Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Syrian government forces kill at least 25 Palestinian refugees, as PFLP-GC leader Jibril flees the Yarmouk camp outside Damascus. Pres. Abbas calls on waring factions in Syria to avoid attacking Palestinian refugees. PM Fayyad urges Palestinians to boycott Israeli goods in protest of Israel's withholding of Palestinian tax revenues. FM Lieberman resignes after being charged with "breach of trust" and other criminal indictments. Palestinian issues are playing almost no role in the unfolding Israeli election. Two Palestinian journalists working for Reuters are beaten and abused by Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian film wins two awards at the Dubai film festival. Israel allows a small shipment of agricultural products to be exported from Gaza. The Emir of Qatar may visit the occupied West Bank and meet with Abbas soon. Abbas sends condolences to Pres. Obama on the massacre at a school in Connecticut. Israeli occupation forces kill a Palestinian man in southern Gaza. Hamas resumes a public presence in the West Bank. A Palestinian official criticizes the Middle East Quartet and its representative Tony Blair as "useless." COMMENTARY: Qantara interviews Sari Nusseibeh. Aner Shalev says a vote for PM Netanyahu amounts to a vote for Hamas. Chris McGreal says the new potential for Palestinian action on Israeli settlement activity at the ICC could help re-start peace talks. The Forward looks at a new theatrical production by Miriam Said and Vanessa Redgrave. Nermeen Murad says it may be time to start looking more carefully at a potential confederation between Jordan and Palestine. Omar Wehbeh looks at the security plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

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PA condemns Syrian regime after Yarmouk attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 16, 2012 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority leadership condemned the Syrian regime on Sunday after Bashar Assad's forces attacked a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, killing at least 25 people. "We hold Bashar Assad and his regime responsible for this crime in Yarmouk camp, which clearly reveals that this regime knows no limits in its approach to criminal murder and destruction," Senior PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo told Reuters. » Read more

Palestinian faction leader Jibril leaves Damascus –rebels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 15, 2012 - 1:00am   Ahmed Jibril, veteran leader of a Damascus-based Palestinian faction that backs President Bashar al-Assad, has left the Yarmouk district of the Syrian capital after 12 days of clashes, Syrian rebels and Palestinian sources said on Saturday. » Read more

Abbas calls on warring Syrians to avoid Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 17, 2012 - 1:00am   alestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday urged combatants in Syria to avoid Palestinian refugees and their camps. » Read more

Palestinian premier: Boycott Israeli goods ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Israeli foreign minister officially resigns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Israeli election downplays Palestinian issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Journalists Punched by Israeli Officers After Fatal Shooting at West Bank Checkpoint ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - December 14, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Palestinian movie "Infiltrators" wins two awards at 9th Dubai film festival ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 17, 2012 - 1:00am   The 7-day Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) ended here Sunday with a sparkling gala evening reception where a total of 36 awards were given honoring movies from East and West, with 2 films cashing in double-prizes. » Read more

Israel allows Gaza produce export ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   Israel on Sunday allowed the export of seven trucks of agricultural products from the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said. Strawberries, herbs and cherry tomatoes made the second shipment that Israel allowed after the ceasefire of an eight-day battle with Hamas last month. » Read more

Qatar's emir to visit West Bank: source ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani will visit the West Bank city of Ramallah and meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this month, a Palestinian source said Sunday. The emir recently informed Abbas about his intention to visit the West Bank and arrangements for this visit are underway, the source told Xinhua. » Read more

Abbas sends condolences to Obama over school shooting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 15, 2012 - 1:00am President Mahmoud Abbas wrote to US President Barack Obama on Saturday to offer his condolences after a shooting in an American elementary school killed 26 people. Twenty children were killed by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday. He killed at least 26 people there before turning his gun on himself. Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being taken to a hospital. » Read more

Witnesses: Palestinian shot by forces near Gaza border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 16, 2012 - 1:00am A Palestinian man was shot in the chest by Israeli forces near the Gaza border on Sunday, witnesses said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was not aware of the incident, which took place near al-Qarara town in south Gaza. Locals told Ma'an a man in his 20s suffered a bullet wound after Israeli forces opened fire near the al-Sureij gate on the border. Israeli troops have fired several times across the border since a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect in November. » Read more

West Bank welcomes Hamas back with excitement - and apprehension ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - December 14, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

'Useless, useless, useless': the Palestinian verdict on Tony Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Matthew Kalman - December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   Palestinian officials say Tony Blair shouldn't take it personally, but he should pack up his desk at the Office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem and go home. They say his job, and the body he represents, are "useless, useless, useless". » Read more

A Virtual State Called Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Sari Nusselbeh - (Interview) December 17, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

If you vote Bibi, you vote Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aner Shalev - (Opinion) December 16, 2012 - 1:00am   Benjamin Netanyahu needs Hamas. He needs Hamas desperately. If there were no Hamas, Netanyahu would have to invent it. He desperately needs a strong Hamas in order to avoid a peace process, and he is doing everything he can to strengthen Hamas. Even his military actions, which appear to hurt Hamas, actually serve its long-term interests. » Read more

International criminal court is a lever for Palestinians on Israeli settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - (Opinion) December 15, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

The World That Mariam Said Loved ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Theater Review) December 15, 2012 - 1:00am   Imagine that, instead of a Middle East ruled by tyrants, riddled with militants and ruined by war, the region was a model of cosmopolitan tolerance and sophistication, where people of all creeds and faiths live in harmony. » Read more

Palestinians in Lebanon Camps Victims of Corrupt Security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor (Opinion) December 11, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

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