ATFP News Roundup January 8, 2015 | The American Task Force on Palestine

Daily News Issue Date:

January 8, 2015

News:

News:

AP looks at the “looming Palestinian-Israeli showdown” at the ICC. (AP)

The US says Palestinians are “ineligible” to join the ICC. (Times of Israel/Jerusalem Post)

Sen. Rand Paul introduces a bill to cut aid to the PA. (AP/Ma’an/Ha’aretz/Politico)

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Erekat says there is “no difference between ISIS and Israeli terrorism.” (Ma’an/PNN/Times of Israel)

The Palestinian Water Authority says 96% of Gaza water is unusable. (PNN)

American donors are providing most of PM Netanyahu’s reelection funds. (JTA)

Egypt has begun doubling the size of a buffer zone along the Gaza border. (AP/Ma’an)

Pres. Abbas condemns the Paris terror attack. (Ma’an/PNN)

France is hunting down two suspected terrorists in the Charlie Hebdo attack. (AP/New York Times/Washington Post/The National)

Three are killed by a car bomb explosion in Samarra, the site of several Shiite holy places. (Reuters)

The Pentagon says US-led airstrikes have hit 3,222 ISIS targets. (Reuters)

A winter storm hitting the Middle East is raising concerns for Syrian refugees facing freezing temperatures. (Reuters/New York Times/Washington Post)

Pres. Sisi calls for a “revolution” against extremism and obscurantism in Islam. (AP)

Commentary:

Akiva Eldar says Israel’s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues will backfire. (Al-Monitor)

Ari Shavit says Labor leader Herzog must give Israelis a concrete plan for hope. (Ha’aretz)

Salman Masalha says what’s missing in Israel is a party for all Israelis. (Ha’aretz)

Amos Harel says the Paris shooting will not garner European sympathy for Israel. (Ha’aretz)

The New York Times says the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices is an assault on freedom everywhere. (New York Times)

The Washington Post says Charlie Hebdo stood solidly for free expression. (Washington Post)

The Daily Star says the Paris attack is a “black day” for freedom of expression. (Daily Star)

David Rothkopf says the response to extremist violence determines its success. (Foreign Policy)

Nicholas Kristof says Islam is not to blame for the shooting at Charlie Hebdo. (New York Times)

Abdul Rahman Al Rashed says Paris is yet another target of the same ideology and violence that bedevils the Middle East. (Al Arabiya)

H.A. Hellyer says the Paris terror attack requires more than “mere condemnation.” (The National)

Alan Philps says Europe’s response to the Paris attack must address Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment. (The National)

Joyce Karam says the Paris terror attack demonstrates that ISIS and al-Qaeda are not contained. (Al Arabiya)

The National says history shows that extremists always fail. (The National)

Jeffrey Goldberg says the Charlie Hebdo massacre represents a direct attack on the most crucial western ideal. (The Atlantic)

David Horovitz says the first step toward defeating Islamist terrorism is acknowledging the problem. (Times of Israel)

Avi Issacharoff says the Charlie Hebdo attack highlights jihadists Middle East-Europe traffic. (Times of Israel)

Michael Young looks at the Russian peace plan for Syria. (Daily Star)

Simon Henderson says the West should prepare for a “stormy succession battle” within the royal family in Saudi Arabia. (Foreign Policy)

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