December 3rd

In Gaza, surge of support for Hamas starts to fade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - December 30, 2012 - 1:00am JABALYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Strung across chaotic streets and through mazes of yard-wide alleys, the iconic green flags of the Islamic Resistance Movement, better known as Hamas, festoon the gray acres of cement-block buildings. » Read more

World Bank to Spend $6.4 Million in Bid To Save Gaza's Water System ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Tamar Dressler - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am The World Bank is trying to help repair Gaza’s precarious water and sewage systems. Polluted water in Gaza has had an adverse effect on the health of local residents, and the situation is only getting worse. A UN report from last August maintains that the population in Gaza, which currently totals 1.64 million and is expected to increase by half a million by 2020, might lose its main water resource — the subterranean coastal aquifer. » Read more

Israeli settlers occupy 5-story house in Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am Five Israeli settlers entered a five-story building in the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem early Monday morning, apparently in an effort to establish a new settlement in this Palestinian area. The building, which was erected in recent years, has remained largely empty, except for one Palestinian family living on the top floor. » Read more

Tunnels between Gaza and Egypt are back in business since cease-fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - December 1, 2012 - 1:00am RAFAH, Gaza Strip — For eight days, the sounds of illegal commerce here at the ragged southern edge of the Gaza Strip were silenced by the pounding thrum of battle. » Read more

Palestinian rams Israeli jeep, attacks with ax ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 3, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel's internal security agency says a Palestinian man rammed his car into a military jeep in the West Bank, flipping it over, and then attacked the agents inside with an ax. » Read more

Throwing Gaza's fishermen a lifeline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Abeer Ayyoub - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am Sardines, shrimps, guitarfish and crabs were on display throughout the crowded fish market overlooking the Gaza seaport. "Local and fresh," a man hollered, before being interrupted by a customer asking about shrimp. » Read more

Collaboration in Gaza Leads to Grisly Fate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am RAFAH, Gaza Strip — When Fadel Shalouf’s family went to pick up his body at the morgue the day after he was executed on a busy Gaza street corner, they found his hands still cuffed behind his back. Hamas, the militant faction that rules Gaza, did not provide a van to carry the body to burial, so they laid him on two men’s laps in the back of a sedan. » Read more

Amid Euphoria Over U.N. Vote, Palestinians Still Face Familiar Challenges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — “Now we have become a state!” Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced Sunday to a crowd of thousands in the courtyard of his headquarters in this Palestinian city. » Read more

Netanyahu brushes off world condemnation of settlement plans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Maayan Lubell - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off world condemnation of Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood. » Read more

UN chief: Israel's construction plans 'fatal blow' to two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz December 2, 2012 - 1:00am UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday Israel's plans to build 3,000 new homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank settlements "would represent an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution." Ban said in a statement that in the interest of peace, any plans for construction in the "E-1" corridor must be rescinded. » Read more