April 14th

Fatah wins Bethlehem University elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Fatah has won the student council elections at Bethlehem University in a vote that was boycotted by Hamas. Fatah picked up 18 seats, defeating a joint list by the Popular and Democratic Fronts for the Liberation of Palestine that won 13. About 60 percent of students participated in the elections, student elections officials said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad boycotted the vote and others at universities in the Fatah-run West Bank.

Fayyad claims 'birth certificate' for Palestinian statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Caretaker prime minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday that UN endorsement of his administration's readiness to govern amounted to "a birth certificate" for statehood. Fayyad made the claim after the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said in a report that the Palestinian Authority was "sufficient for a functioning government of a state." » Read more

Fatah insists 'there are no political prisoners' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 14, 2011 - 12:00am No promises were made to meet pro-unity protestors’ demands, and no political prisoners were being held, a Fatah official told Ma’an Thursday. Ma’an released documents Tuesday, which March 15 demonstrators say detail the names, detention dates and court verdicts ordering the release of 23 men being held illegally by the Palestinian Authority, and whom Abbas promised to release. » Read more

Palestinians build support for statehood at Brussels meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians accelerated their drive toward statehood recognition at an international meeting in Brussels Wednesday, but it comes amid worry that Middle East unrest may further complicate prospects for peace by altering the regional landscape. With peace talks with Israel already mothballed, Palestinians are pursuing a United Nations vote on statehood in September – a goal that seems more likely after foreign donors heard upbeat endorsements of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) ability to govern a sovereign state. » Read more

Blowback: Israel's bogus narrative on Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Ghada Karmi - (Opinion) April 12, 2011 - 12:00am Ghada Karmi, author of "In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story," responds to The Times' April 7 article on Lifta, the last intact pre-1948 Palestinian village. » Read more

Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Indictment on Corruption Charges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Israel’s attorney general on Wednesday announced his intention to indict the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on corruption charges, but said he would allow Mr. Lieberman a hearing to contest an indictment before issuing a formal charge sheet. Charges against the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, involve accusations that while in the private sector he used a company to funnel illicit gifts and contributions. » Read more

April 13th

King Abdullah: Time is Running Out for Arab-Israeli Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest by Bruce Riedel - (Book Review) April 13, 2011 - 12:00am King Abdullah II of Jordan, like the rest of us, was apparently surprised by this winter’s eruption of political dissent in the Arab world. His just published autobiography, Our Last Best Chance: the Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril, warns that upheaval and war is coming to the Middle East if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved by a just and fair peace, but does not prepare the reader for the revolutions that swept Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and the rest of the Arab world this winter and spring. That is not a criticism—no one else saw it coming either. » Read more

Hamas and the Iranian life-line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Dr. Hamad Al-Majid - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Has Iran begun to reap the fruits of its support for Hamas? Some observers believe that the recent conversion of several Gazans to Shiism represents one of these fruits. The Al-Arabiya website, citing a report published by the Arsiran website – which is affiliated to a number of conservative groups in Iran – published a story claiming that the Shiite doctrine is beginning to spread in Gaza and that the number [of converts] reaches into the hundreds. Abdul Raheem Hamad, a Gazan convert, also expressed the same point [in this report]. » Read more

The ravaged palace that symbolises the hope of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Matthew Kalman - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am The first remodelling of Albert Abu Zgheibreh's impressive home in Beit Jala on the outskirts of Bethlehem was free of charge, but not to his taste. Hellfire missiles fired from Israeli Apache helicopter gunships left gaping holes in the walls, tank shells smashed through the supporting pillars of the verandas and the stonework was raked with heavy-calibre machine-gun fire. » Read more

Analysis: Putting the UN in perspective ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) April 13, 2011 - 12:00am For years, the Likud and the Right have been accused of fear-mongering, of playing upon the country’s real security concerns to turn their backs on peace. » Read more