January 29th

Palestinian, Israeli officials 'to discuss tax transfers' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 29, 2013 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority Ministry of Finance officials will meet with their Israeli counterparts on Wednesday to discuss resuming the transfer of taxes withheld by Israel since November, an official said. Rami Mahdawi, PA finance ministry spokesman, told Ma'an Tuesday that the meeting will discuss Israel's position to resuming the transfer of Palestinian tax revenues, which have been withheld as punishment for the UN's acceptance of Palestine as a non-member state in November. » Read more

Medics: Israeli forces shoot, injure man in north Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 29, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli forces shot and injured a man in north Gaza on Tuesday, medics said. Medical sources told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers stationed near the border opened fire at a laborer collecting scrap metal near Beit Hanoun. The man was transferred to hospital for treatment. An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "Palestinians gathered near the security fence and damaged it in the northern Gaza Strip. Security forces first fired warning shots in the air, and the suspects distanced themselves." » Read more

'Hamas leader Mashaal seeking presidency of PLO' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post January 29, 2013 - 1:00am Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is seeking to take over the presidency of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, currently chaired by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the London-Based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Monday. According to the report, Mashaal's desire to chair the PLO is behind his decision not to stand for reelection to his position as chairman of Hamas's Political Bureau. » Read more

Egypt’s MB Pressuring Hamas Chief to Continue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat January 28, 2013 - 1:00am The Hamas movement has postponed selecting a new Political Bureau chief in a clear bid to persuade incumbent, Khalid Mishal, to nominate himself for a fifth term. An Informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that delaying the convening of the Hamas Shura Council is meant to give Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic parties’ more time to pressure Mishal to change his mind. » Read more

Putting Bibi and Barack on the Couch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - January 27, 2013 - 1:00am As Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama look toward new terms in office, their long, tense relationship will now feature a new twist: The re-inaugurated American leader launches his second term greatly emboldened, while the Israeli prime minister emerges from a jolt of an election that has greatly weakened him. Nevertheless, psychiatrists and political analysts alike believe that the impact on their forced marriage will be four more years of pretty much the same thing — pronounced disagreements alongside pragmatic attempts to prevent their relationship from falling apart. » Read more

'PM said he'd okay provisional Palestinian state' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Sam Sokol - January 29, 2013 - 1:00am While not ready to sign a comprehensive peace deal, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is willing to establish an interim Palestinian state without a final agreement, former deputy foreign minister Yossi Beilin said on Monday. Speaking during a debate with outgoing settlement council head Danny Dayan, Beilin stated that he had heard from Netanyahu that he would be ready for establishing a “provisional border with the Palestinians.” “This is something that I heard from him that he would be ready to do it,” he stated. » Read more

Palestinian villagers take IDF to High Court over military drills ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - January 29, 2013 - 1:00am The army has been carrying out training exercises for about a week near three Palestinian villages in south Hebron, in violation of a High Court of Justice order that also forbids the villagers' eviction from their homes, said local farmers backed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. The farmers of a-Tabban, Mirkez and Jinba reported that military drills in a "firing zone" adjacent to their villages started last Monday with no warning, damaging their fields, pasture areas and wells. » Read more

Murdoch apologizes for ‘offensive’ cartoon of Netanyahu using blood-red mortar to build wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 29, 2013 - 1:00am Media baron Rupert Murdoch has apologized for a Sunday Times cartoon depicting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu building a wall using blood-red mortar, an image Jewish leaders said was reminiscent of anti-Semitic propaganda. The political cartoon, which was published on Holocaust Memorial Day, shows Netanyahu wielding a long, sharp trowel and depicts agonized Palestinians bricked into the wall’s structure. It was meant as a comment on recent elections in which Netanyahu’s ticket narrowly won the most seats in the Israeli parliament. » Read more

Israeli PM meets with Mideast Quartet envoy Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 29, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the international Quartet's envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair on Monday evening. Netanyahu told Blair, who represents the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union, that he looks forward to continuing working with Blair regarding the challenges Israel is facing. » Read more

Hamas says next inter-Palestinian talks in Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Jamal Halaby - January 28, 2013 - 1:00am AMMAN, Jordan — Reconciliation talks between Palestinian militant group Hamas and its rival Fatah are on track and will resume in Egypt on Feb. 9, Hamas' political leader said Monday. Khalid Mashaal said that "obstacles" over crucial issues such as elections and a future government remain, but that he expected progress in talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more