Despite results of Israeli elections, Palestinians still don’t see a partner for peace in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) January 25, 2013 - 1:00am


Hamas knows that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost big in the recent elections, but it also knows that whatever government emerges from coalition-building talks in Jerusalem is not going to be any more open to negotiating with the Palestinians.


Israel Ducks on Human Rights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


Israel has increasingly isolated itself from the world with its hard-line policies on West Bank settlements, the Gaza embargo and other issues. This week, it unwisely set itself further apart with a decision to withhold cooperation from a United Nations Human Rights Council review of its human rights practices.


Israeli PM says only U.S. military strike can halt Iran's nuke program
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while American military action can eliminate Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, an Israeli strike will only temporarily set it back, local media reported Wednesday.


Fire burns Gaza family of six to death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


A Palestinian family of six died Thursday when a fire broke out in their home in eastern Gaza City, a hospital official said. Hamas police announced an investigation into the incident, in which the father, mother and all their four children, aged between three to six, were burnt to death. Sources said the fire was likely to have been caused by a candle the family lit in their house after midnight. The Gaza Strip suffers from a shortage in electricity due to frequent disruption in fuel supplies to its only power plant.


Hamas plans more "enemy language" Hebrew in Gaza schools
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


Islamist Hamas authorities plan to expand Hebrew-language classes in the Gaza Strip's high schools to help Palestinians know their enemy in times of conflict with Israel. Far from a sign that peace will soon break out, Hamas's promotion of Hebrew learning in the Israeli-blockaded Mediterranean enclave aims to make linguistic skill a useful new front in the struggle against the Jewish state.


No Israeli strike on Lebanon soil - Lebanese security source
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Oliver Holmes - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


A Lebanese security source said on Wednesday that a reported attack by Israeli forces on a convoy near the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight had not occurred on Lebanese territory. A western diplomat and regional security sources said earlier that Israeli forces had hit a convoy in the border area, a few days after Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said that any sign that Syria's grip on its chemical weapons was slipping could trigger Israeli intervention. There were no details of precisely where the action had occurred.


Syria says Israel attacked military research centre
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by James Webb - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


Israeli warplanes attacked a military research centre in Damascus province at dawn on Wednesday, Syria's military command said, denying reports that the planes had struck a convoy carrying weapons from Syria to Lebanon. Two people were killed and five wounded in the attack on the site in Jamraya, which it described as one of a number of "scientific research centres aimed at raising the level of resistance and self-defence". The building was destroyed, the military command said in a statement carried by state media.


2 Israeli parties endorse Netanyahu for new term
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


Israel's two largest political parties endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister Wednesday, all but guaranteeing him a third term at the beginning of the post-election process of forming a new government.


Some Fear a Soccer Team’s Racist Fans Hold a Mirror Up to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


The shouting match began long before kickoff, and many of the slogans had little to do with soccer. “The Temple Mount is in our hands,” chanted the notoriously aggressive fans of the home team, Beitar Jerusalem.


Hamas denies accepting two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


Hamas on Wednesday said it does not accept the two-state solution, following reports the party had changed its position to accept the state of Israel. The Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq reported Wednesday that Hamas politburo chief Khalid Mashaal asked Jordan's King Abdullah to inform US President Barack Obama that Hamas accepted the two-state solution. Hamas said in a statement that the report was baseless and that Mashaal did not address the two-state solution in his meeting with the Jordanian king in Amman on Monday.



American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017