PA cabinet calls municipal, local elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 9, 2010 - 1:00am The cabinet of the Ramallah-based government decided on Monday to hold municipal and local elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on 17 July 2010. Directives were given to the Palestinian Central Elections Committee to begin preparations. » Read more

Sha`ath: Fatah HQ to reopen in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 9, 2010 - 1:00am Hamas will instruct its government in the Gaza Strip to release detainees held on political grounds and reopen the Fatah party headquarters within the next two days, a top Fatah official said on Monday. Speaking days after his first trip since 2007 to the besieged coastal enclave, Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath said Fatah officials were already permitted to visit without any special permit. » Read more

Fayyad: West Bank raids, settlement construction must end ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 9, 2010 - 1:00am Greeting the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Political Affairs Oscar Fernandes on Monday, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad stressed the importance of the UN’s role in compelling Israel to abide by its roadmap obligations. » Read more

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. » Read more

An ‘Israeli Remix’ of a Palestinian Scarf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - (Blog) February 8, 2010 - 1:00am Two years ago, under pressure from conservative bloggers, Dunkin’ Donuts called off an ad campaign featuring Rachael Ray because she was photographed wearing a black and white scarf that looked like a keffiyeh. One of the bloggers, the conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, argued that the scarf was inappropriate because “the keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad.” » Read more