January 30th

70 W. Bank settlements on national priority list ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - January 29, 2012 - 1:00am Around 70 West Bank settlements were on the list of communities eligible for housing and development grants that the cabinet approved on Sunday. Most of them – 57 – are settlements located outside the boundary of the security barrier’s planned route. Israel has promised the international community that it would not provide special incentives for settlement development and construction. Still, the settlements were included in the list of 557 “national priority” communities published by the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday. » Read more

Leap in number of Israelis studying in PA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Tomer Velmer - January 28, 2012 - 1:00am A new report published by the Knesset Research and Information Center shows a 100% increase in the number of Israeli students, mostly from the Bedouin sector, studying in the Palestinian Authority. According to the report, which will be presented at the Knesset's Education Committee next week, the main reason for the sharp increase is the admission requirements in Israeli colleges, as well as a difficulty with the Hebrew language and psychometric exams. » Read more

Turkey denies providing financial aid to Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 30, 2012 - 1:00am ANKARA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish foreign ministry officials on Sunday denied the claims that the country has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic movement Hamas that controls Gaza, local media reports said. Officials from Turkey's foreign ministry approached by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman said such allegations were "made up and did not reflect the truth." Western media have reported that Turkey would provide some 300 million U.S. dollars to Hamas following Gazan leader Ismail Haniyeh's visit to Ankara earlier this month, according to Today's Zaman. » Read more

Palestinian President Abbas says Israel spoiled latest round of talks on border, security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 29, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday blamed each other for the impasse in newly launched peace efforts, raising doubts about whether the dialogue would continue just weeks after it began. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of spoiling the low-level talks, saying it failed to present detailed proposals for borders and security requested by international mediators. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinians “refused to even discuss” Israeli security needs. » Read more

PLO cabinet to meet Monday over failed talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 29, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Liberation Organization Executive Committee will meet Monday in the West Bank to discuss failed talks with Israeli envoys this month, committee members said on Saturday. Wasil Abu Yousif, who is also secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Front, said the cabinet meeting would prepare for a Feb. 4 summit with the Arab League follow-up committee, after a deadline set by the international Quartet for resuming negotiations passed without agreement. » Read more

Palestinian Authority suspends plans to raise taxes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters January 30, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Reuters) -- The Palestinian Authority announced on Sunday it was suspending plans to raise income tax that have sparked widespread protests but said it was still seeking ways to cut costs in 2012 to plug a gap resulting from lower-than-expected foreign aid revenues. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said earlier this month that the Palestinian Authority was planning to double the income tax rate to 30 percent as part of efforts to cut the budget deficit to $750 million in 2012, from $1.1 billion a year earlier. » Read more

Election fever grips Israel as Netanyahu maneuver expected ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - January 29, 2012 - 1:00am Reporting from Jerusalem— Israel's current coalition government is one of its most stable in decades, and the next scheduled national poll is nearly two years off. Yet election fever has gripped the country and some believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quietly preparing to call for an early vote, perhaps in the middle of this year. The two biggest political parties — Netanyahu's conservative Likud and its main rival, the centrist Kadima — recently announced that they would hold primaries to select leaders whose names would be on the next election ballot. » Read more

Hard-line Israeli settler challenges Netanyahu for ruling Likud Party leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 30, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — A hard-line Jewish settler who wants to pay Palestinians to leave the West Bank and Gaza is running against Israel’s prime minister in Tuesday’s ruling party primary election. Moshe Feiglin has little chance of defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he could deliver an embarrassing blow to the country’s leader in his fourth try for leadership of the Likud, none of which have had a realistic shot at success. » Read more

Meshaal's cordial visit to Jordan helps open 'new page' in relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - January 30, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM // The leaders of Hamas have never been known for globetrotting or an appetite for diplomatic fanfare. They were confined to the Gaza Strip, unable to leave because of the Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave. Or, if they were among the clutch of senior Hamas officials based in Damascus, they maintained a low profile to avoid testing the patience and straining the hospitality of their Syrian hosts. Those days are gone. » Read more

Hamas Leader Takes Rare Trip to Jordan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Stephen Farrell - January 29, 2012 - 1:00am AMMAN, Jordan — Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, made a rare and pointedly low-key visit to Jordan on Sunday, days after Hamas officials signaled that he had effectively abandoned the group’s base in Damascus, the Syrian capital. Mr. Meshal and a delegation from Hamas’s political bureau, including his deputy, Mousa Abu Marzook, arrived in Amman with the crown prince of Qatar, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and met with the king of Jordan, Abdullah II. » Read more