February 17th

Rights org says Israel failing to control settler violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 16, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli rights group Yesh Din released a report Wednesday, accusing Israel of "chronic failure" to enforce the law on Israeli citizens who commit offenses against Palestinians in the West Bank Nine out of 10 investigations of Israeli attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank are closed with no indictment served, the report said. » Read more

U.S. pushing Palestinians to drop UN resolution on settlement construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am The United States is putting heavy pressure on the Palestinian Authority and Arab states to withdraw a draft resolution condemning Israeli settlements. The resolution is due to come up for a vote at the United Nations Security Council on Friday. Washington has made it clear that it will veto the resolution should it come to a vote, and has implored the Palestinian Authority and other Arab nations to withdraw the proposal, but to no avail. » Read more

Jerusalem official warns eyes on Egypt put city at risk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 16, 2011 - 1:00am With global political attention on Egypt, a Fatah spokesman warned Wednesday, "Israel has been increasing settlement activity in East Jerusalem," and putting the future of the city at risk. Recent decisions by Israeli forces, including the announcement of three new settlement construction projects and plans to move the police training college into the occupied eastern flank of the city, spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi said in a statement, have officials concerned. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: We must turn Israel inside out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) February 16, 2011 - 1:00am This is an extraordinary time for the Middle East, an unprecedented one, a glorious one – and it’s passing Israel by. » Read more

Israeli government to organize school field trips to West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am The Israeli government plans to begin organizing high school field trips to a contested West Bank religious site in a move that could reignite tension over a historic flash point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The initiative, announced yesterday, could bring hundreds of thousands of Israeli teens to Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, revered in Judaism as the burial site of the biblical figures Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Muslims revere the same compound for its ties to Abraham, referring to it as the Ibrahimi mosque after the man they look up to as a prophet. » Read more

Palestinians Stay Quiet as Storms Rage Across the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am As turmoil spread to previously quiet areas of the Middle East like Bahrain and Libya this week, the West Bank and Gaza Strip remained placid. Palestinians say they are as firmly opposed to Israel’s occupation as ever, but they don’t face the same restrictions on freedom of expression that their brothers and sisters elsewhere in the region and so they have no reason to explode in rebellion now. Most are satisfied with the rule of the Palestinian Authority (PA). » Read more

Palestinians seek global recognition through South America ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Juan Forero, Janine Zacharia - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am Before a slew of South American countries recently recognized an independent Palestinian state in quick succession, a seasoned Palestinian diplomat had quietly begun lobbying the government of one critical country on the continent: Argentina. Home to the region's largest Jewish community, Argentina posed a special challenge. But Walid Muaqqat, who has the status of Palestinian ambassador here, made sure things ran smoothly when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived for a 2009 tour. » Read more

U.S. reportedly proposing U.N. ‘statement’ on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) February 16, 2011 - 1:00am The United States reportedly is backing a United Nations Security Council statement that would slam Israel on settlements but would stop short of a resolution. » Read more

Editorial: Israel fears change in Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) February 17, 2011 - 1:00am Indeed, everything about winds of change sweeping through the Arab world is seen by the Israelis in terms of what will the consequences be for Israel. » Read more

Israeli troops kill 3 Palestinians on Gaza border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians along the tense border with the Gaza Strip before dawn Thursday. The Israeli military released a statement saying soldiers fired on the men after they were spotted planting an explosive device in a no-go zone along the border between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. » Read more