February 17th

Will Fatah/Hamas Accord Affect Mideast Peace Process? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America by Andre de Nesnera - (Interview) February 17, 2012 - 1:00am The power-sharing agreement was brokered by the Emir of Qatar and signed in Doha by the leader of Fatah - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - and Khalid Meshal, leader of Hamas. The accord calls for Abbas to lead an interim unity government that will prepare for new presidential and parliamentary elections this year. Challenges ahead Fawaz Gerges, Middle East expert with the London School of Economics, welcomes the accord. But he says many challenges lie ahead given what he calls the "deficit of trust" between the Fatah and Hamas leaderships. » Read more

Palestinian Property Ownership Law ‘Unjust’ Says LPDC Head ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Annie Slemrod - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am BEIRUT: Abdul-Majid Kassir, president of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, has called Lebanon’s law that bars Palestinians from owning property “unjust” and a “violation of human rights.” The former diplomat took the helm of the body tasked with improving relations between the two communities last summer, and spoke with The Daily Star Thursday about a wide range of issues that affect an often strained relationship. » Read more

A Divided Town, Where the Pursuit of Bargains Brings Together Israelis and Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Linda Gradstein - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am BARTA'A, West Bank (JTA) -- In these days of frozen peace negotiations, most Israelis and Palestinians have little contact. Palestinians need a special permit to enter Israel, and Israelis need army permission to enter the parts of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority. In fact, just a mile north of this small West Bank town, a large yellow sign reminds drivers that “it is illegal to hand over cars for repair to the Palestinian Authority or to enter Palestinian areas.” » Read more

Khader Adnan: The West Bank's Bobby Sands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Analysis) February 17, 2012 - 1:00am It was only after talking with lucidity and animation for an hour about her husband's 61-day hunger strike that Randa Jihad Adnan's eyes, visible though the opening of her nekab, filled with tears. Until then, this articulate 31-year-old graduate in sharia law from Al Najar University in Nablus, the pregnant mother of two young daughters aged four and one and half, had described with almost disconcerting poise the two months following the arrest of her husband, Khader Adnan, on 17 December. » Read more

Iran, Hezbollah Seek to Attack More Israeli Targets Abroad, Official Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am Iranian and Hezbollah operatives are still seeking to attack Israeli targets in several countries, Israel's Counterterrorism Bureau indicated on Friday, warning Israeli citizens to adhere to the directives of local security forces. The remarks, given during a press briefing, came after earlier Friday Thai security forces have upped alertness levels in the country's international airports and rail system over what local police is saying is an Israeli warning against new terror attacks. » Read more

Hezbollah Denies Attacks Against Israeli Targets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 17, 2012 - 1:00am BEIRUT, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The head of Shiite armed group Hezbollah denied Thursday his party's involvement in recent security incidents in India, Georgia and Thailand against Israeli diplomats. "We, in Hezbollah, played no part in these incidents," Hasan Nasrallah said during a televised speech during a rally to commemorate Hezbollah's slain commanders. Israel has accused Iran and its ally Hezbollah of standing behind unsuccessful plots targeting Israeli officials in various countries this week. Iran has also dismissed the claims. » Read more

The Cyprus connection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) February 16, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s historic trip Thursday to Cyprus – the first by an Israeli prime minister – is being presented by many as a direct result of Israel’s deteriorating relations with Turkey. » Read more

Nablus Village at the Center of Settler Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Charlie Hoyle - February 17, 2012 - 1:00am ASIRA AL-QIBLIYA (Ma'an) -- A drive along the northern section of route 60 paints a telling picture of the physical geography of settlements and settler violence in the West Bank. Winding through picturesque Nablus countryside, the main north-south highway acts as a boundary between Israeli settlements on one side and Palestinian villages on the other. Overlooked by these illegal hilltop residences, local Palestinians are all too familiar with the disadvantages of the neighborly proximity, especially given that the Nablus district experienced the majority of settler violence in 2011. » Read more

Whose city is it anyway? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Esther Zandberg - (Analysis) February 16, 2012 - 1:00am The photos are recognizable from everyday life. In one corner of a public park, boys are getting ready for a ball game, setting up goals and marking off territory that strangers should not dare approach. In other corners, large groups gather for birthday parties or family picnics and mark off a patch of grass with flags and balloons. Others light barbecues under the trees despite the signs warning against doing so. » Read more

Striking Iran's nuclear program is out of Israel's league ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) February 17, 2012 - 1:00am Our favorite duo, Bibi and Barak, operate like Sylvester Stallone's Rambo. Real macho men who win in every movie. Against his powerful enemies, Rambo sweats, gets a black eye or two, bleeds, but in the end he wins, to the appropriate background music. Rambo's weakness, at least early in his films, is that he doesn't seem to think ahead, even when he's bleeding after what happened to him. The viewers in the movie theater know that the blood is paint and in the end he'll be victorious. » Read more