The West Must Support Universal Values in the Arab World ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) March 30, 2012 - 12:00am Over the past 14 months of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding the way in which Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West. » Read more

Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM // If he could, Ibrahim Khoury would bring his family to this city every Sunday. But in his way are Israel's walls and bureaucracy that restrict him and other Christian Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. Unlike the 280,000 Palestinians who hold Jerusalem residency, he - like most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim - must get Israel's permission to visit the city that is his cultural and spiritual home. But yesterday, the Khoury family was part of a group of Roman Catholics from Ramallah allowed in to celebrate Palm Sunday. » Read more

Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM // If he could, Ibrahim Khoury would bring his family to this city every Sunday. But in his way are Israel's walls and bureaucracy that restrict him and other Christian Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. Unlike the 280,000 Palestinians who hold Jerusalem residency, he - like most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim - must get Israel's permission to visit the city that is his cultural and spiritual home. But yesterday, the Khoury family was part of a group of Roman Catholics from Ramallah allowed in to celebrate Palm Sunday. » Read more

Blair meets PM, Fayyad in effort to engage sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - April 1, 2012 - 12:00am Quartet envoy Tony Blair met separately Sunday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an effort to keep the sides engaged and the situation stable. Blair’s visit comes in advance of a scheduled meeting of the Quartet in Washington on April 11. On Monday he will hold meetings in Jordan and on Tuesday, US Middle East envoy David Hale will follow Blair to Israel and the Palestinian territories. » Read more

'Red Crescent workers behind shooting attack' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced Monday that it uncovered and arrested a terrorist cell that included a number of Palestinian Red Crescent workers that was behind a shooting in the Ramallah area earlier this year. The shooting near the Amari Refugee Camp on January 20 caused no injuries but did damage a number of IDF vehicles. The weapons used in that attack, which were Kalashnikov automatic assault rifles, were provided by a senior officer in the Palestinian Authority's intelligence service, who is also in charge of security for the Red Crescent. » Read more

IDF gives settlers 24 hours to evacuate Hebron house ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am The IDF has issued an eviction order for settlers who took over a house in the Arab part of Hebron last week. According to the order, the settlers have until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state." The security establishment has called the takeover a provocation, and says that the settlers' presence in the house constitutes a public disturbance. However, the move has won the support of some politicians. » Read more

Arab nations 'to pay PA if Israel freezes tax revenues' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 2, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Arab nations meeting at a Baghdad summit last week pledged to compensate the Palestinian Authority if Israel freezes delivery of tax revenues, a senior official told government media. Fatah official Muhammad Shtayyeh told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday that nations agreed at the Arab League summit pay the PA $100 million per month, roughly the sum of customs taxes collected by Israel on the PA's behalf under international agreements. » Read more

Jailing of journalists 'not based on security complaint' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 2, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The recent detentions of three Palestinian journalists in the West Bank are not based on security complaints but legal charges filed by individuals, the spokesman of the West Bank security services said Sunday. "The Palestinian Authority's security services have no security-related problem with any journalist," Adnan Dmeiri told Ma’an. » Read more

Man dies of wounds from Israeli West Bank raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 2, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- A young Palestinian man died on Monday morning from wounds suffered in an Israeli raid on his village near Ramallah last week, his family told Ma'an. Rashad Theib Shoukha, 28, was critically injured by a gunshot to the chest during a dawn raid on Rammun village on Tuesday. His brothers Anwar and Akram were also injured in the raid. An Israeli army spokeswoman said at the time that an Israeli soldier "was stabbed during routine activity ... the soldiers responded to the attackers in self defense, and three were injured." » Read more

Palestinian authorities detain woman for allegedly insulting president on Facebook ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 2, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Rights activists say a Palestinian university lecturer has been detained on accusations that her Facebook page insulted President Mahmoud Abbas. Hadeel Hneiti of the al-Haq rights group said Monday that Palestinian security forces arrested Ismat Abdul-Khaleq after they found writing on her Facebook page accusing Abbas of being a traitor and demanding he resign. Hneiti said the 37-year-old Abdul-Khaleq was taken into custody Wednesday. » Read more