Hamas plans more "enemy language" Hebrew in Gaza schools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am Islamist Hamas authorities plan to expand Hebrew-language classes in the Gaza Strip's high schools to help Palestinians know their enemy in times of conflict with Israel. Far from a sign that peace will soon break out, Hamas's promotion of Hebrew learning in the Israeli-blockaded Mediterranean enclave aims to make linguistic skill a useful new front in the struggle against the Jewish state. » Read more

No Israeli strike on Lebanon soil - Lebanese security source ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Oliver Holmes - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am A Lebanese security source said on Wednesday that a reported attack by Israeli forces on a convoy near the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight had not occurred on Lebanese territory. A western diplomat and regional security sources said earlier that Israeli forces had hit a convoy in the border area, a few days after Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said that any sign that Syria's grip on its chemical weapons was slipping could trigger Israeli intervention. There were no details of precisely where the action had occurred. » Read more

Syria says Israel attacked military research centre ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by James Webb - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am Israeli warplanes attacked a military research centre in Damascus province at dawn on Wednesday, Syria's military command said, denying reports that the planes had struck a convoy carrying weapons from Syria to Lebanon. Two people were killed and five wounded in the attack on the site in Jamraya, which it described as one of a number of "scientific research centres aimed at raising the level of resistance and self-defence". The building was destroyed, the military command said in a statement carried by state media. » Read more

2 Israeli parties endorse Netanyahu for new term ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - January 31, 2013 - 1:00am Israel's two largest political parties endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister Wednesday, all but guaranteeing him a third term at the beginning of the post-election process of forming a new government. » Read more

Some Fear a Soccer Team’s Racist Fans Hold a Mirror Up to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am The shouting match began long before kickoff, and many of the slogans had little to do with soccer. “The Temple Mount is in our hands,” chanted the notoriously aggressive fans of the home team, Beitar Jerusalem. » Read more

Hamas denies accepting two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 31, 2013 - 1:00am Hamas on Wednesday said it does not accept the two-state solution, following reports the party had changed its position to accept the state of Israel. The Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq reported Wednesday that Hamas politburo chief Khalid Mashaal asked Jordan's King Abdullah to inform US President Barack Obama that Hamas accepted the two-state solution. Hamas said in a statement that the report was baseless and that Mashaal did not address the two-state solution in his meeting with the Jordanian king in Amman on Monday. » Read more

UN inquiry calls for sanctions against Israel over West Bank settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Barak Ravid - January 31, 2013 - 1:00am A UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission on Thursday released its harshest report over Israeli policy in the West Bank since 1967, urging governments and private corporations across the world to consider economic and political sanctions against Israel over its construction in the settlements. This is the first time such a call has been made from within the United Nations. » Read more

January 30th

Time for the U.S. to disturb Israel's comfort zone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) January 30, 2013 - 1:00am One way of interpreting last week’s election is that Israel just put up a big “Do Not Disturb” sign: We are rejigging domestic burden sharing until further notice. That, though, is of little interest to the outside world as long as Israel remains in the business of illegal occupation and pursues regional ambitions that impact developments in Iran and also Syria, Egypt and beyond. » Read more

The Peace Process After the Election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) January 25, 2013 - 1:00am Despite losing about a quarter of its seats in Tuesday's election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu will remain the largest faction in the next Knesset. And although he is weakened, Netanyahu will almost certainly retain the premiership. Nevertheless, in the days ahead, he will struggle to build a governing coalition -- the meteoric rise of Yesh Atid, the party led by the populist anchorman-turned-politician Yair Lapid, left the Knesset almost equally divided between a right-wing and a center-left bloc. » Read more

Rupert Murdoch links sympathy for Palestinians to anti-Semitism. The truth is more complex ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Matthew Norman - (Opinion) January 29, 2013 - 1:00am In a futile bid to preempt the allegation that automatically follows an article of this nature, I begin with a clarification. It is lifted from the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where a man in a cinema queue berates Larry David as “a self-hating Jew” for whistling an aria from Wagner. I certainly do hate myself, is Larry’s reply, but it has absolutely nothing to do with being a Jew. » Read more