Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: The State Department accuses Israel of "a pattern of provocative action" regarding planned settlement expansions. EU UN Security Council members also issue an unusually harsh statement. Israel says it's pressing forward with one of its most controversial settlement projects, Givat Hamatos. Some extreme Zionists believe settlements is ushering in a messianic era. Some American evangelical Christians also see a somewhat different messianic context. The Israeli Embassy in Ireland temporarily takes down its Facebook page after a "Christmas message" suggesting Palestinians would have lynched Jesus. Israel's former military chief Amnon Lipkin-Shahak passes away. Pres. Abbas says Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria are welcome in the West Bank, as conditions for them worsen. Further evidence emerges of how unenthusiastic Israel's Palestinian citizens are about the upcoming election. Israel formally charges suspects in a recent Tel Aviv bus bombing. Palestinians call for an Arab summit on aid to the cash-strapped PA as public sector employees strike due to nonpayment of salaries. The PLO's Washington mission strongly criticizes congressional efforts to close it down. Israel agrees not to interfere with a planned visit by the Emir of Qatar to the West Bank. Israel says it will allow Palestinian Christians in Gaza to visit the West Bank for Christmas. Some Jewish Americans are expressing fears that the upcoming Israeli election will push the country even further to the right. COMMENTARY: Crispian Balmer says Israeli policies hold the key to whether or not there will be another Palestinian uprising in the near future. The LA Times harshly criticizes Hamas leader Meshaal's Gaza speech as "outrageous, irresponsible and depressing." Gideon Levy and Alex Levac look at the killing of a Palestinian youth with a toy gun by Israeli occupation forces near Hebron. Carlo Strenger says PM Netanyahu can emulate his predecessors Menachem Begin, which could set the stage for positive developments, or Yitzhak Shamir, which would be a disaster. Avi Shilon argues Netanyahu is already acting like Shamir. Ron Kampeas asks if Pres. Obama is really planning to put the Israeli-Palestinian issue on the back burner in his second term. Abdulrahman Al-Saeed argues that the recent conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza could set the stage for a lasting peace. Azzaman interviews Hamas leader Zahar, who claims Iranian weapons only come to Hamas with no strings attached. Alan Elsner says almost all of Israel's diplomatic problems can be summed up in a single word: settlements. Shlomi Eldar says a third Palestinian intifada has already begun, but so far only on paper.

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State Department Rebukes Israel Over Settlement Activity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 18, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

UN security council's EU members to condemn Israeli settlements expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Israel approves new east Jerusalem settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Tia Goldenberg - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am     » Read more

How some Israelis see the sacred in settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Christa Case Bryant - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Why some Christians back Israeli settlers in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Christa Case Bryant - December 18, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Controversial Israeli Embassy Facebook Page Taken Down ‘for Maintenance’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - December 18, 2012 - 1:00am » Read more

Ex-Israeli military chief and minister dies at 68 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Aron Heller - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, a former Israeli military chief who later became a Cabinet minister, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68. » Read more

Palestinian president offers aid to Syria refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   The Palestinian president says he is ready to take in Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria's civil war. » Read more

Syria's Palestinians sleep rough in wintry Damascus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   The amber light of the street lamp illuminates the boy, wrapped in a thin blanket, his legs exposed to the December cold as he sleeps by a kerbside in a wealthy district of Damascus. » Read more

Israeli Arabs unenthusiastic about Jan. 22 vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Lauren E. Bohn - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am     » Read more

Israel charges Tel Aviv bus bomb suspect ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   Israel charged an Israeli Arab citizen on Wednesday over a bomb explosion on a Tel Aviv bus during Israel's November military offensive in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the Justice Ministry said. » Read more

Palestinians call for Arab summit to save cash-strapped PNA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 18, 2012 - 1:00am   The Palestinian government on Tuesday called for an urgent Arab summit to secure its cash supplies after Israel withheld Palestinian tax revenues. In a statement following its weekly meeting, the government said Israel works on undermining the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). » Read more

West Bank Palestinians strike as Israeli sanctions bite ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters December 19, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian government employees in the West Bank began a two-day general strike on Wednesday to protest against a delay in the payment of their wages because of Israeli economic sanctions. » Read more

Congress petition to close PLO's US office 'won't pay off' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 14, 2012 - 1:00am The Palestinian ambassador to Washington DC said Thursday that a congressional petition to shut down their delegation's office could harm American interests in the Middle East. » Read more

Israel approves Qatar emir's visit to West Bank, in nod to Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   The emir of Qatar will visit the West Bank at the end of the month, on an official trip coordinated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Israel approved the visit as Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani expected to offer financial aid to alleviate the Palestinian Authority's financial crisis. » Read more

IDF to allow Gazans to visit W. Bank for Christmas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin - December 18, 2012 - 1:00am The IDF is set to issue permits to some 500 Palestinian Christians residing in Gaza allowing them to travel to the West Bank, specifically Bethlehem, for Christmas. » Read more

Israel's Rightward Shift Sparks Worries ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   Election fever in Israel has Americans playing catch-up in an attempt to grasp the country’s political shifts and realignments.   » Read more

Rattled Israel holds key to Palestinian uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters (Opinion) December 18, 2012 - 1:00am   Mohammad Salaymeh was killed on his 17th birthday after going to buy a cake for the family celebration, shot dead by an Israeli paramilitary policewoman just two years older than him. » Read more

Hamas' hard line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Editorial) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

The life and death of a toy terrorist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Will Netanyahu choose Shamir or Begin as a model? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

Shamir's successor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Opinion) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

How prominent will Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking be in Obama’s second term? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am    Is history about to repeat itself? » Read more

Gaza stalemate could lead to lasting peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Opinion) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am Rarely, if ever, in the difficult and sordid history of the Arab-Israeli conflict have we seen a moment when the stars have been so perfectly aligned. » Read more

Hamas Leader: Iranian Arms Come Without Conditions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor (Interview) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   Gaza captured the world's attention when [Hamas] launched rockets on Israel and inflicted huge economic losses on it.   » Read more

Israel’s diplomatic problem in one word: Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel by Alan Elsner - (Opinion) December 16, 2012 - 1:00am In the world of Israel advocacy, there is always much anguished discussion on why Israel always seems to be losing the public relations war. » Read more

Is The Third Intifada Already Here? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Shlomi Eldar - (Opinion) December 19, 2012 - 1:00am   The third intifada is here already. When people talk about it as a fait accompli, charting its course and voicing warnings that it will be more violent, brutal and destructive than its precursors, the conclusion is that it is already here, waiting for one tiny signal in order to burst.   » Read more

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