Shas insiders: Deri may yet return ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jeremy Sharon - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am Despite recent reports, Shas insiders are hopeful that former party leader Arye Deri will return to the party for the next general election and not form a separate one. Channel 2 reported on Monday that, according to associates of Deri, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef offered Deri the third spot on the Shas electoral list after current party chairman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Attias. According to senior Shas figures, Deri refused and demanded the top spot and the senior ministerial position. » Read more

Parties agree on September 4 vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews May 2, 2012 - 12:00am Coalition Chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) filed an official motion for the dissolution of the 18th Knesset on Wednesday. Likud officials told Ynet that the party will now push for elections on Tuesday, September 4. » Read more

U.S. pressing UN Human Rights Commissioner to put off West Bank settlements probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) May 2, 2012 - 12:00am The Obama administration is trying to delay the establishment of a panel appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. A U.S. official conveyed messages to UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay in the last few weeks, asking her not to advance the matter in the near future. » Read more

Israeli settlement hotel plans 'threaten West Bank tourism' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 2, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli plans to build nine hotels in a settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem aim to undermine tourism in Bethlehem, a Palestinian researcher warned Tuesday. Israel on Tuesday pushed forward with plans to build 1,100 hotel rooms in Givat Hamatos, a neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem close to Israel's checkpoint to Bethlehem. Khalil Tufakji, a Palestinian expert in settlement affairs, told Ma'an that an Israeli committee had approved the plan, which includes nine hotels. » Read more

Blame game defers solution to Gaza's energy crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from IRIN May 2, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (IRIN) -- From factories to the fishing industry, the Gaza Strip economy is being affected by more than two months of fuel shortages and power outages, taking a toll on the livelihoods of its 1.6 million inhabitants. To make a living on the sea, Madlene Kollab needs 20 liters of fuel each day. Unable to afford that, the Gaza Strip's only fisherwoman has seen her catch halve to just 1.5 kilos per day. » Read more

Meshal loses control of Hamas military wing as authority moves to Gaza leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas political bureau head Khaled Meshal, who now resides in Qatar, is expected to keep his post after an internal vote by the organization's leadership later this month. But sources have told Haaretz that Hamas leaders have decided to transfer some of Meshal's critical areas of authority to the leadership in the Gaza Strip, including control of the organization's budget and of its military wing. » Read more

Israel army closes probe into deaths of 21 Gazans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - May 1, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Wednesday it has closed its investigation into the shelling deaths of 21 members of a single Palestinian family and would not file any charges in what was one of the gravest incidents in the 2009 war in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Those who care need to act ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Several weeks ago, at a Doha conference promoting solidarity with occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas encouraged Arabs and Muslims to visit the occupied city as a form of support for Palestinians under occupation. This call generated a great debate, one simultaneously enflamed by a series of controversial visits to Jerusalem holy sites by prominent Arab personalities. » Read more

Is there a viable strategy here somewhere? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am Last February, at a conference for the defense of Jerusalem in Qatar, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Arabs to visit East Jerusalem and the mosques on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. The declared objective was to enhance and support the Palestinian claim to East Jerusalem and the Old City and break Israel's "siege" of the city. » Read more

Submit to the strikers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shay Fogelman - (Opinion) May 7, 2012 - 12:00am It's impossible to determine precisely how many days people can survive without food. The medical history of hunger strikes indicates that healthy people of average weight can expect to lose consciousness on the 55th day of their fast. The data also indicates that hunger strikers can expect to die by day 75. As these lines are being written, administrative detainees Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are approaching the 70th day of their hunger strike. They are reportedly both still conscious but, statistically speaking, they can expect to die any minute. » Read more