February 16th

Israeli leader pays historic visit to Cyprus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Menelaos Hadjicostis - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am NICOSIA, Cyprus — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a historic visit to Cyprus on Thursday, declaring the two countries' warming ties a "natural relationship" in a reflection of the rapidly shifting alliances in this turbulent part of the world. The visit — the first ever by an Israeli leader to the nearby island nation — was also a testimony to warming ties that have emerged from political and economic turmoil, as well as new economic prospects. It followed a succession of reciprocal visits by senior officials from both countries and several low-level agreements. » Read more

Israel PM: Iran sanctions are not working ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am NICOSIA, Cyprus — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says sanctions imposed on Iran are important but so far haven't been effective. Netanyahu said Thursday that the Iranian president's guided tour of centrifuges at Tehran research reactor on Wednesday was proof that sanctions have not properly crippled Iran's efforts to develop nuclear capabilities. The Israeli leader was speaking to reporters in Cyprus, where he was meeting officials on a brief visit to discuss cooperation on energy and other matters. » Read more

Thailand: Iranians planned to attack Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Thanrayat Doksone - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am BANGKOK — Three Iranians detained after accidentally setting off explosives in Bangkok were planning to attack Israeli diplomats, Thailand's top policeman said Thursday in the first confirmation by local officials that the group was plotting attacks in Thailand. The allegation came after days of strong accusations by Israel that Iran was behind the botched plot as well as two others in India and the former Soviet republic of Georgia this week. Iran has denied the charges. » Read more

Israel says Thai bombs similar to those in India, Georgia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said Wednesday that magnetic explosive devices found after a series of explosions in Bangkok on Tuesday were similar to bombs used a day earlier to target Israeli diplomats in New Delhi and in Tbilisi, Georgia. The officials, citing findings of local investigations, said the forensic evidence buttressed earlier Israeli assertions that Iran was behind the attacks. Iran, which had threatened to retaliate for the killings of several of its nuclear scientists in similar bombings, has denied any involvement in the explosions, calling them Israeli provocations. » Read more

8 Palestinian Children, Teacher Killed in Crash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 16, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (AP) — A truck lost control in slick, rainy weather and barreled into a Palestinian school bus on Thursday, killing at least seven children and a teacher and drawing hundreds of people to a West Bank hospital in an outpouring of grief, police said. The bus left the city of Ramallah on a school excursion but returned due to heavy rains and stormy weather, according to Palestinian police spokesman Yousif Osrael. On the way back, a truck careened into the school bus, causing it to flip and catch fire, Osrael said. The children killed were aged four to six. » Read more

February 15th

REFILE-Palestinian Authority, Battling Debt Crisis, Raises Taxes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ali Sawafta - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority approved income tax rises on Tuesday, pushing the top rate to 20 percent, as it seeks to tackle a debt crisis aggravated by lower-than-expected foreign aid revenues including the freezing of U.S. aid last year. The top tax rate will rise from 15 percent to 20 percent, a cabinet statement said, effective from this year. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was last month forced to back down on doubling the rate to 30 percent after a public outcry. » Read more

Hamas Chiefs Wrestle with Split on Palestinian Pact ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The two top leaders of the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas failed at secret talks in Qatar on Sunday to resolve an internal crisis over a reconciliation pact with the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, a diplomat in the region said. The first open leadership split in the 25-year history of Hamas -- the militant, Iranian-funded organisation which opposes a peace treaty with Israel -- arose over how far it should go in closing ranks with Fatah, the Palestinian mainstream group. » Read more

PA cabinet agrees to lower top tax rate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 14, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority cabinet agreed Tuesday to lower its top tax rate after a proposal to double income taxes drew widespread outrage across the West Bank. The proposals to plug a $1.1 billion deficit in the public budget included doubling the top tax bracket to 30 percent, but the PA approved a lower rate of 20 percent at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. It said the rate followed "agreed upon understandings" with a private sector coordination council which had spoken out against tax rises, warning they could have the reverse effect on an already fragile economy. » Read more

Abbas: We'll remind world what peace process was built on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 15, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) – President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would send a message to the Israeli government and to the world reminding them of the bases and terms of reference on which the Middle East peace process was built. “We will not accept continuation of the status quo, and will soon take the steps we have agreed on with the Arab countries,” he said. At a meeting in Ramallah with members of his Fatah party's Revolutionary Council, Abbas said the peace process collapsed because the Israeli government violated previously signed agreements. » Read more

Israel OKs Tourist Center in Tense Arab Area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has given a hardline Jewish group permission to build a new archaeological center in a tense Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, officials said Tuesday. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said Tuesday that a Jerusalem planning committee approved the project this week. The public has 60 days to appeal. Any Israeli-backed project in east Jerusalem runs the risk of sparking protests that can escalate into violence, as conflicting claims to the area are at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more