February 13th

Abbas will have to choose ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yigal B. Caspi - (Opinion) February 12, 2012 - 1:00am Hamas and Fatah, the ruling faction in the Palestinian Authority, signed an agreement in Doha, Qatar on 6 February 2012 to form an interim unity government. According to the agreement, PA President and leader of Fatah Mahmoud Abbas will head the government, replacing the current Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, who is supported by the West. The move is a further step in implementing the so-called reconciliation agreement that the two Palestinian factions signed in Cairo in May 2011. » Read more

Israel's new peace camp is playing into Hamas' hands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 13, 2012 - 1:00am There was a time - before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad starred here in the role of Hitler - when the "elites" were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's number one enemy. » Read more

Lesson in extremism at Israel 'peace' school ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am A school set up to promote peace and understanding between Arab and Jewish communities in Jerusalem has been hit by vandals who have daubed racist threats on its playground walls, including "Death to Arabs". » Read more

Report: Palestinian killed, three injured in IAF strike on Gaza sites ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz February 12, 2012 - 1:00am A man was killed and three others were injured in an attack by the Israeli Air Force on tunnels and a weapons depot in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, described as retaliation for a cross-border rocket launch, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported. The man killed was Abdul Karim Zaytuna (69), according to Ma'an. An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said she had no immediate information about the casualties from Sunday's air strikes. » Read more

Israel bars Al-Quds University doctors from practicing in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - February 12, 2012 - 1:00am Health Ministry officials refuse to allow 35 Palestinian doctors from East Jerusalem to attend Israeli certification exams - and help relieve a shortage of doctors there. The ministry claims the doctors, who graduated from Al-Quds University, are not eligible to sit the certification exams, usually taken by doctors who qualified abroad to enable them to practice in Israel. The ministry says Al-Quds cannot be considered a "foreign university" since it holds offices in Jerusalem. » Read more

Car bombs 'target Israel envoys' in India and Georgia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News February 13, 2012 - 1:00am Bombers have targeted staff at Israeli embassies in India and Georgia, officials say, with Israel accusing Iran of masterminding the attacks. An explosion in Delhi injured one diplomat and three other people. Witnesses told local TV a motorcyclist had placed a device on the embassy's car when it stopped in traffic. A bomb underneath a diplomat's car in Tbilisi was found and defused. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was behind the two incidents. "Today we witnessed two attempts of terrorism against innocent civilians," he told a meeting of his Likud party MPs. » Read more

Wife of Israeli diplomat wounded in car blast near New Delhi embassy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Barak Ravid - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am The wife of an Israeli diplomat was moderately wounded on Monday when a car bomb exploded outside of Israel's embassy in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Haaretz has learned. The wounded woman in question is the wife of the Defense Ministry's representative to India. The incident came one day after the fourth anniversary marking the assasination of Hezbollah's deputy leader, Imad Mughniyeh, which the Islamist organization blames on Israel.

UN rapporteur slams Israeli policy of 'Judaization' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 13, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A United Nations Special Rapporteur said Sunday that Israel is systematically implementing a discriminatory policy of housing and planning in Israel, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. "From the Galilee and the Negev to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Israeli authorities promote a territorial development model that excludes, discriminates against and displaces minorities, particularly affecting Palestinian communities," Professor Raquel Rolnik, UN rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, said on Sunday. » Read more

Poll: Palestinians most concerned about economic future ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 13, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion has found that a majority of Palestinians are most concerned about their jobs and financial status, and support opposition to proposed PA tax reforms currently on hold after widespread outcry. The poll, conducted by Dr. Nabil Kukali between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4, shows 54.7 percent of Palestinians currently fear the survival of their family during economic hard times in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. » Read more

Police close Al-Aqsa, block right-wing leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 13, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli police closed access to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa compound on Sunday morning, saying they feared unrest after leaflets were distributed around the city calling to remove "Israel's enemies" from the site. Police also blocked far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin from entering the holy compound "for security reasons," Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said. Feiglin, who was the sole rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their Likud's party leadership contest last month, said earlier this week he intended to tour the Al-Aqsa compound. » Read more