December 22nd

Officials plan water plant to end crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Water Authority is working to establish a major desalination plant by the Dead Sea, its chief has revealed. The plan is designed to help ease the water crisis in the West Bank and Gaza by providing an extra 100 million cubic meters of water, Shaddad al-Attili said. However it will stand or fall on the approval of a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee, he told Ma'an after attending a water conference in Israel organized by Friends of the Earth Middle East.

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Hamas denies Syrian report about Mashaal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

DAMASCUS (Ma’an) – Hamas on Tuesday denied reports disseminated by official Syrian news that its chief in exile Khalid Mashaal has criticized Islamic cleric Yousif al-Qaradawi over his remarks about the situation in Syria. In a statement, the movement said “the alleged remarks were made up and baseless.” The website of Syria’s General Organization of Radio and TV on Tuesday quoted Mashaal expressing disappointment at al-Qaradawi urging the Syrian people to revolt against the Syrian regime.

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This Holy Land battle focuses on tourists' wallets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Reporting from Bethlehem, West Bank— A 45-foot-high artificial Christmas tree towers over Manger Square, and downtown Bethlehem is festooned with sparkling decorations. There's even a picture of a saxophone-playing Santa Claus. But Nabil Giacaman, co-owner of a souvenir shop called Christmas House, isn't feeling the holiday spirit. The third-generation woodcarver, who sells handmade likenesses of baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, sees as many as 200 tour buses arrive every day from Israel to visit the Church of the Nativity, just a few steps from his store.

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Militant Hamas agrees to join PLO umbrella in key step toward unifying Palestinian leadership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

CAIRO — Rival Palestinian factions reached a key agreement in Cairo Thursday to admit the Hamas militant group into the Palestine Liberation Organization — the umbrella organization of the Palestinian independence movement that has overseen two decades of on-and-off peace talks with Israel, both sides said.

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Hamas adjusts to Arab Spring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Buoyed by the success of Islamist movements in countries swept by the Arab Spring, Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, is showing signs of pragmatism as its sense of isolation fades. The organization is jockeying to reposition itself amid shifting terrain in the Arab world. It is reported to be scaling down its presence in Syria, where its long-time patron, President Bashar al-Assad, is facing a popular uprising. At the same time, it is seeking to strengthen ties with Arab countries where moderate Islamists have made political gains.

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Israel Accuses 4 Countries of Meddling in Its Affairs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — In a highly unusual response to criticism from European nations on the Security Council, the Israeli Foreign Ministry bluntly accused the countries of “interfering with Israel’s domestic affairs” and warned that they risked making themselves “irrelevant.”

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December 21st

Palestine Melts Iceland
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Weekly Standard
by Elliott Abrams - (Blog) December 16, 2011 - 1:00am

On November 29th the Icelandic parliament voted to recognize Palestine as a state. Yesterday, a ceremony was held in Reykjavik in the presence of the Icelandic and PLO foreign ministers. Here is the text of the resolution adopted by Althingi, the Icelandic parliament:

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NEWS: Hamas officials say six steps towards reconciliation have been agreed and that Palestinians have formed a committee to oversee new elections. Israel faces strong criticism for settlement activities from UN security council members. The PA has signed a free trade agreement with the South American trading bloc Mercosur. Israel pledges to release 1 billion cubic feet of water to restore the Jordan River. The Israeli government's watchdog agency says the country is ill-prepared for war. Egypt shuts the Gaza border crossing after a dispute with Hamas. Pres. Assad reportedly refuses to meet with Hamas leaders and Iran has cut funding to Gaza. Major Jewish-American donors are reportedly sticking with Pres. Obama. The BBC profiles the 'Iranian Schindler' who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis during World War II. A war of words is escalating between the Israeli government and the New York Times. COMMENTARY: Zvi Bar'el says only the Israeli military can convince the public of the dangers of Jewish terrorism. Amira Hass says Palestinians are heros for resisting the occupation. Moshe Ronen says its simply a fact that Israeli law and law enforcement favors Jews. Ron Kampeas says Vaclav Havel will be remembered as a friend of Jews and Israel. Scott Bobb says the peace process is totally deadlocked. Victor Kotsev critiques Israel's response to the Arab uprisings. BrandeisNOW interviews Khalil Shikaki. Leonard Fein looks at a growing "distancing" between younger Jewish Americans and Israel. Elliott Abrams criticizes Iceland's resolution recognizing Palestine.

Fein: Distancing?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Sun Sentinel
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

"Distancing" is the current favored word to describe the reaction of many American Jews, especially young Jews, to the ongoing situation in Israel. (Curiously, Peter Beinart's essay in the New York Review of Books in May of 2010, which catalyzed much of the conversation, nowhere uses the word.) But "distancing" is inadequate to describe the range of response to diverse alarming events in Israel. Herewith, two examples of that range, and a suggestion of how we might productively proceed.

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Arab Spring overshadowing Israeli-Palestinian conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Brandeis NOW
by Charles Radin - (Interview) December 19, 2011 - 1:00am

Khalil Shikaki is the world’s foremost pollster and interpreter of Palestinian public opinion. A senior fellow of Brandeis’ Crown Center for Middle East Research, he has directed the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research since 2000, and has conducted more than 150 polls among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1993.

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