December 15th

The Israeli leaders who denounce Jewish terror are responsible for it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) December 15, 2011 - 1:00am

The flood of condemnations has not put out the fire. The torch procession is still thundering toward the Temple Mount mosques, to the great conflagration that will rage in all corners of the Temple. The denouncers can prepare their fire extinguishers and fire-and-brimstone preaching.

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Israel has never been so ugly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) December 15, 2011 - 1:00am

We have never been so ugly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu seeks to silence the call to prayer over the loudspeakers of the country's mosques, and to shut down Channel 10 television. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman expresses support for the Russian "democtator" who has just rigged elections. Defense Minister Ehud Barak stands by while Jewish settlers victimize Palestinians and ultra-Orthodox religious nationalists victimize female soldiers.

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Palestinian rivals united by drift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - (Analysis) December 15, 2011 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Hamas and Fatah are Palestinian rivals facing the same dilemma: how to justify their role as leaders of the Palestinian people while making little headway in achieving their national goals. With elections overdue, questions over their legitimacy are only likely to increase unless they find a way to galvanise the Palestinians' struggle with Israel.

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December 14th

NEWS: Israel's leadership is outraged by a settler attack on military bases.The second phase of the Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange is underway. A senior Hamas leader says he very much doubts elections can be held in May. Rights groups say Israel and settlers are destroying more Palestinian homes and wells than ever. Thousands in Gaza attend a Hamas anniversary rally. Israeli extremists clash with police after attacking a historically significant mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. DM Barak says Israeli extremists need to be treated like terrorist groups. Israeli rights groups say a record number of Palestinians have been displaced by home demolitions in the past year.Israeli and Palestinian officials meet to discuss water issues. PM Netanyahu is moving to consolidate his domestic power. COMMENTARY: Thomas Friedman says Newt Gingrich hit a new low in pandering to Israel by suggesting Palestinians are “an invented people.” Haaretz says that Israel must impose its law on settlers. Bradley Burston says Newt Gingrich needs to do a lot of homework. Carlo Strenger says the Middle East is ready to accept Israel if PM Netanyahu will let it. Donniel Hartman says Israel doesn't need would-be American “friends” denying Palestinian peoplehood. Danny Danon says Israel did not mean to offend Jewish Americans with ads warning against life in the United States, but Liora Halperin says it did. Aeyal Gross says it's easy to imagine how Israel would have reacted to rock throwing Palestinians as opposed to settlers. Yossi Alpher says the current peace process paradigm is dead and needs an alternative urgently, and Ghassan Khatib says Israeli extremism is the reason why.

Amid tensions with allies abroad, Netanyahu shoring up power at home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Matthew Wagner - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- He may be a lightning rod for criticism abroad, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is consolidating power at home. On Dec. 5, Netanyahu announced that elections for leadership of his Likud Party would be held Jan. 31. The decision came as something of a surprise; primaries in Israel were expected to be held closer to the next general elections, which are set for October 2013.

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Erdan, PA agree: Increase water cooperation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Sharon Udasin - December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

While clashing on most issues fundamental to the Israeli-Palestinian water crisis, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Palestinian Water Minister Dr. Shaddad Attili agreed that today’s operations must change and that cooperation between the two entities must grow stronger, at a conference in Ashdod on Tuesday. Since the Oslo Interim Agreement of 1995, the Joint Water Committee has served as the body responsible for allocating water to the Palestinians and managing the treatment of West Bank sewage.

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'Record number of Palestinians being displaced'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ben Hartman - December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

An all-time high number of Palestinians have been displaced from their homes as a result of house demolitions east of the Green Line, a consortium of left-wing groups said on Tuesday. “Israeli authorities have stepped up unlawful demolitions in the West Bank including east Jerusalem over the past year, displacing a record number of Palestinian families from their homes,” the statement released by over 20 groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam International said.

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Barak: Israel must treat Jewish extremists like a terror group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tomer Zarchin - December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel needs to see if the actions of right-wing extremist could be legally defined as terror, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday, as Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman weighed emergency measures in the wake of recent price tag attacks and assaults on IDF troops.

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Israel right-wing activists clash with Jerusalem police following price tag attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Oz Rosenberg - December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Dozens of right-wing activists clashed with police officers in Jerusalem on Wednesday, amid attempts to arrest suspects linked to recent so-called price tag attacks. The rioters, some of whom reside in the capital's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood after being forced to leave the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, slashed the tires and smashed the windows of several police cars. Six rioters were arrested and taken under custody.

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Hamas' Gaza anniversary draws tens of thousands
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Tens of thousands of Gazans turned out Wednesday for an anniversary rally of the ruling Hamas, a demonstration of strength for the Islamic militant movement ahead of Palestinian general elections tentatively set for the spring. The annual rally has become an increasingly elaborate exercise in stagecraft since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 following internal fighting with forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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