October 22nd

Analysts: Despite Hamas absence, elections still Fatah failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 22, 2012 - 12:00am


BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The first elections held in the West Bank for six years reflect how frustrated Palestinians are with their political system and ruling party Fatah, political observers said Sunday. The poll was held on Saturday in 92 of the 353 municipalities in the West Bank. Other seats were uncontested, creating automatic winners, or failed to register any candidates in this round, and will hold polls next month.


Civic Duty and Economic Worries Drive Palestinian Voters in Parts of West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - October 21, 2012 - 12:00am


AL BIREH, West Bank — More than half the Palestinians who participated in municipal elections on Saturday said they did so because they saw voting as a civic duty, twice the portion giving the next most popular reason.


Mixed Results for Fatah Amid Low Turnout in Municipal Elections in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - October 20, 2012 - 12:00am


RAMALLAH, West Bank — The dominant Fatah faction of the Palestinian Authority posted mixed results in municipal elections across the West Bank on Saturday, winning in some key cities and losing in others, but with the whole exercise appearing compromised by a relatively low turnout.


October 19th

NEWS: Israel approves settlement expansions near occupied East Jerusalem.Palestinians begin municipal elections in the occupied West Bank, but face a lack of competition due to a boycott by Hamas. Over 1,000 women are running in the election. A spokesman for Pres. Morsy confirms the authenticity of a letter to Pres. Peres. Both Lebanese and Israelis are annoyed by the TV show “Homeland.” Experts say Jewish Americans are still solidly Democratic. Syrian rebels assassinate a pro-Assad Palestinian activist. Hamas vows to capture more Israeli soldiers. Some Palestinian citizens of Israel say voting is pointless for them, and a new report suggest their towns receive inferior public transportation. Palestinians and settlers trade accusations over this year's olive harvest. Palestinians released in last year's prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas vowed to continue "resistance.”Controversies rage over street-naming in Jerusalem. Palestinians in the West Bank say brewing beer is a form of resistance to occupation. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz interviews former Amb. Gabriella Shalev, who says she couldn't represent Israel under the current circumstances. Gideon Levy says Israeli statesmen are perennially the “almost-peacemakers.”Patrick Seale says Gaza is a demographic and humanitarian timebomb. Dawoud Abu Lebdeh asks if the PA could deploy civil disobedience as a tool of resistance to the occupation. Ahmad Majdoubeh says Pres. Abbas' decision to try to resume negotiations with Israel after a UN vote is sound. Raja Shehadeh describes Israeli and Palestinian remembrances of the Nakba. Dmitry Shumsky says history doesn't provide a basis for comparing the experiences of Jewish and Palestinian refugees. Paul Pillar says the US must not neglect the need for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Don't Neglect an Israeli-Palestinian Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest
by Paul Pillar - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am


Leon Hadar in these spaces has commended as a “sensible stance” toward the Israeli-Palestinian a policy, enunciated by a prominent American politician, that “we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it.” Hadar criticizes “some self-proclaimed foreign-policy realists,” implying that their belief that “Washington can and ought to help make peace between Israelis and Palestinians” somehow contradicts realist criticisms of neocon ambitions to remake the Middle


The Jewish refugee, hypothetically speaking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Dmitry Shumsky - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am


Let's consider the following hypothetical scenario: At the end of World War I the Allied Powers decide to offer national self-determination to the Arab entity of the Ottoman Empire, and give their blessing to the founding of a single, broad Arab state in the region. Immediately upon establishment, this new state halts Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel and begins a relentless persecution of the local Zionism movement, claiming that it threatens to rip the historic land from the Islamic nation.  


The Nakba, Then and Now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Raja Shehadeh - (Editorial) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am


LYDDA, Israel — Last Friday, some 40 Israeli Jews and Arabs gathered in Lydda, a small mixed Arab-Israeli city less than 10 miles southeast of Tel Aviv, for “a study tour” featuring “Zionist testimonies from 1948.” It was part of the project Towards a Common Archive, sponsored by Zochrot (Hebrew for remembering), an Israeli organization that hopes to bring “awareness and recognition of the Nakba” to Jewish Israelis so that they can take “responsibility for this tragedy.”


Abbas’ right decision
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ahmad Majdoubeh - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to talk peace with Israel only after the Palestinian bid for UN non-member state status is accepted is correct.


Can the Palestinian Authority lead with civil disobedience?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Dawoud Abu Lebdeh - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am


Last month, large protests swept through major cities in the West Bank. In some places the demonstrations escalated into destruction of public property and a display of anarchy, while in others they were calm and collected. Peaceful or otherwise, the various demonstrations shared a common grievance: the economic policies of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, recently highlighted after price hikes on main consumer items such as fuel and flour.These protests have called into question whether the Palestinian Authority is still able to lead the Palestinian people.


Gaza siege: A bomb waiting to explode
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am


One of the most urgent tasks for the international community in 2013 must surely be to lift Israel’s cruel siege of Gaza, now entering its sixth year, and end the misguided boycott of its Hamas government.



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