A dark Easter for Palestinian Christians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Religion News Service
by Richard Stearns - (Opinion) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am

Each year during Holy week, Christians around the world anticipate what come call the “Old Faithful” of miracles. At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — built over the traditional site that encompasses Jesus’ tomb and the place of his crucifixion — the archbishop enters the tomb after being inspected by Jewish authorities to ensure he has no means of lighting a fire. After saying prayers and worshiping the risen Christ, the candles miraculously alight.

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Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM // If he could, Ibrahim Khoury would bring his family to this city every Sunday. But in his way are Israel's walls and bureaucracy that restrict him and other Christian Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. Unlike the 280,000 Palestinians who hold Jerusalem residency, he - like most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim - must get Israel's permission to visit the city that is his cultural and spiritual home. But yesterday, the Khoury family was part of a group of Roman Catholics from Ramallah allowed in to celebrate Palm Sunday.

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Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM // If he could, Ibrahim Khoury would bring his family to this city every Sunday. But in his way are Israel's walls and bureaucracy that restrict him and other Christian Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. Unlike the 280,000 Palestinians who hold Jerusalem residency, he - like most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim - must get Israel's permission to visit the city that is his cultural and spiritual home. But yesterday, the Khoury family was part of a group of Roman Catholics from Ramallah allowed in to celebrate Palm Sunday.

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Arts Center in Ain al-Hilweh Showcases, Exports Palestinian Culture, History
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Mohammed Zaatari - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am

AIN AL-HILWEH, Lebanon: Preparations are in full swing for Land Day, with thousands expected to march toward the country’s border with Israel, but remembering Palestinian history doesn’t always mean marching. A cultural center in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp is working to document Palestinian history through artisan creations.

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Journalists urged to boycott PA press freedom award
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 29, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority has launched a prize to recognize exemplary reporting, but Palestinian journalists are calling for a boycott in protest of the government's treatment of the media. The prime minister in Ramallah, Salam Fayyad, unveiled the prize Tuesday and invited journalists to submit work on all platforms during the first half of April. The winner is to be announced in May.

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Court Rejects Appeal Against Abbas Premiership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian Constitutional Court in Ramallah on Tuesday rejected a legal challenge to President Mahmoud Abbas' appointment as prime minister of a national unity government. Fatah leader Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal agreed in Qatar last month that the president will lead an interim cabinet to prepare for fresh elections and end divided governments in Gaza and the West Bank. PLO central council member Abdul-Jawwad Salih submitted a legal challenge to the appointment on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

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PA extends remand of detained journalist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

A Palestinian Authority court on Wednesday extended the remand of Palestinian journalist Yousef al-Shayeb, who was detained after writing an article about corruption in the Palestinian diplomatic mission in France, official PA news agency WAFA reported. Shayeb, who works as a correspondent for the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, was originally detained following a complaint by the head of the diplomatic mission, Hayel Fahoum and his wife and deputy. The PA Foreign Ministry had also filed a complaint against Shayeb.

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Bret Stephens' Crisis of Empathy
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Sometimes crude binaries can be instructive, and it's possible to distinguish two different types of people: those who seek out generous and universalist empathy with others, and those who prefer the warm cocoon of tribal solidarity.

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Fears of new Palestinian intifada mount
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 27 (UPI) -- A call by imprisoned Palestinian icon Marwan Barghouti for his countrymen to launch a new wave of civil resistance against Israel's occupation has alarmed Israelis who see it as a battle cry for a new uprising. Barghouti, a senior leader of the mainstream Fatah movement and who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for masterminding terrorist attacks, has wide support across the Palestinian political spectrum.

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World Must Act Urgently to Avert “Crisis” in Palestine, Experts Warn
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Task Force on Palestine
March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, March 27 -- The international community must act urgently support the Palestinian Authority and its institutions or face a looming “crisis” a panel of experts today warned at a Washington event today co-hosted by American Task Force for Palestine and The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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