Palestinians accuse Israel of destroying prospects for two-state solution with new settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians accused Israel on Monday of systematically destroying prospects for a two-state solution to their decades-long conflict with its continuing campaign of settlement building. Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour sent a protest letter to the U.N. secretary-general, Security Council and General Assembly two days before the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., U.N., European Union and Russia — meets in Washington to discuss the long-stalled peace process.

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Israel Bars German Laureate Grass Over Poem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Nicholas Kulish - April 8, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel’s interior minister declared Günter Grass, one of Germany’s best-known authors, unwelcome in Israel on Sunday, barring him from entering the country for a poem that accused Israel of being a threat to world peace.

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Muslim Brotherhood: We will not put Egypt-Israel peace treaty to referendum
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - April 7, 2012 - 12:00am

A member of parliament for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party said on Friday that the movement would not put Egypt's peace treaty with Israel to a national referendum vote. "We will not put the Camp David accords, or any other agreement Egypt has signed to a national referendum," said member of parliament Abd Al-Maujood Al-Dardiri.

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Abbas Urged to Investigate Land Day Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 6, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian civil society and activists on Wednesday urged President Mahmoud Abbas to investigate attacks on demonstrators during a rally to mark Land Day. A coalition of NGOs and civil society leaders called on the president to form an "independent and transparent" committee to investigate an attack on MP Mustafa Barghouti, who was injured at a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah on March 30.

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Gunter Grass' poem is more pathetic than anti-Semitic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tom Segev - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am

"What Must Be Said" was the title Gunter Grass gave his controversial poem in which he labeled Israel a threat to world peace because of its nuclear arsenal. This was his first mistake: It did not have to be said because it has already been said by many others, in Israel as well.

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U.N. Pushes West Bank Settlement 'Probe'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - (Analysis) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Washington — A United Nations group’s decision to probe settlement activity on the West Bank has raised the specter of a new feud between Israel and the world body — and created a fresh headache for the White House. Israel quickly denounced the Human Rights Council’s resolution, which calls for a fact-finding commission to investigate the “implications” of the settlements for Palestinians. The Jewish state also severed all ties with the council.

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AP Interview: Prosecutor says Palestinians could join ICC as a UN non-member observer state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
(Interview) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said Wednesday the war crimes tribunal would allow the Palestinians to sign up if the U.N. General Assembly approves a resolution recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer state. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo ruled Tuesday that only internationally recognized states can join the court, and therefore the Palestinian Authority’s bid for membership could not be accepted.

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ICC Rebuffs Palestinians’ Gaza War Crimes Case Against Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - April 3, 2012 - 12:00am

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- The International Criminal Court on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian request to investigate war crimes allegations arising from Israel’s 22-day military offensive in the Gaza Strip three years ago, saying it had no jurisdiction because a Palestinian state has not been recognized by the U.N. General Assembly. But ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo appeared to leave the door open for future claims if Palestinians succeed in upgrading their status at the U.N. from "observer" to "non-member state."

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Arab nations 'to pay PA if Israel freezes tax revenues'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 2, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Arab nations meeting at a Baghdad summit last week pledged to compensate the Palestinian Authority if Israel freezes delivery of tax revenues, a senior official told government media. Fatah official Muhammad Shtayyeh told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday that nations agreed at the Arab League summit pay the PA $100 million per month, roughly the sum of customs taxes collected by Israel on the PA's behalf under international agreements.

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A revolution is taking place in Syria's Palestinian camps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from politics.co.uk
by Nagham Issa - (Opinion) April 2, 2012 - 12:00am

There are no estimates as to how many Palestinians have been killed since the unrest in Syria began, but the growing call for the fall of the Syrian regime has not passed Syria's estimated 500,000 Palestinian community by. Increased tensions with the Syrian authorities could yet mark a change in direction for the revolution, particularly in the capital, home to Syria's largest Palestinian camp, Mukhyam Yarmouk.

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