Uruguay officially recognizes Palestinian State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 15, 2011 - 12:00am The government of Uruguay on Tuesday announced its official recognition of the Palestinian State as an independent and sovereign country, and reaffirmed its commitment to the Middle East peace process, the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry said. "The reasons for this decision are not any other than Uruguay's strong commitment to the peace process," the ministry said in a statement, expressing Uruguay's wish for the Palestinian and Israeli people to live and "co-exist in peace." This decision "is also the result of the progressive strengthening of » Read more

Hamas welcomes Abbas' readiness to visit Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 16, 2011 - 12:00am Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' declaration that he would go to the Gaza Strip to work at ending political split. "Hamas welcomes Mr. Abbas' response to Mr. Ismail Haneya's call to visit Gaza," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. "Hamas will follow preparations for this visit," Abu Zuhri told Xinhua. Earlier on Wednesday, Abbas said he is ready to go to the Gaza Strip in translating of public desire to end split between Gaza and the West Bank. » Read more

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he's not going to run for re-election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press March 16, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he's not going to run for re-election.

Israel unveils seized arms cache from cargo ship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Josh Lederman - March 16, 2011 - 12:00am Rows of boxes, crates and containers filled with weapons stretched out on a dock Wednesday alongside a ship commandeered by Israel's navy, a display of what Israel said was a shipment of arms, some sophisticated, to Palestinian militants in Gaza. Israel intercepted the ship Tuesday in international waters in the Mediterranean, saying it was carrying weapons sent by Iran via Syria. Israel says the advanced anti-ship missiles found on board could alter the region's balance of power by impeding its ability to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israeli strike kills two Hamas security men ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 16, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a security compound in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing two Palestinian militants, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials said. The Israeli military confirmed it had struck a militant target in the coastal territory in response to a rocket fired at Israel earlier, which caused no casualties. Hamas officials and medics said both men killed were security guards at the compound. Hamas's armed wing said both were members of it. » Read more

Gaza security forces violently disperse rally ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 16, 2011 - 12:00am Security forces forcefully dispersed protesters from a square in central Gaza City late Tuesday, witnesses said. Protesters in Gaza said security forces set up hundreds of barriers around the main square of demonstrations and were patrolling the area. They beat people with batons and set fire to tents that were set up by the demonstrators, according to activists in Gaza City. The March 15 Coalition said hundreds of Hamas security forces stormed the protests and tried to evacuate it by force. » Read more

Abbas 'ready to travel to Gaza' for unity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 16, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas says he is ready to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in an effort to promote reconciliation between his Fatah party and Hamas Abbas also said he was ready to postpone the formation of a cabinet in order to give Hamas a chance to join a unity government. "I am ready to delay the formation of the new government to give Hamas a chance to join," he said in a speech at the start of a two-day meeting of the PLO Central Committee, a PLO legislative body of 130 members in which Hamas holds the majority. » Read more

Palestinians rally for unity in Gaza, West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - March 16, 2011 - 12:00am Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Tuesday to demand an end to the rift between the Hamas and Fatah factions that has left the two Palestinian territories in the control of rival governments. "The people want an end to the division!" the demonstrators chanted in the largest such push to date. "National unity!" » Read more

Hamas Forces Break Up Pro-Unity Protests in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - March 15, 2011 - 12:00am Mass protests in Gaza on Tuesday were violently broken up by Hamas police officers and security officers, many in plainclothes, witnesses said. The demonstrations, organized by independent Palestinian youth activists, called for national unity. At least five people, including three local journalists, were treated at a hospital after being beaten at the demonstration, employees at the hospital said. » Read more

Neighbors’ Blood Binds Settlers to West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 15, 2011 - 12:00am To outsiders, this Jewish settlement clinging to a hill in the northern West Bank would seem to offer a precarious existence. Surrounded by Palestinian villages and near one of the largest Palestinian cities, Nablus, with a population of more than 120,000, Itamar has about 1,000 residents, many of them children or transient students studying at its religious academies. » Read more