Shalit-prisoners exchange: One year on
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jon Donnison - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am

"In prison you miss all the wonderful details of life; the sun, the trees, the beach, the women," Muhammad Al Far tells me as he sinks back into a comfortable sofa at his house in Gaza City. It is exactly a year since Al Far was released as part of a deal which saw over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

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Arafat widow questioned in French murder probe: source
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 17, 2012 - 12:00am

French investigators probing the death of Yasser Arafat questioned his widow Suha, who claims the veteran Palestinian leader may have been poisoned, in France in mid-September, a source told AFP Wednesday. France opened a murder enquiry in late August after Arafat’s family launched legal action following reports he may have died from radioactive polonium near Paris in 2004.

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Binational reality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am

With the start of the election campaign, the major parties are displaying a worrying tendency to put social, economic and security issues at the top of the agenda while evading the diplomatic issue at the root of Israel's democratic identity.

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Palestinians urged by Britain to delay 'non-member state' bid at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Britain is urging the Palestinian leadership to delay its bid for upgraded status at the United Nations general assembly, warning that the move is likely to be detrimental to US re-engagement with the peace process following next month's presidential election.

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Palestinian students will take SAT college admissions exam after delay by Israeli customs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
October 17, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The U.S. State Department said dozens of Palestinian students whose SAT exams were delayed because of Israeli customs will take the test this Saturday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday that about 100 students in the West Bank will sit the exam this weekend. “I’m happy to say that we have learned that this issue has now been resolved,” Nuland said.

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A UN victory could be costly for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Can the Palestinians afford the UN recognition they seek? That is the question their leadership must ask itself as it presses for a vote next month on its application to upgrade its status from observer to non-member state. The issue is being couched by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in terms of prestige and improved bargaining position for possible peace talks with Israel, but that conflicts with reality. The Palestinians already have diplomatic recognition by some 120 countries and that has put them no closer to statehood.

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Qatari emir to visit Gaza as 'Hamas reward for breaking Assad ties'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - (Analysis) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY // The Qatari emir is to make an official visit to the Gaza Strip this week, in a move analysts say is to strengthen the country's influence with Arab Islamists and reward Hamas rulers for breaking ties with the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani would be the first Arab head of state to officially visit Gaza since the Palestinian Islamist group wrested control in 2007.

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Arafat death probe to Ramallah next month: Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 16, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — French investigators into the death of Yasser Arafat will arrive on November 26 in Ramallah, where the former Palestinian leader is entombed, a Palestinian source familiar with the case said on Tuesday.

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Stick a Label On It, Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Hannah Weisfeld - (Opinion) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am

There is, apparently, much concern in Jerusalem over renewed attempts within Europe, led by the Danes, to force Israel to label products being exported from the West Bank with their place of origin. The goods are not party to the preferential EU-Israel trade agreement, and there is increasing pressure from consumers to know where the goods are produced.

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Stifled West Bank economy drains Palestinians' hopes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Yolande Knell - October 16, 2012 - 12:00am

The city is the largest in the West Bank and a major commercial and industrial hub, accounting for about one third of the West Bank's GDP. Recently it was also the scene of some of the worst violence during Palestinian economic protests. Locals blame the discontent on high unemployment, low wages and the rising cost of living as well as the heavy burden of consumer debt. "Our economy depends 100% on customers and as you can see, now the customers have no money," says Ayman, a tour guide.

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