January 11th, 2012

Will Jews be Able to Live in a Future Palestinian State? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Dan Rothem - (Opinion) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am The Atlantic's new special report "Is Peace Possible?" is featuring multimedia presentations on the four core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Borders, Security, Refugees, and Jerusalem. These are complex issues, so post your questions in the comments section of each chapter, send them via email (to Questions@IsPeacePossible.com), or tweet them to us at @IsPeacePossible. » Read more

Israel Subsidizes West Bank Housing, Breaking Promise to U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - January 11, 2012 - 1:00am Despite the government's promise to Washington to stop giving financial incentives for construction in West Bank settlements, the Housing Ministry recently published a tender for 213 new housing units in Efrat under a program that offers substantial discounts on the land. » Read more

A year of preparation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Imad Al-Frangi - (Interview) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am bitterlemons: Hamas seems to have many things to look forward to in 2012. Do you agree? » Read more

Hamas PM Arrives in Gaza, Says Foreign Visits Broke Political Blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 11, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night after his first tour in years, saying that he managed to break the political blockade imposed by Israel on the enclave. "The tour broke the siege imposed on the government, on the Gaza Strip and on Palestine," Haneya said, adding that he visited the four countries mainly for the issues of "Palestine and al-Aqsa Mosque." » Read more

Egypt: Israeli Pilgrimmage 'Impossible' This Year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Maggie Michael - January 10, 2012 - 1:00am CAIRO — Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it had told Israel that it would not be "appropriate" for Israeli pilgrims to make an annual visit to the tomb of a 19th-century Jewish holy man in the Nile Delta, as activists mobilized to block the pilgrimage route. Ceremonies at the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abu Hatzira have triggered yearly political sparring in Egypt throughout most of the last decade, with Islamists, nationalists, and others claiming that the government by allowing the pilgrimage is pursuing an unpopular policy of normalization with the country's former enemy. » Read more

2012 could be a year of dramatic change ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yariv Oppenheimer - (Opinion) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am At first glance, this election year in the United States does not bode well for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. » Read more

Settlers Vandalize Mosques: Attempt to Burn Vehicles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 11, 2012 - 1:00am NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Settlers vandalized a mosque in a Salfit village on Wednesday and attempted to set fire to several vehicles,a Palestinian Authority official said. PA settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas told Ma'an that residents in the village of Deir Istiya had seen settlers fleeing the scene after throwing flammable material on three vehicles. » Read more

Israel should rein in its hardliners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am There seems to be an inherent tendency in Israel to ignore as much as to deny the rights of Palestinians. If anything, this tendency reflects a deeper policy conviction amongst Israeli officials — that Palestinians do not deserve what is lawfully theirs. And perhaps this stands as the real obstacle to attaining peace. » Read more

Drivers Protest Israeli-only roads in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Jenny Baboun - January 11, 2012 - 1:00am JERICHO (Ma'an) -- Around 60 people from across the West Bank on Tuesday tried to drive from Jericho to Ramallah on an Israeli-only road to protest Israel's restrictions on Palestinian movement. Popular resistance committees organized the motorcade of around 50 cars to protest the network of roads in the West Bank designated for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers. Committee spokesman Bashir Tamimi told Ma'an the protest aimed to send a message that the roads were built on Palestinian land and to protest settler attacks on Palestinians and holy places. » Read more

Telling stand ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is back to his old tricks, being a great spoiler of all efforts to restart peace talks between his government and the Palestinians. Lieberman is once again proposing the redrawing of Israel’s borders with the Palestinian territories, with a view to placing more Arab Israelis under Palestinian control in return for plans to annex parts of the West Bank. He also wants to strip as many Arab Israelis of Israeli citizenship as possible. » Read more