November 15th

Official: Fatah, Hamas reach agreement on key issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am Fatah and Hamas have agreed on several controversial issues as part of a reconciliation deal signed on May 4, a Fatah official said Monday. Senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad told a local radio station that details of the agreements would be released after a meeting set to take place in late November between President Abbas and Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mashaal. On Friday, the official PA news agency reported that Abbas and Mashaal would meet in Cairo in the last 10 days of November. » Read more

Did Israel assassinate Iran's 'missile king'? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Scott Peterson - (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am Iran today buries a senior commander of its missile force, amid claims that the huge explosion that killed him and at least 16 others at a Revolutionary Guard base on Saturday was the work of Israeli agents. » Read more

No movement on issues dividing Israel and Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Blog) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am As representatives of the Mideast quartet tried again Monday to break the ice between Palestinians and Israelis, Israel's cabinet decided to maintain another freeze, that of Palestinian tax money. Israel collects around $100 million of taxes and customs for the Palestinian Authority as part of the economic agreements signed in the 1990s. Every so often, Israel suspends transfer of this money; it currently is freezing funds in retaliation for the Palestinians' successful bid for membership in the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO. » Read more

French consul injured after IAF strike on Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am France's consul to the Gaza Strip, his wife and 13-year-old daughter were injured during an Israeli air strike on Sunday night, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said on Tuesday. Valero told reporters the three were were hit by shrapnel at their Gaza residence , which is located 200 meters from the site of the IAF missile attack. "France condemns the consequences of the raid," he said. "While we are all for Israeli security, France recalls the utmost necessity to avoid civilian harm," Valero said, without specifying the nature of their injuries. » Read more

French consul injured after IAF strike on Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am France's consul to the Gaza Strip, his wife and 13-year-old daughter were injured during an Israeli air strike on Sunday night, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said on Tuesday. Valero told reporters the three were were hit by shrapnel at their Gaza residence , which is located 200 meters from the site of the IAF missile attack. "France condemns the consequences of the raid," he said. "While we are all for Israeli security, France recalls the utmost necessity to avoid civilian harm," Valero said, without specifying the nature of their injuries. » Read more

November 14th

Israeli leaders choosing personal interests over law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am Late last week, another mark of disgrace was stamped on the foreheads of Israel's decision-makers and law enforcement authorities. The response that the state submitted to a High Court of Justice petition filed by Palestinian farmers demanding the return of their land, on which the settlement of Amona was built, is still more evidence of an incredibly serious phenomenon - the government and prosecution's collaboration with thieves and lawbreakers. » Read more

Obama makes his Jewish outreach work harder ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) November 12, 2011 - 1:00am It's not nice to publicly use overheard conversation, but during tense elections, there is no chance that a dialogue between the French and the U.S. presidents will be easily dismissed. On Friday, Republican presidential hopeful, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, addressed the Obama-Sarkozy "hot mic" remarks at the opening of his New Hampshire campaign office. » Read more

The Irony of Netanyahu's 'Success Story' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Alon Ben-Meir - (Opinion) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am It is ironic how those loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have created a narrative of a success story of Netanyahu's achievements where failure is clearly rampant. They point to the solidity of the governing coalition, the halting of the Gaza flotillas, the failure of the Palestinian UN gambit, the release of Gilad Shalit, the expansion of settlements and the standing ovation from Congress, all while defiantly opposing any of the peacemaking moves proposed by President Obama. » Read more

Ransoming Israel’s chance for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Shlomo Ben-Ami - (Opinion) November 19, 2011 - 1:00am The exchange of prisoners between enemies is often a prelude to political reconciliation. Unfortunately, the recent exchange between Israel and Hamas, in which the Islamist organisation gained the lion’s share of more than 1,000 prisoners in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, does not augur well for the chances of an Israeli-Palestinian peace. » Read more

I'm Palestinian - but where am I from? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Mourid Barghouti - (Opinion) November 11, 2011 - 1:00am For years, the Facebook team has been reminding me that I have to edit my profile and add the country I come from. As a matter of fact, I deliberately left this out because of my irresponsible fancy that writers belong everywhere and to everyone. Fed up with the dogged persistence of that dialogue box, I finally complied and clicked the "edit" button to write down "Palestine". Oh, it was not as easy as I had thought. I am not allowed to type, I must select from an alphabetically prearranged list of countries. » Read more