Palestinian Fatah Looks Ill-Prepared For Election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - January 20, 2012 - 1:00am

HEBRON, West Bank — Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian national movement whose survival is key to hopes for a peace deal with Israel, appears ill-prepared for a promised electoral showdown with the Islamic militant Hamas.

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Arab Students Arrested Over Call to Avoid Peres Lecture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hassan Shaalan - January 20, 2012 - 1:00am

Three Arab students from the Jerusalem College of Engineering (JCE) claimed Thursday that they were arrested after urging other JCE student to boycott a recent lecture by President Shimon Peres. The police said that the three were threatening other students and inciting racism, stressing that the students were detained only after a complaint was filed in the matter. The three were interrogated by officers of the Jerusalem District Police and were later remanded to one week's house arrest.

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Hamas Attack on Gaza Shiites May Indicate its Political Shift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - January 20, 2012 - 1:00am

BEIT LAHIA // When they later recalled the siege by Hamas security forces, it was not its ferocity that astonished the residents of Beit Lahiya. It was the target - Shiite Muslims gathered in the building to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. Up to 100 policemen and masked men in civilian clothes stormed an apartment building in the Gaza enclave late on Saturday. Minutes later, they emerged dragging 15 men, whom they then beat with truncheons and denounced as infidels. Neighbourhood residents drawn to the commotion said they were shocked.

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In Gaza, Mabhouh's grieving family still in search of answers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY // Two years after his brother Mahmoud, a Hamas arms-broker, was assassinated in Dubai by suspected Mossad agents, Fayek Al Mabhouh still wants answers. He scours the internet for any news about progress in the efforts to bring Mahmoud's killers to justice.

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Hacking away at Arab and Israeli stereotypes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

Earlier this week, a hacker or group of hackers who claim to be Saudi scaled up their cyber offensive against Israel by paralysing the websites of El Al airline and the Tel Aviv stock exchange. This was the latest in a series of attacks over the past fortnight, which has also seen the credit card details of thousands of Israeli citizens leaked online.

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Islamic Jihad Cell Arrested in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Ten members of an Islamic Jihad terror cell were arrested near Jenin in the West Bank. The cell was planning attacks against Israeli soldiers and the abductions of Israelis, according to reports Thursday after the Shin Bet security services lifted a gag order on the case. It also had been in contact with Islamic Jihad in Gaza and accepted significant amounts of money from Islamic Jihad in Syria to buy weapons.

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Rick Santorum’s Views on the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
by Ali Younes - (Opinion) January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

In a town hall meeting during a recent campaign stop in Greenville, South Carolina, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said to me, in response to my questions, that he supports attacking Iran with missiles, rockets and other weapons in order to stop it from developing nuclear weapons. On the issue of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict he added that the issue is an internal Israeli matter and that Israel can do whatever it wants and no one should interfere in its internal affairs.

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‘Hamas Bans Reality TV Singing Competition in Gaza’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 18, 2012 - 1:00am

A Gazan version of "X-Factor" is prohibited as Hamas says it "contradicts the customs and traditions of Gaza community." Hamas banned Gaza residents from taking part in a national reality X-Factor style show called New Star, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported Monday. Hamas's reason for prohibiting the television show - produced by Ma'an TV- was that the program was "indecent," Ma'an reported.


Gaza Strip activist leaves hospital after stabbing attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Rushdi Abu Alouf - January 18, 2012 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM GAZA CITY -- Palestinian human rights activist Mahmoud abu Rahma left a Gaza Strip hospital Wednesday after being stabbed last week by unknown assailants apparently motivated by his outspoken criticism of Palestinian militants. [Updated 11:19 a.m. Jan. 18: Recuperating at his family home, Rahma said the attack would not silence him. "This will not stop me from performing my duty as an activist in human rights and to continue writing articles," he said in a telephone interview.]

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A Glimpse into the Life of an Israeli-Palestinian Couple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

The occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967 united, for the first time since 1948, the Palestinian community that remained within Israel. Families that were divided with the founding of the state came together, friends saw each other after 19 years, refugees in the West Bank and Gaza hastened to revisit their birthplaces (now destroyed, or resettled by Jews). Palestinians from both sides of the Green Line met at work, school and places of entertainment. This reunification naturally resulted in a number of marriages.

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