March 26th

Christians Called To Serve Jewish Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - March 25, 2012 - 12:00am Psagot, West Bank — It is a typical, even stereotypical, West Bank settlement scene: bearded young men pruning vines while enthusing about the Chosen People’s God-given right to this region. But in this case it is Jesus, and not Jewish identity, that animates these tillers. For years, Westerners have flocked to the Israeli-occupied West Bank to help Palestinians with their olive harvest, as part of left-wing activist groups like the International Solidarity Movement. Among other things, the activists seek to resist efforts by settlers to disrupt the Palestinians’ reaping. » Read more

Translating U.S. pro-Israel advocacy for Jewish communities abroad—and taking care about context ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - March 25, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- It takes more than a translator to translate American-style pro-Israel activism for foreign audiences. Nearly a decade after an effort by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to replicate its model overseas collapsed in acrimony, a range of Jewish organizations are helping smaller Diaspora Jewish communities enhance their advocacy. They have found receptive audiences. In recent years, pro-Israel initiatives in a number of countries have taken on a higher profile. » Read more

Young Palestinians act out their struggle on another stage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Killian Fox - March 24, 2012 - 12:00am On 4 April 2011, Juliano Mer-Khamis turned up unexpectedly at the Freedom theatre in Jenin and went inside to talk with his students and staff. Usually he'd call ahead whenever he planned a return to Jenin, but this time, driving up from Ramallah where he had just premiered a new production of a play by Eugène Ionesco, he gave no advance warning. » Read more

Report: Hamas wants fuel, commodities only via Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - March 24, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip have instructed gas station owners to stop selling petrol and diesel fuel in order to enrage the local Palestinians and encourage them to riot against the Egyptian government. The terror organization wishes to pressure Egypt to supply Gaza with fuel without preconditions, reported Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper on Saturday. » Read more

Palestinians seek political, financial support from Baghdad Arab summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 25, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian leadership is looking forward to gain decisions of full Arab political and financial support for their cause in the Arab League annual summit due to be held in Baghdad, Iraq on March 29, a senior Palestinian official said on Sunday. Despite the concerns that the Arab summit this year will be more involved in discussing the outcomes of the Arab revolutions, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua that President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to chair the senior Palestinian delegation that will attend the summit. » Read more

Palestinian PM says freed US aid to help ease crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 24, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 24 (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Saturday the release of $88.6 million in development funds by U.S. lawmakers would help ease a fiscal crisis in the aid-dependant Palestinian economy. "This is very important in order to help us deal with the economic crisis," Fayyad told reporters in Ramallah. » Read more

U.S. lawmakers release $88.6 mln in aid to Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Susan Cornwell - March 23, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Friday released $88.6 million in development aid for the Palestinians that they had held up since last summer, a move that should help ease a fiscal crisis in the aid-dependent Palestinian economy. Representative Kay Granger announced she was ready for the entire $147 million in U.S. assistance that had been frozen since August to go to the Palestinians. » Read more

Fayyad says Hamas officials no show at Cairo fuel talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 26, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday an expected Hamas delegation had not arrived in Cairo to join talks on ending the Gaza Strip's fuel crisis. Palestinian officials headed to Egypt on Saturday to discuss the mechanism for ongoing fuel pumping into Gaza after Egypt cut off supplies through an underground tunnel network. While an Egyptian security official said Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar crossed from Gaza to Egypt on Egypt, Fayyad said a Hamas delegation did not join talks. » Read more

Abbas approves changes in Lebanon refugee camps ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 25, 2012 - 12:00am BEIRUT (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday gave his approval to several resolutions affecting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a statement from the embassy in Beirut said. The resolutions were initially discussed during a visit by Fatah central committee member Azzam Ahmad on March 16. Ahmad had met with Palestinian faction representatives in Lebanon to discuss ways to improve the situation of refugees. » Read more

Islamist Victors in Egypt Seeking Shift by Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David Kirkpatrick - March 24, 2012 - 12:00am CAIRO — As it prepares to take power in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is overhauling its relations with the two main Palestinian factions in an effort to put new pressure on Israel for an independent Palestinian state. Officials of the Brotherhood, Egypt’s dominant Islamist movement, are pressing its militant Palestinian offshoot, Hamas, which controls Gaza, to make new compromises with Fatah, the Western-backed Palestinian leadership that has committed to peace with Israel and runs the West Bank. » Read more