Israel Criticizes Palestinians’ Invitation to Security Council to Visit Occupied Territories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
February 28, 2012 - 1:00am

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians have invited the U.N. Security Council to visit the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, a move Israel says is an attempt to try to divert attention from getting back to direct negotiations to settle the decades-old conflict. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. observer, told reporters after a council meeting on the Mideast on Tuesday that he sent a letter inviting the 15 council members “to see with their own eyes the reality of the Palestinian people in the occupied territory” including Israel’s “illegal” settlement building.

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Engage Hamas’ moderates and test their newfound flexibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Michael Broning - (Opinion) February 24, 2012 - 1:00am

In the wake of revolutionary change in the Middle East, the forces of political Islam have scored one electoral victory after another. As the West grapples with the rapid rise of moderate Islamists in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, the issue of Hamas’ role in the Palestinian territories looms large. The signing of a new unity deal between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ secular Fatah party earlier this month has heightened an unprecedented struggle within Hamas over its future course as an Islamist movement. How the West responds could very well influence the outcome.

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400 protest to open thoroughfare to Palestinians in Hebron
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
February 24, 2012 - 1:00am

Some 400 Palestinian and left-wing activists protested in Hebron on Friday, calling for the West Bank city's al-Shouhada Street to be opened up to Palestinian traffic. The day also marked eighteen years since Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians at the Ibrahim Mosque at the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994. IDF and Border Patrol forces prevented the protesters from marching to al-Shouhada Street by dispersing the crowd with stun grenades.

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Palestinian Leaders to Meet in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 22, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – President Mahmoud Abbas is set to chair a meeting Thursday in Cairo that will encompass chiefs of Palestinian factions, PLO leaders and the speaker of the Palestinian National Council. Selected independent figures will join the meeting, which is dedicated to discussing the latest political developments and the ongoing efforts toward Palestinian reconciliation.

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Gaza, Ramallah Swap Accusations Over Fuel Crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 22, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – The chair of the Palestinian Authority energy authority Omar Kittana says the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip is politicizing the electricity crisis in an attempt to score political points. Asked about accusations that he threatened employees at the energy authority in Gaza, Kittana said, “I refuse to comment on this as we have reached an impermissible point. I was afraid of politicization of this issue.

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Obama's options are important, too
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) February 20, 2012 - 1:00am

For Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, as for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the primary objective of 2012 with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to get through the year without a peace process failure, without major violence, and perhaps with some marginal achievement in the context of regional developments like the "Arab spring" that position each of them better for 2013. A genuine peace process is most definitely not anybody's realistic objective. It is in this context that we can address President Barack Obama's objectives as well.

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Rapidly dwindling avenues to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) February 20, 2012 - 1:00am

The regional and international environments appear increasingly less conducive to a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially in the short term. The United States is preparing for coming presidential and congressional elections, and the Arab world is increasingly involved in internal revolutions that are naturally emphasizing local agendas. These factors are limiting available options and eliminating opportunities to make progress in ending our conflict peacefully.

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Between two hells
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Issa Samander - (Opinion) February 20, 2012 - 1:00am

One can't help but be astonished by the behavior of the United States and European governments over the vast changes occurring in Arab countries, especially their reactions towards the killing spree in Syria. They have been swift--their politicians rarely vague--in their condemnations of the Syrian regime and calls for actions by the international community.

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Employees at Public Universities, Colleges on Strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 20, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Employees in public universities and colleges in the West Bank and Gaza Strip went on strike on Monday, an employee's union spokesman said. Abdul-Muhsin Qawasmi said the current semester may be canceled since the education ministry has not responded to their demands. The main demand was a salary increase to match employees working in other Palestinian universities.

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Palestinian's hunger strike puts spotlight on Israeli detentions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Kevin Flower - February 18, 2012 - 1:00am

Jerusalem (CNN) -- A 33-year-old West Bank baker who has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli detention policies entered the 63rd day of a hunger strike Saturday despite a doctor's warning that he could die any time. "Mr. Khader Adnan is in immediate danger of death," according to a report issued this week by the Israeli branch of the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights, which sent a doctor to examine him.

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