February 28th

Netanyahu is exploiting anxiety over instability to stave off peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 28, 2011 - 1:00am In a childish response two weeks ago to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goaded, "whoever is in a bunker should stay there." Speaking on the Knesset rostrum a few days later, Netanyahu invited the citizens of Israel to join him in his bunker. The prime minister spoke of the missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza, reprimanded the fools who forced the settlers to leave their Gush Katif bunkers, and peppered his remarks with references to the Iranian threat. » Read more

PLO opposes sharing power with Hamas as it controls Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 28, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) would oppose a plan by prime minister-designate to include Hamas in a united government while keeping its rule in Gaza, a PLO official said Sunday. "So far, the Executive Committee of the PLO did not discuss Salam Fayyad's initiative," said Wassel Abu Yousef, a member of the Executive Committee, "but the Palestinian people will not accept the continuation of the split or the formation of sort of confederation between Gaza and the West Bank." » Read more

Jordan FM stresses Palestinian statehood non-negotiable right for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 28, 2011 - 1:00am Jordanian foreign minister said on Sunday the Palestinian statehood is a non-negotiable right for the Palestinian people. In a joint press conference with Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh stressed that the creation of an independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian soil with East Jerusalem as its capital is a non-negotiable right. The Jordanian foreign minister said that developments in the Middle East must not divert attention away from the Palestinian issue, which is a central issue in the region. » Read more

Israeli police arrest 8 settlers in violent clash over outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 28, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli police and Jewish supporters of an unauthorized West Bank outpost clashed early Monday morning, as authorities moved in to demolish several structures in the small village. The Police arrested eight settlers, and Israel Radio and other media reported that 15 protesters were injured when authorities moved in to dismantle temporary structures at Gilad Farm, in northern West Bank. » Read more

Israel's Barak: Must look beyond risks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - February 28, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's defense minister said Monday that his country would be ready to talk peace with Syria if Damascus were serious about doing so — a sharp departure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's go-slow approach to peacemaking while the Middle East is in turmoil . Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel must look beyond the risks arising from the changes sweeping the Middle East, where longtime autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have been toppled and the 42-year dictatorship of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi is under assault from opposition forces. » Read more

Hamas quashes small pro-unity rally in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters February 28, 2011 - 1:00am A Hamas security man surveyed the scene on Monday -- 10 activists drawn by a Facebook page invitation to a Gaza rally for Palestinian unity. "Where's the revolution?" he asked with a note of sarcasm. Within minutes, security forces of the enclave's ruling Islamist movement moved into Gaza's main square. Witnesses said one of the security men punched the organiser of the rally and the other nine protesters obeyed orders to disperse. » Read more

Fatah sets new standards for cabinet selection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 28, 2011 - 1:00am The Fatah party's top governing body announced Sunday that it had set standards for the selection of cabinet ministers as freshly appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad continues consultations ahead of announcing a new line-up. While the Fatah party holds power in the West Bank, it has no jurisdiction over policy, and it remains unclear to what extent the announced standards will be adopted by Fayyad, an independent, who was tasked by Fatah leader and President Mahmoud Abbas to form a new Palestinian Authority cabinet. » Read more

Israeli artillery fire injures 1 in Rafah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 28, 2011 - 1:00am At least one man was injured Monday, medics told Ma'an, in what witnesses near the Gaza International Airport said was a volley of artillery fire from an Israeli tank operating near the Rafah border area. Medics said teams were dispatched to the area to evacuate the wounded, while witnesses said ambulances were seen arriving at the airport, following the firing of several shells. » Read more

An old Jerusalem road gets a high-tech makeover ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - February 27, 2011 - 1:00am Jaffa Road has witnessed empires come and go, watched camel caravans give way to stagecoaches and automobiles, seen pilgrims and pioneers, businessmen and bombers. Now change is coming once again to the iconic Jerusalem route. Supplemented by a network of designated buses and pedestrian malls, a new light-rail train along the city's main thoroughfare will "revolutionize transportation and the city too," said Nadav Meroz, acting director of the Jerusalem Transportation Master Plan. » Read more

How the Arabs Turned Shame Into Liberty ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fouad Ajami - (Opinion) February 26, 2011 - 1:00am PERHAPS this Arab Revolution of 2011 had a scent for the geography of grief and cruelty. It erupted in Tunisia, made its way eastward to Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain, then doubled back to Libya. In Tunisia and Egypt political freedom seems to have prevailed, with relative ease, amid popular joy. Back in Libya, the counterrevolution made its stand, and a despot bereft of mercy declared war against his own people. » Read more