December 12th

Israeli military spokesman accused of mocking dead Palestinian protester
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph
by Adrian Blomfield - December 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Mustafa Tamimi died on Saturday, a day after he was struck in the face by a tear-gas canister fired at close range from an armoured military jeep in Nabi Saleh, a village in the West Bank that has seen weekly protests against the Israeli occupation. Israeli military officials have been largely unapologetic for the death, releasing pictures of a sling they said was found on Mr Tamimi's body as evidence that the dead man had thrown stones.

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Activists Say Tear Gas Canister Killed Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
December 10, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian protester who had been struck in the face by a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier at close range died of his wounds on Saturday, activists said. They accused the army of using disproportionate force. The protester, Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was hurling rocks at a military vehicle on Friday in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh when a soldier inside opened the rear door and fired at him from a few yards away, witnesses said.

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Gingrich calls Palestinians an ‘invented’ people
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Amy Gardner, Philip Rucker - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said in a cable TV interview that Palestinians are an “invented” people with no apparent right to their own state, a rejection of a decade of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy. In the interview, which was taped Wednesday in Washington and will be broadcast Monday on The Jewish Channel, Gingrich spoke about his mistrust of Palestinian leaders, his admiration for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his view that the Obama administration is “favoring the terrorists” with its foreign policy.

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Gingrich: Palestinians 'invented,' promises Netanyahu-style foreign policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich dismissed the Palestinian bid for statehood as the effort of an "invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community." Gingrich also said the Palestinian Authority, which has typically represented the moderate wing of Palestinian leadership and formally accepts Israel's right to exist, is motivated by "an enormous desire to destroy Israel."

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December 9th

Life Without Water a Growing Threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Eva Bartlett - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

"Everything will be affected: drinking and washing water, sewage and sanitation, hospitals, schools and children," says Ahmed al-Amrain, head of power information at the Palestinian Energy and National Resources Authority (PENRA). The Israeli Electric Company provides 60 percent of the Strip's needs, paid by Palestinian customs taxes collected by the Israeli authorities. Gaza buys 5 percent from Egypt and tries to generate the remaining 35 percent at Gaza's sole power plant, maimed by the 2006 Israeli bombing and destruction of its six transformers.

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NEWS: The US says it's “disappointed” by new Israeli settlement plans. Another Palestinian militant is killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. Rockets are fired into southern Israel. Israel closes a ramp leading to holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem. Deputy FM Ayalon calls UNRWA "morally and politically unacceptable." Many Israelis are deeply embarrassed by FM Lieberman's latest controversial statements. The Palestinian flag is raised at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. A Palestinian man is badly wounded by occupation forces during a West Bank protest. Reports continue to suggest Hamas is trying to relocate its headquarters from Damascus. An appellate court has upheld the convictions in the “Holy Land Foundation” case. Gaza continues to face serious shortages of water. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says PM Netanyahu is setting himself up as the only possible leader of Israel. Ha'aretz says hard-line nationalism is isolating Israel. Stuart Weiss says religious extremism is harming Israel and the Jewish people. JJ Goldberg says Amb. Gutman was only telling the truth. Saleh Abdel Jawad says Israel doesn't want to undermine the Jordanian regime. Carlo Strenger says Israel has apparently decided to no longer be a Western state. Muath Al Wari says Palestine remains a central issue for most Arabs. Jeffrey Goldberg says a one-state arrangement will only lead to more conflict and two states are the only real solution. Scott Clement thinks Israel will not be a big factor in the 2012 election.

Appeals court upholds convictions in Holy Land Foundation case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
December 8, 2011 - 1:00am

NEW YORK (JTA) -- A U.S. appeals court upheld the convictions of five Holy Land Foundation organizers on charges of conspiring to send money to Hamas. The ruling was handed down Wednesday by a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Texas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation had its assets frozen by the Bush administration in December 2001. The Islamic charity and five defendants were found guilty in 2008 on charges of funneling money to Hamas.

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Arab World: Searching for a new home?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

There, Hamas came out in support of the demonstrators and even urged them to topple their leaders. Hamas was the first Palestinian group to welcome the downfall of Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Ghaddafi. With Syria, however, Hamas has found itself in a delicate situation. On the one hand, Hamas can’t afford to voice support for those who are seeking to overthrow a regime that has been hosting and backing the movement for more than two decades.

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Palestinian seriously wounded at West Bank protest by Israeli forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian demonstrator was seriously wounded on Friday when he was apparently hit by a teargas canister fired by Israeli security forces in the West Bank. The incident occurred during the weekly demonstration in the village of Nabi Saleh. Preliminary details indicate that security forces fired teargas at demonstrators who were protesting the alleged takeover of a nearby spring by Israeli settlers. One demonstrator was shot in the head at close range by a teargas canister and began to bleed. He was rushed to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.


Does Israel matter in 2012?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Scott Clement - (Opinion) December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

President Obama and Republicans have repeatedly clashed over policy towards Israel, incited most recently by comments from the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, who argued that some anti-Semitism was rooted in territorial tensions between Israel and its neighbors. On Wednesday, Republican presidential hopefuls looked to court Jewish supporters at a forum held by the Republican Jewish Coalition. The entire hubbub raises a critical question: How important is Israel as a voting issue?

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