December 1st

Hamas supporters still targeted by Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

One week after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal announced they had agreed to “open a new page” in their relations, Hamas and Fatah complained Wednesday that their supporters were still being targeted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Following the Cairo summit between Abbas and Mashaal, representatives of the two rival parties said that the two men agreed to release all “political detainees” held by the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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Netanyahu scolds Livni over meeting with Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday scolded opposition leader Tzipi Livni in a telephone call about her meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. Netanyahu called Livni, telling her that "if the Palestinians want to negotiate, the only way to do so is with the elected government of Israel," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

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Obama to N.Y. Jews: No ally is more important than Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

President Barack Obama defended his policy toward Israel at a political fundraiser on Wednesday, saying that Israel was the U.S.'s most important ally. Obama, who has been criticized by some of Israel's U.S. supporters for being tough on a close ally and has had strained ties with Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu, offered strong assurances of his commitment to Israel's security.

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Israel arrests 22 Palestinians in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli army arrested 22 Palestinians Thursday in West Bank raids that targeted key members of a leftist Palestinian faction, Palestinian sources said. The raids took place in Nablus, Bethlehem and Jenin city, where 10 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( PFLP) were detained, the sources said. Among the detainees was Nasser Abu Aziz, a member of the PFLP's Central Committee. "This campaign against the PFLP elements has been going on for days," said Khaleda Jarrar, a PFLP leader.

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Released Palestinians build houses, marry, study
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Daniella Cheslow - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian prisoners released in a swap for an Israeli soldier last month are racing to make up for lost time: Many of the 477 former inmates are already getting married, building homes or enrolling in college, even as Israel keeps a close eye on them in fear they could return to violence. Most had spent long years behind bars, and even expected to die in prison for their roles in bloody attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis.

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Lieberman denounces 'mistaken decision' to hand over Palestinian tax money
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman denounced on Wednesday the decision to handover $100 million in tax money to the Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top cabinet ministers approved the handover of the funds despite the vocal opposition of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman, who voted against the transfer in a forum of eight meeting on Wednesday, said “Israel should have explained the decision clearly to the international community, instead of allowing pressure to lead to a mistaken decision.”

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Resumption of Israeli transfers averts PA crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - November 30, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government narrowly dodged a full-blown cash crisis after Israel agreed Wednesday — under intense international pressure — to resume the transfer of $100 million a month in frozen tax funds.

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Netanyahu balks at Abbas proposal for Palestinian state borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently provided representatives of the Middle East Quartet with a new proposal on borders for a Palestinian state and security arrangements that Israel would be provided in a peace agreement. The Quartet, which is comprised of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, has demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provide a counterproposal, however Israel has refused to do so, saying that any counterproposal should be presented in direct negotiations with the Palestinians.

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Palestinians to wean themselves off foreign aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian prime minister says he wants to drastically reduce his government's reliance on foreign aid next year, and hopes to be able to pay for day-to-day operations with local revenues by 2013. Salam Fayyad told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that his decision was spurred by what he described as the Palestinian Authority's worst financial crisis since its inception in the mid-1990s. The crisis was triggered by reduced foreign aid and Israel's suspension last month of the transfer of taxes it collects for the Palestinians.

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November 30th

NEWS: Israel releases withheld Palestinian tax revenues. PA Economy Minister Abu Libdeh resigns amid corruption indictments. Hamas leaders accuse Pres. Abbas of not being serious about national unity. Iceland becomes the first Western European state to recognize Palestine. The Forward profiles the pro-Israel group StandWithUs. The ACLU files suit against a Michigan bus company that refused an advertisement critical of Israel. A bill pending in the US Congress would remove the presidential waiver on moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Asharq Al-Awsat reports on an allegedly major split in the Hamas leadership. The Independent looks at the plight of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem's old city. COMMENTARY: Thomas Friedman says if Israel is concerned about instability in the Arab world, it should move quickly to bolster the position of PM Fayyad. Zvi Bar'el says Israel's hostile reaction to Arab uprisings might undo its peace treaty with Egypt. Bradley Burston says in uniting to attack moderates, the Jewish pro-occupation extreme right and anti-Zionist ultra-left find common cause. Kenneth Bandler says Jewish Americans need to know more about challenges facing Palestinian citizens of Israel. The Jerusalem Post says Palestinians should focus on the unfinished job of state building. Yossi Alpher says both sides are to blame for Israel's shift to the nationalistic right. Bitterlemons Interviews Palestinian MK Haneen Zoubi. The Jordan Times says King Abdullah was right to remind Pres. Peres about the urgency of peace.

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