Jewish-Agency-style ‘Palestine Network’ launched in Bethlehem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson, Arieh O'Sullivan - March 3, 2010 - 1:00am

When Hanny Elqutub, the son of Palestinian refugees, arrived in America 30 years ago he was focused on carving out a life for himself in Houston. Palestinian identity was a frame of mind but never something he engaged personally. “Sometimes people who went to the US or Europe or South America were running away from bad economics, running away from occupation, running away from political circumstances,” Elqutub says.

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EU: Israeli heritage list 'hinders peace efforts'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 2, 2010 - 1:00am

The EU criticized on Monday Israel’s decision to list shrines in Bethlehem and Hebron as national heritage sites. The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, the EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and security policy said in a statement, "The High Representative regards the recent decision by the Government of Israel to add sites in Hebron and Bethlehem to the list of Israeli national heritage sites as detrimental to attempts to relaunch peace negotiations.” “The European Union calls on Israel to refrain from provocative acts,” the statement added.

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Hamas: Jordan or Egypt likely behind Dubai hit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 2, 2010 - 1:00am

Hamas suspects the security forces of an Arab state were behind the assassination of a senior group operative in Dubai earlier this year, the Al-Quds Al-Araby daily reported on Tuesday. Mahmoud Nasser, a member of Hamas' political bureau, told the newspaper that slain commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was likely being tracked by agents from Jordan and Egypt prior to the January 19 killing. Nasser said he had been given information regarding such efforts to kill Mabhouh, adding that the evidence indicated that the assassination was carried out earlier than the alleged agents had planned.

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Dubai cracks down on Israelis after killing of Hamas operative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - March 2, 2010 - 1:00am

In Israel's quest for normal ties with the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates has been among the few countries to offer a slight opening. It allowed an Israeli cabinet minister to attend an energy conference, let an Israeli tennis star play in a recent tournament, and offered a wink and a welcome to Israelis arriving with U.S., European or other third-country passports.

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Israel has its faults, but apartheid isn't one of them
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) March 2, 2010 - 1:00am

Toward the end of last year, Jimmy Carter apologized for some of his very harsh statements about Israel. In an "open letter to the Jewish community" -- and with a vagueness that ill becomes him -- he airily mentioned criticisms that "stigmatize Israel" but omitted his own contribution: the implication that Israel is, like the racist South Africa of old, an "apartheid" state.

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US Senator John Kerry presses Israel on Gaza access
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 2, 2010 - 1:00am

US Senator John Kerry raised the issue of Israel’s closure of the Gaza Strip during his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in the Middle East, his spokesman said on Monday. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman "has long called for heightened access for humanitarian goods and foodstuffs," said spokesman Frederick Jones on the phone from Washington.

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US answers not yet enough for Mideast talks-Dahlan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - March 1, 2010 - 1:00am

A Palestinian official said on Monday the United States had yet to give adequate answers to Palestinian queries on a proposal for indirect negotiations with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, facing U.S. and Israeli calls for an immediate resumption of peace talks, had asked the United States to clarify its proposal for indirect negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week she hoped talks would start "shortly". But Mohammed Dahlan, senior official in Abbas's Fatah party, said the U.S. clarifications received so far were not enough.

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Palestinians warn of third uprising against Israel over religious shrines
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - March 1, 2010 - 1:00am

The Israeli government's declaration to include two religious shrines in the West Bank into the list of Jewish heritage sites and the attempt of Jewish groups to enter into al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on Sunday had increased the tension between Israel and the Palestinians. Palestinian analysts believe that the recent Israeli actions " pour oil on the flames," adding "this tension would promote violence on the ground and would open the doors for violent confrontations, although the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has a security control on the territory."

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Pressure On Israel Increases Over Death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Chip Cummins, Joshua Mitnick - February 26, 2010 - 1:00am

International pressure on Israel mounted as the probe into the alleged murder of a top Hamas leader in Dubai reached American and Australian shores. On Thursday, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith summoned Israel's ambassador and demanded his help in investigating how three Australian passports ended up linked to the death. That followed Dubai's disclosure Wednesday that it had identified 15 more passports, including the Australian documents, carried by suspects in the case, bringing the total number to 26.

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Israeli: Mossad hit didn't upset intel ties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Eli Lake - February 25, 2010 - 1:00am

The embarrassing trail left by a suspected Israeli hit team — a trail that began with doctored European passports, led to the assassination of a Palestinian terrorist in a Dubai hotel room, and ended on the front pages of world papers — has not worsened the country's intelligence cooperation with Western countries, a senior Israeli official insists.

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