Settlement evacuation not a sign of Israeli new policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told a member of his Likud party that Israel cannot ignore world pressure over its construction of settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu said his government is trying to maintain the current pace of building, but Israel now faces a new international reality. The comments were made one week after the United States used its veto in the UN Security Council to block a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank, while the 14 other members of the council voted in favor.

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Escalation with Gaza will likely be contained within a few days
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - February 25, 2011 - 1:00am

The extraordinary tension along the border with the Gaza Strip, which included the unusual launching of a Grad-type Katyusha at Be'er Sheva on Wednesday, appears now to have been a minor incident and not some sort of strategic turning point.

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On My Mind: Population swap conundrum
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Kenneth Bandler - (Opinion) February 22, 2011 - 1:00am

Umm el-Fahm was not originally part of Israel. Jordan consented to include the strategically located community – then a town of 4,500 – on the Israeli side of the 1949 armistice line established after theWar of Independence. But some Israeli Jews want to reverse that decision of 62 years ago. Reducing the number Arab citizens, now 20 percent of the population, they believe, would benefit the country’s future. Umm el-Fahm, its largest Arab city, with a population of 43,000, is therefore a target.

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Abbas stresses Palestinian clinging to Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 16, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed Wednesday his leadership will never give up the Armenian area in East Jerusalem under any peace deal with Israel. "The Armenian Quarter is an undividable part of East Jerusalem, which is the capital of the (future) independent Palestinian state, " Abbas said during a meeting with Christian leaders at his office in Ramallah.

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IDF colleges in east Jerusalem? 'Dangerous move'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - February 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Ynet has learned of a Defense Ministry plan to relocate IDF colleges from Glilot to an eight-acre complex in Jerusalem, on land that is partially located beyond the Green Line. According to the plan, the complex will be built between the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus and the Mormon University. Part of the designated land is within the boundaries of the Arab neighborhood Wadi al-Joz and in an area which is not recognized by the UN as being under Israeli sovereignty.

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IDF station in Hebron made off limits to settlers after 30 years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - February 9, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israel Defense Forces has finally closed one of its main outposts in Hebron to Jewish settlers. The Mitkanim outpost, adjacent to the city's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, is permanently staffed by a company of soldiers. But while all other army bases and outposts nationwide are closed to civilians unless they obtain a special permit, Mitkanim has served Avraham Avinu residents for 30 years as a shortcut to Shuhada Street, which is one of Hebron's main arteries.

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Northern Sinai heating up
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Embittered and emboldened Bedouin tribesmen have turned the northern Sinai Peninsula into a lawless and violent frontier between Israel and Egypt. Security sources said that the Bedouin have also forged links with radical Hamas operatives who have escaped from Egyptian jails or slipped through the border from the Gaza Strip. Despite reports of an increased Egyptian troop presence, the local security forces have been severely degraded, increasingly attacked and in some cases overwhelmed. Most of the details of the chaos have gone unreported.

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Between the hammer and the anvil
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Oraib Al-Rantawi - February 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Over the last decade, Jordan's policies have centered on a single assumption: that the creation of a viable Palestinian state is a major pillar of Jordan's security and stability. Even more so, it is vital to Jordan's existence and identity. Based on this assumption, Jordan stood firm behind the peace process and was a strong supporter of the two-state solution. In that light, Jordan supported the Arab Peace Initiative and US President George W. Bush's vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Equally, Jordan called for the implementation of the roadmap and signed agreements.

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Palestinians accuse settlers of torching vehicle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - January 27, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian commercial vehicle was set on fire overnight Thursday in the northern West Bank village of Ein Abus. The vehicle was torched at around 3 am. The perpetrators spray-painted "Eye for an eye – we won’t forget" in Hebrew next to it. Ein Abus resident Mahmoud Rian said he was certain Jewish settlers were behind the act. "This is not the first time this has happened. Settlers from Yitzhar come here whenever they are angry about something - regardless of whether we have anything to do with it – and cause damage," he said, adding that the vehicle was burned completely.

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'Demolition of Palestinian homes in West Bank's Area C tripled in 2010'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - January 26, 2011 - 1:00am

The number of Palestinian residences demolished by Israel's Civil Administration in the part of the West Bank under full Israeli control tripled last year compared to 2009, data complied by B'Tselem shows. Attorney Shlomo Lecker, who has represented the Jahalin Bedouin tribe in the West Bank for years, attributed the increase in Area C demolitions directly to the increased pressure applied over the last two years by both settlers and a new organization, Regavim.

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