Hamas considers shift to non-violent resistance, relocation to Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
by Nadine Marroushi - December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, is adopting a popular, non-violent resistance strategy in a move aimed at gaining international recognition and support. The group is under internal and external pressure to change tactics after being isolated by ongoing revolutions in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere.

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Israel Accuses 4 Countries of Meddling in Its Affairs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — In a highly unusual response to criticism from European nations on the Security Council, the Israeli Foreign Ministry bluntly accused the countries of “interfering with Israel’s domestic affairs” and warned that they risked making themselves “irrelevant.”

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UN Security Council members criticize Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- Most members of the UN Security Council voiced deep concerns on Tuesday about the impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and criticized Israel for pressing ahead with the construction of new settlements. Council members were reacting to a briefing by UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, who told them the search for peace "remained elusive in a context of tensions on the ground, deep mistrust between the parties and volatile regional dynamics."

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PA sign free trade agreement with Mercosur
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday with South American trading bloc Mercosur. Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki signed the deal in Montevideo as Palestinian Authority representative and thanked Mercosur, composed of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, for recognizing Palestine as an independent nation, MercoPress reported. The free trade agreement has been negotiated for the past year and represents the first such deal between Palestine and a bloc of nations outside of the Middle East.

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Egypt's radical Islamist party vows to respect peace treaty with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Egypt's radical Salafi movement has announced for the first time that it intends to respect all treaties that Egypt has signed, including the peace deal with Israel. The Salafi Al-Nour party, which won 25-30 percent of the votes in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, said that they are also in favor of negotiating with Israel.

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London 2012: Gaza blockade threatens Olympic hopes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jon Donnison - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Nader el Masri feels the loneliness of a long distance runner. The 32-year-old 5,000 metre specialist is the fastest man in Gaza but he has few places to train and few people to train with. "I have a coach but there's nobody at my level in Gaza," says Nader. "I have to do most of my training sessions on my own." And the facilities in Gaza are far from great. There is not a single tartan track in the Palestinian territory and Nader does much of his training on the pot-holed cinder track that loops around the football stadium in Gaza City.

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Hamas on the move
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas is on the move, both literally and figuratively, but how far it can and will go very much remains to be determined. Hamas is in an impossible position, given the regional realignments following from the Arab uprisings, and is frantically trying to adjust without paying too high a price.

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The 'Iranian Schindler' who saved Jews from the Nazis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Brian Wheeler - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Thousands of Iranian Jews and their descendants owe their lives to a Muslim diplomat in wartime Paris, according to a new book. In The Lion's Shadow tells how Abdol-Hossein Sardari risked everything to help fellow Iranians escape the Nazis. Eliane Senahi Cohanim was seven years old when she fled France with her family. She remembers clutching her favourite doll and lying as still as she could, pretending to be asleep, whenever their train came to a halt at a Nazi checkpoint.

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For Jews, Vaclav Havel wasn’t just a friend but a champion of freedom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Vaclav Havel was a friend of the Jews and of Israel, but prominent Jews who mourned his passing this week said the Czech leader’s greatest legacy was his universal message of freedom. “Vaclav Havel was one of the few islands of intellectual freedom in the sea of totalitarian rule,” Natan Sharansky told JTA, speaking of the late 1960s and the 1970s, when both he and Havel were struggling against communist rule -- Havel in the former Czechoslovakia and Sharansky in the former Soviet Union.

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Democracy is favorable for right of self-determination
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Amal Jamal - (Opinion) December 19, 2011 - 1:00am

The Arab Spring has been a source of pride and happiness for many Arab citizens of Israel. Most of the Arab public in Israel has expressed unequivocal support for the courage shown by thousands of Arab civilians around the region in calling for the ouster of corrupt regimes, endangering themselves and their families.

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