Barak approves plans to build 500 new homes in West Bank settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - November 12, 2012 - 1:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak has agreed to advance a plan to expand the Itamar settlement to five times its size by adding 538 homes, according to documents obtained by Haaretz. Barak approved the plan in September, even though there is still no master plan in effect for the settlement, which was founded in 1984 on state land, which means that no legal building permits can be issued. But since the murder of five members of the Fogel family on the settlement in March 2011, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria has been pressing to advance the construction. » Read more

PA says to pay partial salaries Sunday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 11, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority finance ministry announced Sunday that it would pay part of salaries owed to public sector employees by the end of the day. The salaries of prisoners families will be paid completely while public sector employees will receive 52 percent of their salaries, the ministry said in a statement. The aid-dependent Palestinian economy in the West Bank faces a financial crisis due to a drop in aid from Western backers and wealthy Gulf states, as well as Israeli restrictions on trade. » Read more

Palestinian youth dead in Israel's Gaza shelling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian youth died Tuesday of wounds he sustained during an Israeli artillery shelling in eastern Gaza City Saturday, medical sources said. The death of Mohammed Qanou, 20, came as Israeli airstrikes continued in the Gaza Strip for the fourth day in a new cross- border violence flare-up, with Palestinian militant groups firing dozens of rockets at southern Israel. » Read more

Four Palestinians killed in Israeli shelling after border attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - November 10, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants fired an antitank missile at an Israeli army vehicle on Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, wounding four soldiers and prompting Israeli shelling that local medical officials said killed four Palestinian civilians and wounded 25 others. The flare-up, one of the worst in months, followed a series of recent incidents in which explosive devices were detonated near Israeli forces operating on both sides of the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. » Read more

Israeli DM says to strike Gaza if necessary ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 11, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday that Israel will strike Gaza if necessary and will not allow Palestinian militants to "change the rules" in southern Israel following an escalation of insecurity in the area. Barak, who talked to Army Radio, said Israel will make sure that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have the "freedom" to operate along the Gaza border. » Read more

Violence Surges on Israeli-Gaza Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - November 10, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA — Palestinian militants fired an antitank missile on Saturday at an Israeli military jeep patrolling Israel’s border with Gaza, and five Palestinians, including four civilians, were killed when Israel returned fire with tank or artillery shells, officials said. The Israeli military said four of its soldiers were wounded, one seriously, in the antitank missile attack. The Gaza Health Ministry said about 26 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire. » Read more

Activists: 7 Palestinians killed in Damascus camp ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Seven Palestinian refugees were killed Monday in a refugee camp in Damascus, the Yarmouk coordination committee said. The committee said forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad shelled al-Tadamon neighborhood, causing a huge fire on Palestine Street. Free Syrian Army rebels destroyed an army tank on the same street, the group added. Imad Arabi, Jihad Younis, Iman Azimeh and Mahmoud Kassab were among those killed, according to the committee. » Read more

Israel Fires Into Syria After Shell Hits Post ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 11, 2012 - 1:00am SDEROT, Israel — Israel confronted fire along two of its borders on Sunday, with rockets landing from Gaza and a mortar shell crashing in from Syria, prompting Israel to respond with what its military described as “warning shots” at a Syrian position across the frontier for the first time in 39 years. » Read more

Israeli finance minister admits to doubling settlements' budget ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 13, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz admitted Monday that the Israeli government has doubled in recent years its money for the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Steinitz, who was interviewed by a local radio station, said the budget increment was downplayed in order not to cause a stir within the international community. » Read more

Israeli FM meets ambassadors over Palestinian UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 12, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman met Sunday with Israeli ambassadors to the European Union regarding Israel's response to the Palestinians' bid for upgrading their status at the United Nations. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is expected to submit its application for upgrading their status at the United Nations later this month. » Read more