December 14th

Israeli police wanted "for murder" for killing Arab youth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 14, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli female border police who shot an Arab teenager on Wednesday after he held a fake gun to another soldier's head is wanted "for murder" on Arabic Facebook pages. » Read more

Israeli court urges reroute of planned West Bank barrier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 13, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Israel's highest court has urged defence officials to reroute a barrier planned for construction on ancient farmland at a West Bank Palestinian village. Israeli judges have ordered changes in Israel's barrier through occupied land before, but the latest decision followed a rare appeal involving support from an Israeli government environmental agency for a Palestinian challenge. » Read more

Israeli soldiers assault two Reuters cameramen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 13, 2012 - 1:00am HEBRON, West Bank, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers punched two Reuters cameramen and forced them to strip in the street, before letting off a tear gas canister in front of them, leaving one of them needing hospital treatment. Israel's military said on Thursday it took the allegations seriously, but offered no explanation for the assault that occurred on Wednesday evening in the heart of Hebron. » Read more

Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Indictment on Lesser Charges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s blunt-talking and polarizing foreign minister, will be charged with breach of trust but not with fraud and money laundering, prosecutors announced Thursday, ending an investigation lasting years and throwing a curve into Israel’s coming elections. » Read more

Truce brings extra gleam to Gaza marketplace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The horizon of the claustrophobic Gaza Strip stretches further out to sea after a bloody eight-day battle last month and its main market gleams with extra supplies of locally-caught fish. In a low-key move it has yet to acknowledge, Israel moved a naval blockade it imposed in 2009 back to six miles (10 km) from the Palestinian enclave's coast from three on Nov 23, two days after signing an Egypt-brokered truce with Gaza's Hamas rulers. » Read more

Hamas announces second day of West Bank rallies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 14, 2012 - 1:00am TULKAREM (Ma'an) -- Hamas will hold rallies in the West Bank on Friday in the second day of its celebrations to mark the movement's 25th anniversary. On Thursday, thousands turned out in Nablus to celebrate the founding of Hamas, the first time Hamas was authorized to hold a mass political event in the West Bank by the Fatah-dominated government. » Read more

Hamas subdued despite Gaza victory claim-Israeli military ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - December 14, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Israel's offensive on Gaza has deterred Hamas from new hostilities despite its claims of victory and the front is now at its quietest in 20 years, a senior Israeli military officer said. Vastly lopsided shelling exchanges over eight days killed 170 Palestinians and 6 Israelis before the Nov. 21 truce brokered by Egypt. » Read more

In Step Toward Palestinian Unity, Hamas Holds Rally in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am NABLUS, West Bank — Hundreds of men and boys sporting the signature green of the militant Hamas faction marched through the narrow alleys of the old city here on Thursday afternoon, calling for Palestinian unity but also renewed attacks on Israeli cities, in the first public demonstration by the Islamist party allowed in the West Bank in years. » Read more

Hamas Gains Allure in Gaza, but Money Is a Problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY — Hamas has been riding high of late, after its professed victory in the recent conflict with Israel and the overthrow last year of Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, an avowed enemy. » Read more

December 13th

Gaza conflict deters Bethlehem Christmas pilgrims ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Tim Hume - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am CNN) -- Authorities in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem are hoping it won't be a silent night this Christmas Eve, following a spate of tourist cancellations due to recent violence in Gaza. The West Bank town of around 29,000 people, eight kilometers (five miles) south of Jerusalem, contains the Church of the Nativity, venerated by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus. » Read more