October 25th, 2012

Palestinians, Israeli left-wingers protest settlement supermarket ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 24, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Palestinians and Israeli left-wing activists on Wednesday blocked the entrance to a supermarket located in a West Bank settlement industrial zone north of Ramallah. The protesters, waving Palestinian flags, burst into the branch of the Rami Levy chain and called for the boycott of settlement- manufactured foods and goods marketed at the store. » Read more

Israel claims "no knowledge" about Sudanese allegations of arms plant attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 24, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Wednesday claimed they have "absolutely no knowledge" about the allegations by Sudanese officials over Israel's involvement in a " mysterious" explosion of a Khartoum ammunition plant. Yigal Palmor, spokesperson for the ministry, told Xinhua that the ministry do not know anything regarding the explosion. » Read more

Israel says 79 rockets fired at it from Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - October 24, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Palestinians fired dozens of rockets into Israel from Gaza on Wednesday and an Israeli air strike killed a militant, a day after the Emir of Qatar made a rare visit to the enclave's Hamas leadership. Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the rocket and mortar bomb attacks, prompting some Israelis to wonder whether it had been emboldened by the Qatari visit on Tuesday that broke the Islamist group's diplomatic isolation. » Read more

Egypt brokers informal Israel-Gaza truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters October 25, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Palestinian fighters held fire overnight Thursday and Israel refrained from airstrikes as an informal truce brokered by Egypt appeared to take hold following two days of violence along the Israel-Gaza border. Palestinians had launched dozens of rockets into Israel over the preceding two days and Israel conducted a number of air raids on the coastal enclave, raising fears of a prolonged, bloody confrontation between the two sides. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the last known rocket was fired from Gaza on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. » Read more

Lull in fighting between Israel, Gaza militants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM —A deadly flare-up in fighting between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas group subsided on Thursday after Egypt helped to restore calm ahead of a major Muslim holiday. » Read more

October 24th

Qatar Emir's Gaza Visit Shifts Focus Onto Palestinian Unity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam by Mohannad Abdel Hamid - (Opinion) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am The visit of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, to the Gaza Strip raises big questions: Will Qatar and its Emir reinforce the separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and abandon the efforts to end the state of division which culminated in the Doha Agreement? Or will the visit carry a surprise? » Read more

Hamas policy on attacking Israel has changed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 24, 2012 - 12:00am Maybe it's the support it received from the official visit of the Qatari emir, maybe it's Hamas' feeling that it has restrained itself for too long in light of the Israeli assassinations of extremist Jihad activists in Gaza – what is apparent, based on the heavy rocket attack from the Strip on Wednesday morning, is that Hamas has changed its policy on attacks against Israel. » Read more

That Poll's Apartheid Problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Noam Shelef - (Opinion) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am The front page of today's Haaretz featured an article by Gideon Levy about a dramatic survey of Israeli Jewish public opinion. I admire Gideon Levy. He's had the courage over the years to document some of the ugliest aspects of the occupation. » Read more

Who's the Bigger Friend of Israel — And Do Voters Really Care? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Shibley Telhami - (Opinion) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am One of the striking aspects of the third presidential debate was the frequent mention of Israel (34 times). Western Europe and the challenges facing the European Union, or Mexico and Latin America hardly registered. It is as if the Israel issue is a burning one in American politics, or that the American public is dying to see which candidate supports Israel more. Neither is close to the truth. » Read more

Christians’ letter was reasonable, worded sensitively ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Brant Rosen - (Opinion) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am CHICAGO (JTA) -- There has long been an unwritten covenant between the Jewish establishment and Christian leaders when it comes to interfaith dialogue: “We can talk about any religious issues we like, but criticism of Israel’s human rights violations is off limits.” » Read more