August 15th, 2011

Israel approves 227 new homes in West Bank settlement of Ariel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - August 15, 2011 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak okays largest housing project in single settlement since establishment of the Netanyahu government. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the building of 277 apartments the West Bank settlement of Ariel, defying U.S. criticism of continued settlement construction. Barak authorized the construction in Ariel, the core of the settlement bloc deepest inside the West Bank. One hundred of the apartments will house Israelis evacuated in 2005 from a Gaza Strip settlement. » Read more

Palestinian minister referred to attorney general ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 14, 2011 - 12:00am A Palestinian minister was referred to the attorney general Sunday for questioning on corruption charges, a source said. The source, an official at the Palestinian National Authority's anti-corruption commission, said that the consumer protection society filed a suit against Minister of Economy, Hassan Abu Lebda, accusing him of corruption, mismanagement and receiving bribery. This is the first time that a Palestinian minister is referred to prosecution while he is still in office. » Read more

Abbas-Dahlan spat undermining Fatah, bolstering Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 15, 2011 - 12:00am As he prepares to submit a request to the UN in September for recognition of a Palestinian state, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has also found time to wage a relentless war against his former ally and friend, Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan. The rivalry between the two men, which reached its peak last month when Abbas ordered his security forces to raid Dahlan’s villa on the outskirts of Ramallah, has caused severe damage to Fatah and will only serve Hamas’s interests, Fatah officials warned. » Read more

Abbas, Peres held '4 secret meetings' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) August 13, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas revealed he held four secret meetings with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres in a bid to revive stalled peace talks, a Palestinian official said Saturday. He quoted Abbas as saying at a meeting of his Fatah party on Friday that: "I met Shimon Peres four times in Amman and London in an attempt to restart negotiations and the peace process on a correct foundation." The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had thwarted those efforts. » Read more

WEST BANK: Palestinians determined to get more recognition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - August 13, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is doubling its efforts to get as many countries to recognize it before September, when it plans to officially ask the United Nations for recognition and membership. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said on Saturday that “we have made very important breakthroughs, but we need to do more and build on what we have achieved so far.” » Read more

Palestinians to Seek UN Statehood Vote Next Month ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Ali Sawafta - August 13, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will submit an application for full U.N. membership at the General Assembly next month, his foreign minister said on Saturday, without specifying exactly when the request would be made. "I think that the president, when he gets to the United Nations and meets the secretary general, will present the application," Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said in a briefing in Ramallah. » Read more

Hoyer: Abbas, Fayyad sent mixed messages on UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am PA prime minister tells visiting US lawmakers no final decision yet made on statehood bid, while Abbas talks as if deal is done. The Palestinian leadership sent mixed messages to a Democratic Congressional delegation visiting Ramallah, with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad saying that no decision on the UN bid in September has been finalized, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas gave the impression that going to the UN was a done deal. » Read more

Heavy gunfire as Syrian tanks enter Homs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) August 14, 2011 - 12:00am DAMASCUS — Syrian troops backed by tanks clamped down Monday on the flashpoint province of Homs, a day after gunboats joined an assault that killed more than 20 people in Latakia city, activists said. As the country's anti-regime uprising turned five months old, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said snipers shot dead an old man in the provincial town of Hula and reported another killing in Latakia. "The community of Hula is under siege ... The army is carrying out raids and arrests under the cover of heavy gunfire" in Homs province, said the Britain-based rights group. » Read more

Syria forces use naval power against Latakia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Borzou Daragahi, Roula Hajjar - August 15, 2011 - 12:00am Reporting from Beirut Syrian forces for the first time deployed naval power in an attempt to quell an anti-government uprising, pummeling a coastal city that one activist described as a fortress of support for the country's rulers until nationwide protests recently grew larger there. The use of gunboats and tanks in Latakia on Sunday is likely to antagonize Western powers and Syria's neighbors, who have been pressing for an end to the violence. Turkish diplomats said they extracted a promise from President Bashar Assad last week to curb the use of force. » Read more

August 12th

Hoyer: Abbas, Fayyad sent mixed messages on UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - August 12, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian leadership sent mixed messages to a Democratic Congressional delegation visiting Ramallah, with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad saying that no decision on the UN bid in September has been finalized, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas gave the impression that going to the UN was a done deal. "Fayyad said that the decision to go to the UN had not been made, in other words had not been finalized, which we were pleased to hear," US Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MA), the head of the delegation, told The Jerusalem Post shortly after the talks. » Read more