Settlement killings inhuman, Abbas tells Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 14, 2011 - 12:00am


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday the killing of a Jewish settler couple and three of their children was "inhuman", telling Israel he was determined to help catch those responsible. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had complained that Abbas's administration insufficiently condemned the attack and even encouraged such bloodshed through "incitement" in official Palestinian forums. "This was inhuman and immoral. We deplore this incident, without a doubt. It is an abomination," Abbas told Israel Radio.


US criticizes Israeli settlement construction plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - March 14, 2011 - 12:00am


The U.S. Embassy said Monday it was "deeply concerned" by Israel's plans to build hundreds of new homes in the West Bank following a deadly attack on a settler family, calling Israeli settlements "illegitimate" and an obstacle to peacemaking. In a rare interview to the Israeli media, the Palestinian president reached out to the Israeli public, decrying the weekend attack in the settlement of Itamar as "despicable, immoral and inhuman." But he rejected the Israeli suggestion that his government was indirectly to blame.


Gaza govt: Settler attackers may not be Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 14, 2011 - 12:00am


Palestinians may not be responsible for killing a family of five Israelis in Itamar settlement overnight Friday, the Gaza government said Sunday. Israeli authorities immediately blamed Palestinians for the attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority of "daily incitement" against Israel in his response to the killings. However, Gaza government spokesman Taher An-Nunu said the Israeli government should not rule out the possibility that the attack was perpetrated by Israeli criminals. Hamas has denied any involvement in the attack.


Settler violence continues across West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 14, 2011 - 12:00am


ettlers were seen setting fire to an agricultural field north of Ramallah overnight, while a mob entered a town east of Qalqiliya and set fire to civilian vehicles as Palestinians in the West Bank remain fearful. Palestinian security had been warning residents against travel to areas of settler violence on Sunday afternoon, but drivers continue to fear roadside attacks on shared settler roads, while Palestinians living near settlements fear attacks from roving mobs of settlers seeking vengeance for the murder of a family in the northern West Bank in Friday night.


Brutal West Bank killings shock Israel, stir fears of renewed violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am


A grisly trail of toys and blood led paramedics to the first three bodies: a mother, father and their 4-month-old infant, stabbed to death in their bed. In the next room, medics say they found the body of an 11-year-old sibling. Finally, with growing dread, they reached the last bedroom, where a 4-year-old boy with knife wounds and a faint pulse was fighting for his life, ambulance workers said Saturday on Israel Radio. The medics worked frantically, but unsuccessfully, to resuscitate the toddler. One called it a scene of "incomprehensible horror."


Israel to Step Up Pace of Construction in West Bank Areas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am


Israel said Sunday that it would build hundreds of new housing units within the populous West Bank settlement blocs, ending a slowdown in government-supported construction that had lasted several months. The move is meant to assuage settlers’ anger, particularly after the killings of five family members in the Itamar settlement late Friday. But it is also likely to complicate international efforts to revive the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.


Suspecting Palestinians, Israeli Military Hunts for Killers of 5 West Bank Settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 12, 2011 - 1:00am


It was close to midnight on Saturday when the bodies of five members of the Fogel family were removed from their home in this Jewish settlement in the hills of the northern West Bank, more than 24 hours after intruders, suspected to be Palestinians, stabbed them to death in their sleep. The bodies were brought out in order of age — first the parents, Udi, 36, and Ruth, 35, then the three children, Yoav, 11, Elad, 4, and Hadas, a baby girl of 3 months. They were the victims of the deadliest attack inside a settlement in years.



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