battered Negev city of Sderot, close by Gaza, and not just used to defend military bases. » Read more

Abbas suspends Dahlan from Fatah over 'coup plot' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Wyre Davies - January 4, 2011 - 1:00am A senior figure in the Palestinian Fatah movement has denied plotting an internal coup to remove President Mahmoud Abbas. Mohammed Dahlan has been suspended from Fatah's central committee pending an investigation into the allegations, which he describes as "fantastical". There are increasing divisions in the movement, which runs the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. Mr Dahlan was Fatah's security chief in Gaza before Hamas took over in 2007. » Read more

Medvedev to visit PA despite canceled Israel tour ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Israel News by Ronen Medzini - January 4, 2011 - 1:00am Russian President Dmitri Medvedev will not visit Israel due to disruptions imposed by the Foreign Ministry's workers union but is nonetheless planning to travel to Jordan and the Palestinian Authority later this month. President Shimon Peres spoke to Medvedev Tuesday who told him he intends to visit the Palestinian territories. » Read more

Blair: Serious trouble if no talks soon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews January 5, 2011 - 1:00am The Quartet Special Envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair said Tuesday on CNN that Israel and the Palestinians will be in serious trouble if they don't begin talks in the near future. The former British prime minister added that behind the scenes a lot of work was being done to restart direct negotiations, which were halted in September after settlement construction in the West Bank was renewed following a nine-month moratorium. Blair acknowledged that the level of confidence between the two sides was low but said the talks can nonetheless be put back on track. » Read more

WikiLeaks: Israel vowed to limit Gaza economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews January 5, 2011 - 1:00am Israel told US officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza's economy "on the brink of collapse" while avoiding a humanitarian crisis, according to US diplomatic cables published by a Norwegian daily on Wednesday. Three cables cited by the Aftenposten newspaper, which has said it has all 250,000 US cables leaked to WikiLeaks, showed that Israel kept the US embassy in Tel Aviv briefed on its internationally criticized blockade of the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Today an orchestra, tomorrow a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Noam Ben Ze'ev - January 4, 2011 - 1:00am On the night of May 7, 2004, silence reigned in the small, old auditorium of the Friends School in El Bireh. Daniel Barenboim, one of the greatest conductors of his generation, was about to raise his baton before the newly minted Palestine Youth Orchestra. Before the first chord was struck there was a sense of historic import - and the memory of a similar defining moment came to mind. » Read more