February 19th

Israel to hold urgent hearing for Palestinian hunger-striker Issawi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ahram Online February 19, 2013 - 1:00am Israel's Magistrate Court calls for an urgent court hearing on Tuesday for Palestinian prisoner Samer Al-Issawi, who has been on a hunger strike for 210 days. Al-Issawi was released from Israeli detention in October 2011 as part of the prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israeli authorities. However, the Israeli authorities rearrested Al-Issawi on 7 July, 2012 for allegedly breaking the terms of conditions of his release. » Read more

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Pleads Not Guilty in Fraud Case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - February 17, 2013 - 1:00am Israel’s tough-talking former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, pleaded not guilty on Sunday to » Read more

Israeli public asked to choose logo for Obama visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 18, 2013 - 1:00am The Israeli prime minister's office is asking the public to choose an official logo for next month's state visit of the US president by voting for one of three proposed designs on Facebook. Participants have until 1400 GMT on Tuesday to choose their favourite design by clicking "like' on Benjamin Netanyahu's Facebook page, a statement from the prime minister's office said. » Read more

Protesters rally in solidarity with hunger strikers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 19, 2013 - 1:00am Protesters rallied in Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah on Monday in support of hunger striking prisoners in Israeli jails, as the PA minister of prisoner affairs warned of a popular uprising in the West Bank. In Al-Khader near Bethlehem, dozens of people, including the families of prisoners and representatives from human right groups, rallied by route 60. Israeli soldiers arrived in the area and dispersed protestors using tear gas canisters and stun grenades, witnesses said, injuring several people. » Read more

Israel, PA lobbying US before Obama's visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh, Herb Keinon - February 17, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority on Sunday dispatched two senior officials to Washington to brief the US administration on its stance regarding the resumption of peace talks with Israel. » Read more

Official: Israel continues to withhold PA tax revenues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 19, 2013 - 1:00am Israel continues to withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, an official said Monday, as unions in the West Bank organize strike action this week over unpaid salaries. Ahmad al-Hilou, director of customs taxes and VAT, told Ma'an that Israel was supposed to transfer December tax revenues to the PA last Thursday, "but the money is still withheld due to a political decision." A PA delegation will meet with Israeli officials on Feb. 28 to discuss transferring January tax revenues, al-Hilou said. » Read more

Palestinians to ask that Obama personally kickstart peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jack Khoury - February 19, 2013 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority representatives are expected to request the personal involvement of United States President Barack Obama in the Mideast peace process when they arrive in Washington on Wednesday. The PA representatives are even expected to even ask that Obama present his own initiative that will contain a formula that will allow both Israel and the PA to return to the negotiating table. » Read more

February 15th

Leila Khaled, the 1970s Palestinian revolutionary, is still passionate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jennifer Jajeh - February 16, 2013 - 1:00am It looks like Leila Khaled has stood me up. It's my last day in Amman, and she's arranged to meet me in front of the Sofra restaurant at noon. It's now 12:45pm. Tired of the unwanted attention I'm receiving as a woman standing alone on the street, I duck into Café des Artistes next door and order an overpriced espresso in the hope they'll let me use their phone to call her again. She answers this time and tells me she is stuck at a meeting for the Palestinian National Council, but will meet me in another 30 minutes. » Read more

The distant drums of intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - February 15, 2013 - 1:00am The public debate Americans have been conducting recently about the implications of the worldwide war they are waging against Islamic terror is not confined to the decade between September 11, 2001, and the assassination of Osama bin Laden, or to the two four-year terms of President George W. Bush. The Americans are also discussing and implementing far-reaching measures in that war during the second term of Barack Obama. It was the Obama administration that formulated a directive permitting the president to authorize the assassination abroad, without trial, of U.S. » Read more

Erekat: No Settlement Freeze Means No Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Shlomi Eldar - (Opinion) February 14, 2013 - 1:00am Israel is waiting for President Barack Obama. Social networks across the internet are full of petitions and “likes,” pleading with the president to give a speech about peace to the Israeli masses gathered in Rabin Square. » Read more