March 12th

PLO envoy at the UN condemns Israeli 'terrorism' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 12, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The PLO ambassador at the UN on Sunday sent a letter to UN officials to update them on the current round of violence in the Gaza Strip. Riyad Mansour condemned Israel's "violence and terrorism against the Palestinian people," saying the latest escalation threatens stability in the region. The fragile situation in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories is getting worse, he said. Mansour sent notifications to UN secretary-general Ban ki-Moon, among other officials.

5 killed, 46 injured in fourth day of Gaza airstrikes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 12, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli airstrikes killed two Islamic Jihad militants and three civilians on Monday, bringing the death toll since Friday to 23 people, medics and Ma'an's correspondent said. An airstrike on Monday afternoon in Beit Lahiya killed Muhammad al-Hasoumi, 65, and his daughter, 30, medical spokesperson in Gaza Abu Salmiya said. Earlier, hospital officials said a 15-year-old schoolboy was killed in a separate air strike during the day on Monday. Nayif Shaaban Qarmout was killed in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza, Ma'an's correspondent said. » Read more

Gaza militant assassinated by Israel, sparking fears of wider violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ahmed al-Dabb - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli air strike today killed the chief of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a pro-Hamas militant group that today declared it will no longer honor the tenuous cease-fire with Israel. PRC Secretary-General Zuhair al-Qaissi and his aide, Mohammed Hannani were instantly killed when their car was targeted by Israeli rockets in Gaza City's densely populated Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. Witnesses said unmanned drones were flying overhead just before the attack. » Read more

Fighting between Israel, Gaza continues for 3rd day ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY — Cross-border fighting between Gaza and Israel, touched off by Israel’s killing of a top Palestinian militant leader, showed no signs of letting up after three days Sunday. Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at Israeli towns, hitting an empty school, and Israeli airstrikes killed three Gazans, including a boy and a farm guard. Egypt tried to mediate but failed to end the violence, the worst in more than a year. The fighting has killed 18 Gazans, all but two of them militants, and disrupted the lives of about 1 million Israelis living within range of rocket fire from Gaza. » Read more

March 9th

The tragedy of success ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) by Morgan Strong - (Analysis) March 9, 2012 - 1:00am BRICK, N.J., March 9 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited U.S. President Barack Obama Monday. He has tried, and failed, to convince Obama to join Israel in attacking Iran. Netanyahu says the purpose in attacking Iran is to prevent the development of nuclear weapons that Iran will use against Israel. That is sheer fantasy. Iran is very far from the development of nuclear weapons. Even if Iran were to succeed in building a primitive nuclear device, they could never match Israel's vast nuclear arsenal. » Read more

Building Palestinian prosperity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Post by Alexander Joffe, Asaf Romirowsky - (Opinion) March 9, 2012 - 1:00am The Palestinian cause has never been more marginalized than it is today. That was the message conveyed by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in a recent meeting in Ramallah. The Arab Spring has deflected the attention of the international community and the Arab world, to the detriment of the Palestinians. But Fayyad was also frank that the uprisings were inevitable. The fundamental lack of respect for citizens in places such as Syria, Tunisia and Egypt, he stated, could not be sustained forever. » Read more

Palestinian Elections Delayed by Hamas-Fatah Bickering ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - March 9, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH // Palestinians will not hold presidential and parliamentary elections in May because of disagreements between the two main political factions, a Palestinian elections official said this week. The gridlocked Hamas-Fatah reconciliation has made it impossible for the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) to hold elections on May 4, the date originally set by the groups, said the Ramallah-based organisation's chief electoral officer, Hisham Kuhail. » Read more

On Iran, a Win-Win ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Editorial) March 9, 2012 - 1:00am The conventional wisdom is that the latest meeting between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even if more cordial and productive than their eight prior exchanges, highlighted the stark differences between the two leaders as their nations face the threat of a nuclear Iran. And this gulf, so some urge us to believe, presents a serious schism for Americans who care about Israel’s security and this most special of special bilateral relationships. Permit us to offer another perspective. » Read more

Palestinian Female Detainees Tell Horrific Stories of Abuse in Israeli Prisons ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Amjad Samhan - March 8, 2012 - 1:00am Throughout the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, around 800,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli authorities, more than 10,000 of whom are women. Many of those female detainees were subjected to several forms of abuse, sexual in particular, but very few were willing to talk. On the eve of International Women’s Day, however, some decided to break their silence. S.H., who refused to disclose her full name, was arrested for a few days to put pressure on her husband, also detained at the time, and extract confessions from him. » Read more

Why is Israel calling Iran a nuclear duck? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by James Reynolds - (Opinion) March 7, 2012 - 1:00am "A nuclear armed Iran must be stopped," Benjamin Netanyahu told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby group in Washington on Monday. "Amazingly, some people refuse to acknowledge that Iran's goal is to develop nuclear weapons." So, how might Israel's prime minister try to persuade the sceptics? A couple of paragraphs later, Mr Netanyahu decided to deploy a favourite rhetorical device of recent Israeli leaders. It's a phrase always used whenever an Israeli politician wants to come over as wittily plain-spoken to English-speaking audiences - the duck analogy. » Read more