REFILE-Palestinian Authority, Battling Debt Crisis, Raises Taxes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ali Sawafta - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority approved income tax rises on Tuesday, pushing the top rate to 20 percent, as it seeks to tackle a debt crisis aggravated by lower-than-expected foreign aid revenues including the freezing of U.S. aid last year. The top tax rate will rise from 15 percent to 20 percent, a cabinet statement said, effective from this year. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was last month forced to back down on doubling the rate to 30 percent after a public outcry. » Read more

Hamas Chiefs Wrestle with Split on Palestinian Pact ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The two top leaders of the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas failed at secret talks in Qatar on Sunday to resolve an internal crisis over a reconciliation pact with the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, a diplomat in the region said. The first open leadership split in the 25-year history of Hamas -- the militant, Iranian-funded organisation which opposes a peace treaty with Israel -- arose over how far it should go in closing ranks with Fatah, the Palestinian mainstream group. » Read more

PA cabinet agrees to lower top tax rate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 14, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority cabinet agreed Tuesday to lower its top tax rate after a proposal to double income taxes drew widespread outrage across the West Bank. The proposals to plug a $1.1 billion deficit in the public budget included doubling the top tax bracket to 30 percent, but the PA approved a lower rate of 20 percent at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. It said the rate followed "agreed upon understandings" with a private sector coordination council which had spoken out against tax rises, warning they could have the reverse effect on an already fragile economy. » Read more

Abbas: We'll remind world what peace process was built on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 15, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) – President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would send a message to the Israeli government and to the world reminding them of the bases and terms of reference on which the Middle East peace process was built. “We will not accept continuation of the status quo, and will soon take the steps we have agreed on with the Arab countries,” he said. At a meeting in Ramallah with members of his Fatah party's Revolutionary Council, Abbas said the peace process collapsed because the Israeli government violated previously signed agreements. » Read more

Israel OKs Tourist Center in Tense Arab Area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has given a hardline Jewish group permission to build a new archaeological center in a tense Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, officials said Tuesday. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said Tuesday that a Jerusalem planning committee approved the project this week. The public has 60 days to appeal. Any Israeli-backed project in east Jerusalem runs the risk of sparking protests that can escalate into violence, as conflicting claims to the area are at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Israel and Iran's 'secret war' may be a secret no more ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am TEL AVIV // Attacks against Israelis in Georgia and India on Monday and three explosions in Thailand yesterday suspected to have been carried out by Iranians have spurred worries that a covert war of assassinations between Israel and Iran could escalate out of control. Israel was on high alert yesterday for possible attacks both at home and at its embassies and offices abroad, a day after the country's prime minister pledged to "act methodically" against what he termed "international terrorism that originates in Iran". » Read more

Israel’s Justice Minister Advises Rightists on How to Seek Pardons for Jewish Terrorists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Tomer Zarchin - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman told right-wing activists how best to formulate pardon requests on behalf of convicted Jewish terrorists, thus advising them on requests he might later have to approve. By law, each pardon request submitted to the president must be accompanied by a recommendation from the justice minister on whether to accept it. Moreover, if the president does accept it, the justice minister must countersign the pardon to make it valid. » Read more

Bangkok blasts prompt new accusations against Iran a day after Israelis targeted ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Israel renewed its accusations against Iran on Tuesday after a man identified as an Iranian national was involved in a string of explosions in Bangkok. The blasts came a day after bombers targeted Israeli diplomats in two incidents in India and Georgia, stoking concerns in Israel about a possible wave of attacks on its representatives abroad. The violence comes amid rising tension between Israel and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program and threats by Iran to avenge the deaths of several of its nuclear scientists in attacks that it has blamed on Israel. » Read more

The Slow Turn Toward Palestinian Non-Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am Sami Awad is wrapping up a day of training with Palestinian women leaders in Bethlehem, another step in the effort not only to empower women, but to extend the concept and practice of non-violent popular resistance. “At the theoretical level,” Awad says. “I would say that the idea of non-violence is becoming more accepted. The criticism we had is going down.” » Read more

Israeli Envoy Links Bangkok Bombs to Attacks in India and Georgia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas Fuller - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am BANGKOK — Thai authorities said on Wednesday that the group of Iranians detained after an explosion tore the roof off their rented house was on a mission here targeting Israeli diplomats. Thai police released images of three men who were suspected to have been involved in bomb explosions in Bangkok. “This much I can tell you — the target of the operation was specifically the Israeli diplomatic staff,” Gen. Prewpan Dhamapong, Thailand’s chief of police, said in a television interview. » Read more