Shalit-prisoners exchange: One year on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am "In prison you miss all the wonderful details of life; the sun, the trees, the beach, the women," Muhammad Al Far tells me as he sinks back into a comfortable sofa at his house in Gaza City. It is exactly a year since Al Far was released as part of a deal which saw over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. » Read more

As Olive Harvest Begins Palestinians, Israelis Trade Accusations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am [Aboud, West Bank] – Wearing a white hat with a flap to protect his neck from the hot sun, 57-year old Khalil Muallem, climbs on a stepladder and disappears into the green leafy branches of an olive tree. He carefully plucks the black fruit by hand, dropping them one by one into a bucket. » Read more

Israeli Arabs face inferior public transportation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ilene Prusher - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Every morning, Nama Abu Ghosh takes a 15-minute walk from her home in the village that shares her last name and heads for a bus stop in Telz Stone, the adjacent haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community also known as Kiryat Ye’arim. Even though Abu Ghosh has almost twice as many residents as Telz Stone – 6,270 in the former versus 3,158 in the latter, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics – buses to the Arab village are much more infrequent. » Read more

Many disillusioned Arabs say voting is pointless ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ilene Prusher - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am At the Khubez bakery and coffee shop in the village of Abu Ghosh, west of Jerusalem, men meet for coffee and conversation every morning. Faisal Abdul Rahman is in the minority, because he says he’ll vote in national elections this January. Most of the others, including Muhammad Ibrahim – who has worked with Abdul Rahman in construction in the past – say that voting is pointless. » Read more

Hamas vows to kidnap more Israeli soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas vowed Thursday to abduct more Israeli soldiers and hold them as bargaining chips for militants in Israeli jails, on the anniversary of the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. A Hamas spokesman said that "soldiers of the enemy can be a target anytime, they can be killed, wounded or held captive by militants." » Read more

Syrian rebels 'killed Palestinian leader' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 19, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Gunmen from the Free Syrian Army on Friday assassinated a Palestinian leader in Deraa refugee camp, the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command said. Free Syrian Army rebels shot dead PFLP-GC leader Adel Hasan in the southern Syrian city, PFLP-GC said in a statement. PFLP-GC added that Palestinians would continue to support the Syrian people and resist "terrorists" trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad. » Read more

Scholars say Jewish shift to GOP a long way off ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Rachel Zoll - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK —Like Chicago Cubs fans in spring, Jewish Republicans start every presidential election season hoping this will be their year: American Jews, who have voted overwhelmingly Democratic for decades, will start a significant shift to the political right. But scholars who study Jewish voting patterns say not this year. Or anytime soon, for that matter. Although recent studies have found potential for some movement toward the GOP, analysts say any revolution in the U.S. Jewish vote is a long way off. » Read more

TV show 'Homeland' irks Lebanese, Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Bassem Mroue - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am BEIRUT —Militants carrying assault weapons clear the area around a street, shouting in Arabic for people to get out of the way. A jeep pulls up: The world's No. 1 jihadi has arrived for a meeting with top Hezbollah commanders. On rooftops, U.S. snipers crouch unseen, the kingpin in their crosshairs at last. The scene, from a recent episode of the hit U.S. Showtime series "Homeland," is supposed to be Beirut. But it is really in Israel, a country similar enough in some areas to stand in for Lebanon, yet a world away in most other respects. » Read more

Morsi’s office confirms warm letter to Peres is authentic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel October 18, 2012 - 12:00am A spokesman for Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi confirmed on Thursday that the president had sent a letter to Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres calling him a good friend. The letter, presented to Peres by incoming ambassador Atef Salem on Wednesday, sparked an outcry in Egypt for marking a new level of normalization, with one Muslim Brotherhood official calling it a “fabrication.” » Read more

More than 1,000 women running in Palestinian elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Samuel Burke, Claire Calzonetti - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am This Saturday, Palestinians in the West Bank will hold elections for the first time in six years, voting for municipal leaders. It takes place against a backdrop of a deep sense of frustration with the split between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, the stalled economy, and the stalemate with Israel over final statehood. What's so unusual about this election is the number of women running.  Maysoun Qawasmi is leading the first all-female independent ticket, their slogan: 'by participating, we can'. » Read more