December 23rd

Jihad official: PLO membership not final ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 23, 2011 - 1:00am An Islamic Jihad leader said Thursday that joining an "interim leadership framework" of the PLO did not necessarily mean it had formally joined the Palestinian body. Khaled Al-Batsh told Ma’an that joining the organization requires a clear framework for how the PLO will be restructured. He added that if there was an agreement concerning these issues, Islamic Jihad would become a member in the organization. However, if there was no agreement, the group said it was still willing to contribute. » Read more

Hamas says it plans to join Fatah-dominated PLO ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 23, 2011 - 1:00am Rival Palestinian factions took a significant step towards reconciliation Thursday as the Islamist group Hamas said it planned to join President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization. Abbas held a meeting in Cairo with leaders from the factions, including Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal, where a committee was formed to prepare for the inclusion of Hamas, as well as the smaller Islamic Jihad, in the PLO. There are still some serious obstacles that could prevent a final unity deal and attempts to reconcile in the past have failed. » Read more

US earmarks $235 million for Israel's defense systems ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - December 22, 2011 - 1:00am WASHINGTON – The Unites States has announced it will allocate $235 million for the development of safeguards against rockets and missiles that could be launched towards Israel by Hezbollah and Iran. A large part of the funds will go towards the development of the David's Sling system, designed to intercept medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, and the Arrow 2 and 3 systems against long-range ballistic missiles. This unprecedented sum comes at an unexpected time, while the American government is dealing with large budget cuts, including at the Pentagon. » Read more

Palestinian Authority gives Mideast peacemakers an ultimatum ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - December 23, 2011 - 1:00am REPORTING FROM BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK -– The Palestinian Authority on Thursday gave the so-called quartet of Middle East peace negotiators an ultimatum: It will resume its campaign for statehood recognition if there is no movement in the peace process in the next month. "If nothing happens by Jan. 26, we are going back to our international campaign for recognition," said Nabil Shaath, a senior official in the administration of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

Israel has 101 different types of permits governing Palestinian movement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - December 23, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's Civil Administration issues 101 different types of permits to govern the movement of Palestinians, whether within the West Bank, between the West Bank and Israel or beyond the borders of the state, according to an agency document of which Haaretz obtained a copy. The most common permits are those allowing Palestinians to work in Israel, or in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Over the decades, however, the permit regimen has grown into a vast, triple-digit bureaucracy. » Read more

Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas cancelled Christmas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Phoebe Greenwood - December 23, 2011 - 1:00am When the Latin patriarch came to Gaza's Holy Family church to celebrate Christmas mass last week, he instructed a full house of Catholic and Orthodox families to pray for reconciliation. As the archbishop, Fouad Twal, stood at the lectern in Gaza City, Fatah and Hamas leaders were meeting in Cairo attempting to mend differences that have divided the Palestinian factions for four years and rendered Gaza a besieged Islamist enclave. » Read more

Page by page, Marwan Barghouti's anti-war tome walked out of prison ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Joseph Dana - (Opinion) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza celebrated the return of their loved ones last Sunday as the final wave of prisoners were released in an exchange between Hamas and Israel. However, one prisoner was notably absent. Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Fatah leader known by many Palestinians as the "prince of resistance", remains behind bars in Israel despite promises from the Palestinian leadership that his freedom would be secured through the exchange of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. » Read more

New test for Israel — this one from within ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald by Frida Ghitis - (Opinion) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am Over the six decades since its founding, Israelis have faced, and continue to face, countless threats to their country’s survival as the democratic state of the Jewish people. That threat comes from abroad and from neighboring countries that would like to see Israel cease to exist. But today Israel also suffers from self-inflicted wounds. And some of those wounds are becoming infected. » Read more

Diplomacy should conform to international norms ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jay Bushinsky - (Opinion) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am Two major mistakes were by Israeli policy- makers: The Oslo Accords of 1993 and the unilateral and unconditional withdrawal of troops and civilians from the Gaza Strip in 2005. These ill-considered initiatives have caused seemingly insoluble problems. They were radical departures from the Jewish state’s original adherence to traditional diplomacy based on international norms, and deviated from the initially consistent effort to gain recognition as a bona fide member of the international community. » Read more

Gaza in Shock After Rare Double Homicide ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Omar Ghraieb - (Analysis) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Gaza Strip is all abuzz about a grisly murder of an elderly couple in a story that brings together drugs, money, the dangers of leaving home and family, and a desperate escape by tunnel to Egypt. It’s the routine stuff of tabloid journalism in America and Europe, but here in this tiny coastal enclave, killings like those of Mustafa Al-Huweihi and his wife Salma are quite rare, despite all the violence associated with the ruling Hamas movement and the other Islamic groups in Gaza that are in constant war with Israel. » Read more