Israel: Gaza crossing to stay shut as long as Hamas in power
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - February 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The Israel Defense Forces has sharply cut back its activity around the Karni border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and defense officials told Haaretz that the crossing, which was closed after Hamas took over the Strip in June 2007, is not slated to reopen in the future. Due to the structure of the crossing, it is at high risk for terror attacks, said an official. This, combined with the inability to coordinate operations with Hamas, led to its abandonment. "The Karni crossing won't resume operating," said one. "At least not as long as Hamas controls the Strip."

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PA detains 6 al-Qaeda men
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Ali Waked - February 10, 2010 - 1:00am

For the first time, Palestinian security forces have arrested six al-Qaeda supporters in the West Bank, a Palestinian security official said Wednesday. Brigadier General Ibrahim Ramadan said that six people were arrested last week near the town of Jenin in the northern West Bank. He said they were receiving military training but had not yet selected targets to attack. "They consider themselves part of al-Qaeda but had no contact with the leaders of al-Qaeda abroad," he said.

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PNA condemns killing an Israeli in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) condemned on Wednesday the killing of an Israeli soldier at an Israeli army roadblock south of northern West Bank city of Nablus. PNA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a press statement sent to reporters that PNA condemns the attack, stressing that PNA would keep carrying out its firm security measures in order not to repeat such incidents.

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Palestinian force makes gains in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - February 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The security men brandished their weapons and ordered the suspicious car to halt, forcing the occupants to get out and put their hands in their air. The suspects were quickly handcuffed, frisked and made to kneel on the ground as the vehicle was swept for explosives.

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Palestinians set terms for talks as violence flares
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - February 8, 2010 - 1:00am

More than a dozen people were injured when Israeli police confronted Palestinian protesters in a refugee camp at the edge of Jerusalem on Monday, violence stoked by rising tensions over a stalemate in peace talks. The Palestinian cabinet "strongly condemned" what it called an Israeli incursion and its senior officials said negotiations with Israel could resume only if they focused on borders and other core conflict issues and set out a clear deadline.

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Israel bars Palestinian expert on settlements from travel abroad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - February 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has banned Palestinian geographer Khalil Tufakji, a resident of Jerusalem, from traveling abroad for six months, citing unspecified security concerns. The ban was issued on the recommendation of the Shin Bet security service and is based on 1948 Emergency regulations. "Having been convinced that there is real concern that the exit of Mr. Khalil Tufakji from Israel may harm the security of the state, I order that he be banned from exiting the country until 2 August, 2010," the order reads.

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Land of landmines
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - (Blog) February 8, 2010 - 1:00am

All Israelis know the iron rule: never stray off the main roads in the Golan Heights, and never ever cross cattle fences. The cows aren't dangerous, but the mines are. There are said to be around 2,000 minefields in the Golan Heights alone, its landscape concealing hundreds of thousands of anti-tank mines and anti-personnel mines. Some are Syrian; many others Israeli, planted around army bases and other places. There are countless other minefields throughout the country, mostly the Jordan Valley and the desert plains of the Arava.

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Explosive devices float onto Israeli beaches
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ori Lewis - February 2, 2010 - 1:00am

At least two explosive devices have washed up on Israeli beaches in what security officials described on Tuesday as an attempt by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip to attack Israel. On Monday, sappers detonated one such device on a Mediterranean beach in the southern city of Ashkelon a few kilometres (miles) north of the Gaza Strip, police said. Another was discovered further north on a beach in the port city of Ashdod.

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Israel mulls freeing Hamas 'underwear bomber'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Erin Cunningham - February 2, 2010 - 1:00am

In a bedroom overlooking Jabaliya refugee camp's narrow, potholed streets, an array of new cosmetics and a hairbrush are lined up neatly in anticipation of a daughter's early release from prison. Next to a portrait of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a framed photo of Wafa al-Biss looks out into the room she has not seen since being arrested at the Israeli border with 20 pounds of explosives sewn into her underwear in 2005. She was 21 years old. In the photo, Wafa is dressed in bluejeans, heavy makeup, and a lace head scarf. She is unsmiling, almost defiant.

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Police destroy third 'barrel bomb' washed ashore south of Tel Aviv
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yuval Azoulay, Anshel Pfeffer - February 1, 2010 - 1:00am

Police on Wednesday said they had destroyed the third explosive device washed ashore in Israel this week. Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion at Palmachim beach, some 10 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, police said. Two barrels packed with explosive charges were picked up on Israeli beaches at Ashkelon and Ashdod on Monday. Two more are believed to have exploded on the shores of the Gaza Strip.

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