Fight for Palestinian women’s rights takes on a new dimension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Nida' Tuma - (Opinion) January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

A Facebook page with nearly 2000 members has recently attracted the attention of the Palestinian public and media. "Puzzled young women" is becoming an important arena in the debate on women's rights in the Palestinian territories, a debate which previously lacked one essential element: Dialogue with proponents of a more traditional role for women.

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Palestinians block performance of Israeli-Arab singer under pressure from boycott movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — A popular Israeli-Arab singer had to cancel a show on New Year’s Eve in the West Bank because of threats from Palestinian activists opposed to coexistence with Israel, the performer and police said. It was the latest in a string of cancellations after threats and other pressure tactics by Palestinians groups promoting a boycott of virtually anything connected with Israel. The boycott movement says its tactics are a nonviolent way to protest Israeli policies. Israeli officials denounce the efforts as “delegitimization” of Israel’s right to exist.

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A renovation on shaky ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

Take a walk between Old Acre’s Khan al-Umdan complex and the lighthouse at the western end of the city and you’ll find a tent pitched at the entrance to a large, ancient building. The tent was erected by the building’s residents and social activists, protesting eviction notices given to the residents by the Amidar Company.

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PA seized 517 merchants for barred goods in 2011
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Maan) -- The consumer protection department of the Palestinian Authority referred 517 merchants to the general prosecution during 2011 for breaking laws regulating goods in the West Bank, officials said in a statement Tuesday. The unit confiscated 3 million shekels ($787,857) worth of products during the year, undersecretary in the ministry of national economy Abdul-Hafizh Nofal said. Officials are tasked with blocking products not fit for consumption, and those smuggled from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as well as regulating prices of basic food items.

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Israel's right-wing is trying to stifle the reality of Palestinian demographics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Blog) January 2, 2012 - 1:00am

Every year, in almost every country, government reports detailing statistics and demographics of the country's citizens are published during the last week of December. The reports detail how many babies were born that year and how many people died. Some of those reports are turned into semi-comic articles on the back page of the newspaper, or discussed on current event radio programs, and sometimes they are simply thrown to the wastebasket.

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Gaza in Shock After Rare Double Homicide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Omar Ghraieb - (Analysis) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Gaza Strip is all abuzz about a grisly murder of an elderly couple in a story that brings together drugs, money, the dangers of leaving home and family, and a desperate escape by tunnel to Egypt. It’s the routine stuff of tabloid journalism in America and Europe, but here in this tiny coastal enclave, killings like those of Mustafa Al-Huweihi and his wife Salma are quite rare, despite all the violence associated with the ruling Hamas movement and the other Islamic groups in Gaza that are in constant war with Israel.

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Page by page, Marwan Barghouti's anti-war tome walked out of prison
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Joseph Dana - (Opinion) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza celebrated the return of their loved ones last Sunday as the final wave of prisoners were released in an exchange between Hamas and Israel. However, one prisoner was notably absent. Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Fatah leader known by many Palestinians as the "prince of resistance", remains behind bars in Israel despite promises from the Palestinian leadership that his freedom would be secured through the exchange of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

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The heart of the matter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Arieh O'Sullivan - (Analysis) December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

Weakly, little Adam stares out from his crib, his dull, three-month-old eyes revealing the rough road life has been for him so far. He struggles to cough. He is a Palestinian infant from the West Bank who was born with a bad heart. But he’s been brought to a hospital in Israel for a life-saving operation – free of charge – by one of a number of humanitarian organizations that specialize in mending hearts.

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Lacoste Elysée Prize withdraws sponsorship of prize after Palestine controversy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Maura Judkis - (Analysis) December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

Update 2:30 p.m Lacoste has now withdrawn its sponsorship from the prize. In a press release, they announced: “In light of this situation and to avoid any misunderstanding, Lacoste has decided to cancel once and for all its participation in this event and its support to the Elysée Prize.” Read the company’s full statement at the end of the post. Original post:

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Palestinians are heroes, braving Israeli dictatorship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinians are heroes, and that's the only fact that's relevant after the slight shock of the hilltop thugs. The hands are the hands of thugs, and the head? The head is the head of the hostile regime under which the Palestinians live and which harasses them every moment of every day, week after week for decades. To live this way and remain sane - that's heroism. "And who says we're sane?" Palestinians answer me. Well, here's the proof: self-irony.

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