March 16th, 2012

Israel Aircraft Open Fire West of Gaza City ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 16, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (MA’an) -- Israeli helicopters opened fire toward farmland in the Sheikh Ajlen area west of Gaza City late Thursday, witnesses said. No injuries were reported. An Israeli military spokeswoman said aircraft fired warning shots in response to rocket fire. Earlier, several rockets were fired toward the western Negev, Israeli media reported. A Grad rocket was intercepted by a nearby "Iron Dome" battery, and another rocket landed in an open area in the Eshkol regional council outside Hof Ashkelon, Israel's Ynet news service reported. » Read more

Members of Israel’s Diverse African Community Join Forces to Lobby for Better Treatment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 16, 2012 - 12:00am DIMONA, Israel — For years, Israel’s array of African communities had little interaction, divided by religious, linguistic and cultural differences. That is changing. They are facing a common situation in Israel — relegated to bottom rungs, partly because of discrimination over their skin color. That has brought some members of a wide range of communities together, including Jewish Ethiopians, nomadic Muslim Arabs and migrants from Eritrea and Sudan. » Read more

Turkey’s Erdogan to Discuss Palestinian Reconciliation Efforts with Hamas’ Exiled Leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 16, 2012 - 12:00am ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s prime minister is meeting Hamas’ chief Khaled Mashaal to discuss reconciliation efforts between the rival Palestinian factions. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday he would be discussing developments concerning Palestinian unity in Ankara on Friday with Hamas’ top leader in exile. Reconciliation efforts between Hamas — shunned by the West as a terror group — and Fatah continue, but they have encountered new obstacles. » Read more

March 15th

The Other One Staters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am Sometimes I love right-wing Christians. In the past few weeks, in the wake of pro-BDS conferences at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, American Jewish groups have been venting their outrage about the legitimacy that powerful institutions are giving to people who support turning Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into a single state. This Jewish outrage is not surprising, explains the Anti-Defamation League, because the “ADL has consistently expressed opposition to any notion of a one-state solution.” » Read more

A Journalist's Battle with Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by George Hale - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am Several prominent critics of Hamas have departed the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, relocating abroad nearly one year since grassroots activists launched a popular movement to democratize Palestinian politics and re-unite the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The failure of the so-called March 15 movement to end the division between Fatah and Hamas has wreaked havoc on freedom of speech and the press for residents of the occupied territories, who continue to be ruled by rival regimes. The news agency I work for, Maan, is no exception. » Read more

The Arab Spring: Good or bad for the Palestinian cause? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Dawoud Abu Lebdeh - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am Many Palestinians are now wondering what effect this past year’s developments in the Arab world will have on their own struggle for independence. » Read more

The theories of resisting occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Bilal Hassan - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am Two theories are prevalent regarding the current Palestinian situation under the Israeli occupation: The first is the predominant traditional theory that advocates armed struggle in order to resist the occupation, whereas a contrasting second theory has been adopted by the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who champions a form of peaceful, popular resistance. » Read more

The killing of Zuhair al-Qaissi exposes Israel's attitude to its supreme court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Mya Guarnieri - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am The recent escalation between Israel and Gaza began after Israeli forces assassinated Zuhair al-Qaissi, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a militant group composed of members of various Palestinian parties. Haaretz noted that the PRC was "the organisation that captured Gilad Shalit", the Israeli soldier who was freed in October 2011. The army says that al-Qaissi was behind the August 2011 attack that took place on the Israeli-Egyptian border – even though the PRC denied involvement and it was later revealed that the militants came from Sinai, not Gaza. » Read more

Did Florida’s Legislature endorse a one-state solution and Israeli citizenship for Palestinians? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Harris - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a hotly debated issue -- but not in the Florida Legislature. Both houses of the state's Legislature voted unanimously in February to stake out a bold position on the issue -- but it’s not entirely clear what, exactly, Florida lawmakers were trying to say. » Read more

The storm over Bamba and apathy concerning Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am For four consecutive days and nights, millions of citizens of this country once again lived under conditions of fear and terror. The innovation was that, this time, no one tried to whitewash things. The mass terror was to be expected and it stemmed directly from an Israeli act of violence. Nevertheless, no one thought of expressing opposition. » Read more