November 29th

Arab Spring elections boost democracy, and Israeli fears ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am Egyptian parliamentary elections that begin Monday are expected to result in victory for an Islamic party - in this case, the one affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood As in the other election campaigns in the Middle East that have taken place since the Arab Spring, the Egyptian parliamentary elections that begin Monday are expected to result in victory for an Islamic party - in this case, the one affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. » Read more

UN official urges greater support for Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations News Service (Opinion) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am The head of the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees today urged the international community to strengthen support for the refugees, particularly the youth who constitute an increasingly significant segment of the population. » Read more

A symptom of the occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's Knesset has recently intensified its consideration and approval of numerous laws that appear to compromise the democratic nature of Israel, while strengthening the right wing's control over various aspects of Israeli life. In light of this, Israel's media is full of analysis and opinion pieces written by those worried by this trend. They say it will both increase discrimination against Israel's Palestinian minority and narrow the space for freedom of expression and secular elements in Israel. » Read more

A surefire way to keep Israeli Arabs from voting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Against the wave of anti-democratic legislation, the meaning of conservatism is turned around; refraining from action becomes active political cooperation with the trampling of democracy. » Read more

A surefire way to keep Israeli Arabs from voting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Against the wave of anti-democratic legislation, the meaning of conservatism is turned around; refraining from action becomes active political cooperation with the trampling of democracy. » Read more

Prime Minister Fayyad: “Unity and Non-violence” Requisites for Statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am With skepticism rife over a Fatah-Hamas rapprochement and the Hamas demand to replace him, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the man credited with energizing the movement toward statehood and the man Western governments want holding the PA’s purse strings, discusses the pending issues with Friedson Friedson, President and CEO of The Media Line news agency, at his Ramallah office. Below is the first of two sessions between Prime Minister Fayyad and Ms. Friedson. Friedson: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for taking the opportunity to speak with me and The Media Line. » Read more

Nearly 100% of all military court cases in West Bank end in conviction, Haaretz learns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - (Analysis) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Virtually all - 99.74 percent, to be exact - of cases heard by the military courts in the territories end in a conviction, according to data in the military courts' annual report, which has been obtained by Haaretz. The report also shows that the military appeals courts decidedly favor the prosecution, with appeals court judges accepting 67 percent of appeals filed by the prosecution, as opposed to only 33 percent of appeals filed by the defense. Photo by: Limor Edri » Read more

Israeli FM seeks to prevent airport security from humiliating foreign VIPs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Analysis) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman wants to establish clear guidelines to avert embarrassing incidents between foreign diplomats and airport security personnel, the Ma'ariv daily reported Monday. The newspaper cited a letter Lieberman sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he warned "the humiliating treatment the guests received severely damages Israel's image in the world. All the efforts that are being invested in public diplomacy are going to waste." » Read more

Majority of Palestinians Support Retaining Fayyad as Prime Minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from AWRAD November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Fieldwork: 22-24-November 2011 Sample size: 1200 Palestinians (West Bank and Gaza) Margin of Error: +3% » Read more

Israel apologizes for treatment of NYT journalist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press (Analysis) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's Defense Ministry apologized Monday for the treatment of a pregnant American news photographer who said she was strip searched and humiliated by Israeli soldiers during a security check. Lynsey Addario, who was on assignment for the New York Times, had requested that she not be forced to go through an X-ray machine as she entered Israel from the Gaza Strip because of concerns for her unborn baby. » Read more