April 12th

Don't Give Up on Mideast Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jimmy Carter - (Opinion) April 12, 2012 - 12:00am The current focus of leaders in Washington and Jerusalem on Iran has obscured the near-death of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and the inevitable catastrophe toward which Israel is now moving. » Read more

Palestinian Authority blames Gaza for deficit mess ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 12, 2012 - 12:00am Paying for the upkeep of the Gaza Strip while its political rival actively blocks revenues flowing back is taking its toll on the deficit-racked Palestinian Authority. A barrage of mutual accusations in recent weeks has driven Hamas and Fatah ever further apart as stalled efforts at reconciliation and economic stagnation have jangled nerves on both sides. Crippling power cuts in the small coastal enclave have only added to the acrimony and lifted the lid on often opaque Palestinian funding. » Read more

Israel expels 'Palestinian collaborator' back to Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Catrina Stewart - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am Israel deported a Palestinian man to Gaza even though he faced almost certain execution there if caught by Hamas, which has charged him with spying for Israel, the man's lawyer said. Details of the case emerged just days after Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, hanged three Palestinian men, one of whom had been convicted of the identical charge – collaboration with Israel. » Read more

Israel’s Defense Establishment: Overmanned? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - (Analysis) April 11, 2012 - 12:00am Israel is one of just a few countries that subjects its women to mandatory draft and has a female major-general sitting on the army’s general staff. Until recently, the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the head of the parliamentary opposition were both women. From appearances, it would seem that women have a respectable role in Israeli establishment. But appearances can be misleading. » Read more

Israeli Arab MK threatens to file libel suit against envoy to U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi submitted an official complaint to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, following an article by Israel's envoy to the U.S. Michael Oren, according to which Tibi had retained his position as deputy Knesset speaker despite his support of suicide bombers. In an article published last week in the Foreign Policy magazine, titled "Israel's Resilient Democracy," Oren claimed that Israel's Arab citizens enjoyed equal rights, and that Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion emphasized that Arab citizens must be allowed to vote and be elected to the Knesset. » Read more

Hamas commander in solitary confinement goes on huger strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 12, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A Hamas commander who received the longest sentence from an Israeli court started a hunger strike Thursday, protesting against his solitary confinement, local sources said. Abdullah Al-Barghouti, 41, told his lawyer about the strike and said he will end it when the Israeli Prison Service returns him to the regular rooms, said a statement by the Palestinian Prisoner's Club. Al-Barghouti, head of Hamas' armed wing in the West Bank, also wanted his family members who lives in Jordan, to be granted permission to visit him regularly. » Read more

PA official: 3 injured in Nablus settler attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 12, 2012 - 12:00am NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Three people were injured by settlers on Thursday in the northern West Bank village of Yanun, a PA official said. Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that settlers threw rocks and physically assaulted villagers who were tending their land in Nablus. Five villagers were arrested by Israeli forces and taken to an unknown destination, Daghlas said. » Read more

Israel plans letter to Abbas on potential peace deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, April 11 (Reuters) - Israel will submit a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas outlining a position for a future peace deal, and proposing talks be held at a higher level than planned, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday. The statement said Netanyahu would "propose raising the level of talks to hold them directly with Abbas", a suggestion Abbas has rejected in the past unless Israel stopped building settlements on West Bank land Palestinians seek for a state. » Read more

Palestinians spurn Netanyahu’s invitation to resume talks, demand settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 12, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The Palestinians have spurned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest invitation to resume peace talks, insisting the Israelis freeze settlement construction first. Netanyahu on Wednesday proposed to start direct talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, without any preconditions. The call followed an appeal from international mediators. Negotiations broke down in late 2010. » Read more

Clinton Overrules Republican Lawmaker's Hold on Palestinian Aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Journal by Sara Sorcher - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is allowing U.S. funds to flow to the West Bank and Gaza despite a hold by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a rare display of executive-branch authority that angered the key lawmaker concerned about protecting her congressional oversight role. » Read more