February 22nd

UK offers help to Israelis linked to Dubai killing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - February 21, 2010 - 1:00am The British Embassy in Israel said Sunday it is giving new passports to six British nationals whose identities were stolen by the suspects in the slaying of a top Hamas operative in Dubai — a first step toward clearing their names and returning their lives to normal. The six Britons — and a seventh man whose name appeared on a German passport used by the alleged hit squad — have had their lives thrown into turmoil by the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh last month. The seven, all dual citizens, have expressed anger and confusion and say they were victims of identity theft. » Read more

UK offers help to Israelis linked to Dubai killing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - February 21, 2010 - 1:00am The British Embassy in Israel said Sunday it is giving new passports to six British nationals whose identities were stolen by the suspects in the slaying of a top Hamas operative in Dubai — a first step toward clearing their names and returning their lives to normal. The six Britons — and a seventh man whose name appeared on a German passport used by the alleged hit squad — have had their lives thrown into turmoil by the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh last month. The seven, all dual citizens, have expressed anger and confusion and say they were victims of identity theft. » Read more

EU condemns Dubai killing and passports theft ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Luke Baker - February 22, 2010 - 1:00am European Union foreign ministers condemned on Monday the use of forged European passports by assassins who killed a Palestinian militant in Dubai, but made no direct reference to Israel. Diplomatic sources said earlier on Monday that the statement was intended to censure Israel over its alleged involvement in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh last month. Israel has declined to confirm or deny any involvement. » Read more

Hamas to Dubai police: Prove collaborator claim ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 22, 2010 - 1:00am Hamas said on Monday that Dubai Chief of Police Dahi Khalfan Tamim had yet to provide evidence that a collaborator from within the movement had supplied Mossad with information on Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, who was murdered in his Dubai hotel room in January. "Who is this person he speaks of, why haven't they disclosed his name and why wasn't he arrested like the two other Palestinians?" party sources said. » Read more

Clashes reported in Hebron over Israeli heritage decision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 22, 2010 - 1:00am Confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces were reported in Hebron on Monday, as public figures declare a general strike across the city, amidst growing anger at the Israeli cabinet's decision to include two religious sites in the occupied West Bank, including Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque. Protesters in the southern part of the city set tires alight, while in the city center, an Israeli military outpost at the entrance of Ash-Shuhada' street, closed off to Palestinians, was pelted with stones. According to locals, Israeli soldiers used stun grenades against demonstrators. » Read more

February 19th

Hamas Would Lose Elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Benjamin Joffe-Walt - February 18, 2010 - 1:00am Survey finds Fatah to be 33% more popular than Hamas. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' party Fatah would crush their rivals Hamas were elections to be held today, a Palestinian survey has found. A survey conducted earlier this week in both the West Bank and Gaza and released Thursday found that 48 percent of voters would support Fatah were presidential elections held next week, while only 11 percent would vote for Hamas. 10 percent of respondents said they would vote for other Palestinian political parties and 31 percent said they were undecided or would not vote. » Read more

Taking credit without responsibility, Israel expects little diplomatic fallout ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - February 17, 2010 - 1:00am Was it a diplomatic mess or a political success? Israeli opinion about the assassination of Mahmoud al Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel last month swings between both, even as few rule out the possibility of Mossad involvement. The Israeli government is maintaining its standard policy of ambiguity in such cases, neither confirming nor denying involvement, a policy that enables the country to claim “credit” without taking responsibility. » Read more

Profile: Victim's brother tells of 'shadowy and secretive life' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Said Ghazali, Donald MacIntyre - February 19, 2010 - 1:00am Unsurprisingly, the family of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh are convinced that his death was the work of Israel. His older brother, Hussein, said the assassinated Hamas commander had owned a sewing factory in Damascus, but lived a "shadowy and secretive life" in Syria. "Each time he called us he talked from a different phone." Hussein – a Hamas activist and head of a Gaza charity – said this was the fourth attempt on his brother's life. "Regardless of the evidence, it is in the interests of the Mossad to assassinate him," he told The Independent. » Read more

The truth about the Mossad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ian Black - (Analysis) February 19, 2010 - 1:00am Last November, a sharp-eyed Israeli woman named Niva Ben-Harush was alarmed to notice a young man attaching something that looked suspiciously like a bomb to the underside of a car in a quiet street near Tel Aviv port. When police arrested him, he claimed to be an agent of the Mossad secret service taking part in a training exercise: his story turned out to be true – though the bomb was a fake. » Read more

Israeli embassy raises eyebrows with tennis tweet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by David Batty - February 18, 2010 - 1:00am Amid the mounting diplomatic row over Mossad's alleged assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the Israeli embassy has turned to Twitter to comment. A tweet issued by the embassy today read: "@israeluk You heard it here first: Israeli tennis player carries out hit on #Dubai target http://ow.ly/18A79". It links to a story about the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, who beat the top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki yesterday to reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championship. » Read more