December 2nd

Hamas: Palestine is Palestine, Jordan is Jordan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 2, 2011 - 1:00am The Jordanian government understands that Hamas does not consider the possibility of Jordan as an alternative "homeland" for the Palestinian people, a member of Hamas's political bureau told pan-Arab daily Al Hayat in an interview published Friday. "[Our] brothers in Jordan know very well that we reject the idea of a surrogate homeland, an option still carried by some Israeli leaders," Izzt Al-Rishq told Al Hayat. "We do not accept any substitute for Palestine despite our appreciation and pride for Jordan." "Palestine is Palestine, and Jordan is Jordan," Rishq clarified. » Read more

Netanyahu Government Suggests Israelis Avoid Marrying American Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) November 30, 2011 - 1:00am The Netanyahu government's Ministry of Immigrant Absorption is sponsoring advertisements in at least five American communities that warn Israeli expatriates that they will lose their identities if they don't return home. » Read more

'PA won't 'back down' from UN statehood bid' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 2, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority "will not back down" from their efforts to become a member of the United Nations, even though the PA has acknowledged that they would not succeed were the Security Council to vote today, senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma'an News Agency Thursday. Erekat said the PA would persist even if the request fails to pass in the Security Council, adding that the PA leadership knew from the outset that United States would use its veto on the initiative. » Read more

Does Israel "Pinkwash?" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Andrew Sullivan - (Blog) November 30, 2011 - 1:00am Sarah Schulman claims [NYT] that Israel uses its record on gay rights to obscure the violence of the occupation. Jamie Kirchick is apoplectic: » Read more

Israel paving road to link East Jerusalem neighborhoods to city center ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - December 2, 2011 - 1:00am The city of Jerusalem began works two weeks ago on a road that will connect the capital's northeastern neighborhoods to Jerusalem's main traffic artery, Menachem Begin Boulevard, as part of a policy to stregthen bonds between neighborhoods across the Green Line and the rest of the city. The neighborhoods to be connected by the new route are Pisgat Ze'ev, Neve Yaakov, Anatot, Shoafat, and Beit Hanina; the route 20 project will also link Jerusalem's northern neighborhoods with route 443, which in some places crosses through the West Bank. » Read more

Gaza Interior Ministry fires 120 employees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 2, 2011 - 1:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Interior Ministry in Gaza has fired 120 employees suspected of abusing their positions, a ministry spokesman said. Islam Shahwan told the Hamas-affiliated news site al-Risala that the employees were fired after several warnings for multiple offenses. The dismissed staff had been given many chances to correct their behavior and so all decisions were final, he added. Shahwan said the ministry had formed a committee of security officers to investigate allegations before finalizing the dismissals. No senior staff were among those sacked, he said. » Read more

Peril and paranoia in the New Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Nader Mousavizadeh - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am The year of the Arab Awakening is drawing to a close with an ominous air of peril and paranoia hanging over the Middle East. A movement of genuine promise for more legitimate and accountable government for the peoples of the Arab world is in danger of being overwhelmed by the forces of tyranny, corruption, fundamentalism and conflict. From Syria to Egypt to Libya, Palestine, Israel and Iran, resistance to peaceful change is manifesting itself in ways new and old – and all in the context of a global re-alignment of power that few in the region yet recognize. » Read more

Official: Govt salaries on track after Israel unblocks funds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 2, 2011 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Government salaries for November will be paid on time after Israel released frozen tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, a PA spokesman said Friday. Government media center head Ghassan Khatib confirmed that the government has received the balance of October and Novembers funds, which include customs duties collected by Israel and delivered to the PA. Israel froze the transfers on Nov. 1, a day after the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to admit Palestine, a move criticized by Israel and the US. » Read more

Is Palestinian reconciliation on track? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Ghassan Rubeiz - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian leaders Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshaal met recently in Cairo to try to resolve their differences. The outcome is not entirely clear yet. Mr. Abbas is president of the Palestinian Authority and chief of Fatah, the mainstream political party. He administers a designated area in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Meshaal is chief of the Islamic resistance party, Hamas. After winning the first Palestinian elections in 2006, Hamas forced its way in 2007 to run Gaza. For security reasons, Meshaal is based in Syria, and not in Gaza. » Read more

On Israel’s uneasy border with Egypt, a fence rises ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - December 2, 2011 - 1:00am EILAT, Israel — A short drive north from this Red Sea resort town, a new reality is taking shape along Israel’s desert border with Egypt. A lonely frontier road flanked by a low rusting fence is buzzing with earth-moving equipment and workmen erecting an imposing steel barrier encased in razor wire that is gradually snaking across the desolate landscape. » Read more