Israel ranked alongside Iran as one of countries with most negative global influence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 17, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has been ranked in the top four countries that most negatively influence the word, according to a global public opinion poll conducted by the BBC. The poll, which surveyed citizens from 22 countries around the world, places Iran in first place, with 55 percent of those surveyed rating it as a negative country. Pakistan ranked second with 51 percent, and in joint third place were Israel and North Korea, with 50 percent of respondents negatively evaluating both countries. » Read more

Palestinian cave dwellers caught in Israel's crossfire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Catrina Stewart - May 17, 2012 - 12:00am Generations of Jabareens, a Palestinian family, were born in the cave hewn into the rugged hillside just a few miles from the Green Line delineating the occupied West Bank from Israel. Over the decades, the cave has acquired a few comforts, including generator-run electricity, a door offering protection against the elements, and a toilet installed at the expense of the British government. » Read more

Israeli army demolishes 2 illegal W. Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police and army units evacuated and razed two illegally-built structures in two West Bank outposts near Ramallah overnight Thursday, due to what they said was lack of proper building permits. Police at the Ramat Migron and nearby Oz Tzion communities detained six Israelis at both areas on charges of trespassing in a closed military area, disturbing the peace, and interfering with a public employee, according to The Jerusalem Post. » Read more

Palestinians to hold municipal elections without Hamas' Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 17, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree to hold local elections in the West Bank, excluding the Gaza Strip where his rival Hamas movement holds sway, a Palestinian official said Thursday. The decree authorizes the reshuffled government, which was sworn in on Wednesday, to hold the municipal elections in stages, said Khaled Al-Qawasmi, minister of local governing. » Read more

Israeli tanks fire on Gaza Strip, 7 injured ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 17, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Seven people were injured on Thursday when Israeli forces fired artillery rounds at the northern and eastern Gaza Strip, medics said. Gaza medical spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya told Ma'an that two people were seriously wounded and five moderately injured when Israeli forces opened fire on Beit Lahiya, north Gaza, and east of Gaza City. Most of the victims were farmers, Abu Salmiya said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces opened fire toward "several suspects approaching the security fence." » Read more

Israel 'arrests TV director, confiscates equipment' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 17, 2012 - 12:00am JENIN (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces arrested the director of a Jenin-based satellite channel on Thursday after raiding his home, the executive director of the channel said. Saher Qassem, chief of the Al-Asir channel, told Ma'an that a group of soldiers arrested Baha Khayri Ata Musa, 32, after raiding his home in Mirka village. Soldiers confiscated the TV station's broadcasting equipment from Musa's home, preventing the channel from being able to continue its coverage, Qassem said. » Read more

Several prisoners still on hunger strike in Israeli jails ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 17, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Several prisoners in Israeli jails are still on hunger strike, officials said Thursday, days after a deal was struck to end a mass hunger strike movement. Israeli Prisons Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman told Ma'an that Mahmoud al-Sarsak and Akram al-Rekhawi are refusing food. They are being held in Ramle prison clinic, she said. » Read more

Israel's unity government: How big was the shift to the center? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - May 15, 2012 - 12:00am When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined forces last week with the centrist Kadima party to form one of Israel's largest-ever coalition governments, it appeared to give him maneuvering room to pursue Palestinian peace talks over the objections of his hardline political base. » Read more

US envoy to Israel: US ready to strike Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 17, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Washington's envoy to Israel says the U.S. has plans in place to attack Tehran if necessary to prevent it from becoming an atomic military power. In remarks before the Israel Bar Association, Dan Shapiro said the U.S. hopes diplomacy and economic sanctions will pressure Iran to abandon its suspect nuclear program. » Read more

Palestinian PM reshuffles Cabinet in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Dalia Nammari - May 16, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad replaced almost half of his West Bank-based Cabinet on Wednesday, a clear sign that efforts to end the Palestinian political split are stuck. A unity deal reached in February was to have ended five years of separate Palestinian governments, one run by Fayyad in the West Bank and the other by the Islamic militant Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Under its terms, President Mahmoud Abbas was to head an interim unity government ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections. » Read more