May 4th

Israel Should Reduce Use of Administrative Detentions for Palestinians, Top Official Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) May 3, 2012 - 12:00am   Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch indicated that Israel should reduce its use of administrative detention against Palestinian suspects, a senior official said on Thursday, amid an ongoing wave of hunger strikes among Palestinian detainees. » Read more

Israel Prison Service: Palestinian Hunger-Strike Must “Stand Up” to Visit Lawyer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 4, 2012 - 12:00am   JERUSALEM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Various NGO's protest against treatment of Palestinian hunger-strikers in Israeli prisons, where they cannot receive legal counseling from lawyers unless they can stand up and ask for it, despite that some of the protesters have been hunger-striking for two months. » Read more

Is the Palestinian Authority really a 'fig leaf' for Israeli occupation? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - (Analysis) May 3, 2012 - 12:00am Seated at her desk beneath pictures of two smiling leaders, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the late founding father Yasser Arafat, principal Shadia Shaheen asserts that her high school plays a part in the building of a future Palestinian state. » Read more

Palestinian Hunger Strikers Appeal to Israeli Court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jihan Abdalla - May 3, 2012 - 12:00am   JERUSALEM, May 3 (Reuters) - Facing Israel's highest court in their wheelchairs, two Palestinian prisoners on the 66th day of their hunger strike appealed on Thursday for their release from detention without trial. » Read more

Fayyad: Netanyahu Responsible for Health of Striking Prisoners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 4, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- The prime minister in Ramallah said Thursday that his counterpart in Israel was ultimately responsible for the wellbeing of Palestinian prisoners.  » Read more

Is a Palestinian revolt against Mahmoud Abbas brewing? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph by Adrian Blomfield - (Analysis) May 4, 2012 - 12:00am It was meant to be a day of catharsis and rejoicing, marking the fulfilment of a visionary government strategy to end years of debilitating political cleavage and create a formidable platform to challenge Israel's occupation. But instead of going to the polls as they were promised this Friday, Palestinians are remaining at home, betrayed once again by bickering leaders whose quarrels have contributed to an increasingly dangerous sense of malaise across the West Bank and Gaza. » Read more

Palestinians Go Hungry to Make Their Voices Heard ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - May 3, 2012 - 12:00am KHARAS, West Bank — The newest heroes of the Palestinian cause are n » Read more

Palestinian Christians are disappearing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Saliba Sarsar - (Opinion) May 4, 2012 - 12:00am Christians in the Holy Land, especially Palestinian Christians, are living under duress. In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, now only 18 percent of the population is Christian. In Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified and resurrected, the percentage of Palestinian Christians is a far lower 1.5 percent, or 12,000 out of some 800,000 people. The remaining population is made up of around 65 percent of Israeli Jews and 33.5 percent Palestinian Muslims. In 1948, by contrast, Christians numbered 25,000 in the city, out of approximately 165,000 inhabitants, or 15 percent. » Read more