January 3rd, 2012

Gaza Premier in Turkey, in First Official Trip Abroad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Sebnem Arsu, Ethan Bronner - January 2, 2012 - 1:00am


Ismail Haniya, the Hamas prime minister of Gaza, who is making his first official trip abroad since his Islamist movement took over the Palestinian strip in 2007, sought Monday to strengthen ties with the Arab and Muslim world in the wake of regional uprisings that have produced a rise in Islamist political strength. Here in Turkey, where Mr. Haniya arrived after visiting Egypt and Sudan, he was quoted by the semiofficial Anatolian Agency on Monday as saying that “the Arab Spring is turning into an Islamic spring.”


Jordan: Chief Israeli, Palestinian envoys meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - January 3, 2012 - 1:00am


Jordan says the chief Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are meeting for the first time in more than a year. Jordan's Foreign Ministry says Israel's Yitzhak Molcho and Palestinian Saeb Erekat are meeting in the presence of envoys from the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. The pair will later hold a separate meeting alone to exchange positions on key issues of security and borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state.


Why US won't be center stage in new Israeli-Palestinian talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Howard Lafranchi - January 2, 2012 - 1:00am


The United States won’t take its usual center-stage position when Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet Tuesday for their first direct talks in more than a year.


Palestinians and Israelis Will Talk This Week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - January 1, 2012 - 1:00am


Palestinian and Israeli negotiators plan to meet for the first time in more than a year in Jordan on Tuesday, in an effort to revive moribund peace talks, although none of the sides involved suggested any reason to view the meeting as a sign of significant progress. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and the chief Israeli negotiator, Yitzhak Molho, would be joined by officials from Jordan as well as the so-called quartet — Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations — and would later hold a separate meeting.


December 23rd, 2011

NOTE: The ATFP Daily News Roundup will resume publication on Tuesday, January 3. Happy holidays. NEWS: Israel has literally 101 types of permits governing the movement of Palestinians living under occupation. The PLO tells the quartet it will resume its UN statehood bid activities if there is no movement on the peace process within the next month. Palestinian groups establish a committee to consider restructuring the PLO, possibly including Hamas and other groups. Hamas says such a deal would strengthen both Palestinian parties and the PLO in its negotiations with Israel. Analysts and even Hamas officials say the group is responding to a deep crisis. UNESCO cuts funding to a Palestinian magazine that published an article sympathetic to Hitler. Israel's mayor in Jerusalem says he wants to shift the city's municipal boundaries to approximate the West Bank separation barrier. Congress earmarks $235 million for Israeli antimissile systems. Gazan Christians complain Hamas has effectively banned Christmas celebrations. Hamas leader Mishaal touts non-violent protests but does not renounce violence. American Charities for Palestine donates $27,000 to St. John's Eye Hospital in Jerusalem to combat blindness among Palestinians. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says PM Netanyahu's choice of advisers is a source of real concern. Abdelrahman Al Ahmar describes life under the occupation and how Israel came to define him as a “terrorist.” Ha'aretz says settlers might see dismantling of unauthorized outposts as an injustice, but they violate Israeli law. Omar Ghraieb says a drug-related double-murder has shocked the Gaza Strip. Jay Bushinsky says Israel's diplomacy is being undermined by behavior in the occupied territories that does not conform to international norms. Frida Ghitis says Israel is suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Joseph Dana looks at the writings of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti.

ACP donates $27,000 to St. John's Eye Hospital in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Charities for Palestine
December 22, 2011 - 1:00am


Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2011 - 4:00pm ACP is pleased to be able to update you on theOperation Restore Vision in Palestine project which our partner, St. John’s Eye Hospital in Jerusalem (SJEH), is implementing on the ground.


AP Interview: Hamas leader touts new focus on popular protests, does not renounce violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
(Interview) December 23, 2011 - 1:00am


CAIRO — Hamas will focus on a strategy of holding mass protests against Israel in the style of the Arab Spring, although it is not renouncing the use of violence against the Jewish state, the Islamic group’s leader, Khaled Mashaal, told The Associated Press late Thursday. Mashaal was in Cairo for reconciliation talks with Hamas’ rival, President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. The sides agreed that Hamas would join the Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Abbas, and allow elections to go ahead in Gaza and the West Bank in 2012.


Hamas considers shift to non-violent resistance, relocation to Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
by Nadine Marroushi - December 22, 2011 - 1:00am


The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, is adopting a popular, non-violent resistance strategy in a move aimed at gaining international recognition and support. The group is under internal and external pressure to change tactics after being isolated by ongoing revolutions in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere.


Abbas in a stronger position with Hamas in PLO
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, Herb Keinon - December 23, 2011 - 1:00am


Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will be in a stronger position to deal with Israel and the United States if Hamas joins the PLO, a senior Hamas official told pan-Arab London-based newspaper Asharq Alawsat Saturday. According to the source, who spoke to Asharq Alaqsat following productive meetings between Palestinian factions aiming to "activate" the reconstruction of of a unity Palestinian government, reconciliation of Hamas with the PA would see Abbas become president of a more united Palestinian people, instead of just a segment of it in the West Bank.


UNESCO cuts funds for Palestinian magazine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Matti Friedman - December 23, 2011 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM — The U.N.'s cultural agency said Friday it is pulling funding for a Palestinian youth magazine that published an article suggesting admiration for Hitler. The magazine, Zayzafouna, published an article in February written by a teenage girl who presented four role models: a medieval Persian mathematician, a modern Egyptian novelist, the Muslim warrior Saladin, and the Nazi leader.



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