April 4th

ICC Rebuffs Palestinians’ Gaza War Crimes Case Against Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - April 3, 2012 - 12:00am REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- The International Criminal Court on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian request to investigate war crimes allegations arising from Israel’s 22-day military offensive in the Gaza Strip three years ago, saying it had no jurisdiction because a Palestinian state has not been recognized by the U.N. General Assembly. But ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo appeared to leave the door open for future claims if Palestinians succeed in upgrading their status at the U.N. from "observer" to "non-member state." » Read more

Hamas to Elect New Leadership for the Militant Palestinian Group This Month ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 4, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An official from the militant Hamas group that rules Gaza says the Islamic Palestinian movement will start choosing its secretive, decision-making council and its administrative leadership this week. The official said on Wednesday that the process should be completed by the end of the month. All Hamas members can vote for the Shura Council, which in turn elects the administrative leadership, known as the politburo. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the issue with the media. » Read more

Israeli Forces Evict Jewish Settlers From West Bank Building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 4, 2012 - 12:00am HEBRON, West Bank — Israeli security forces swiftly evicted dozens of Jewish settlers from an illegally occupied building in this volatile West Bank city on Wednesday, ending a weeklong standoff that had threatened to spill over into broader violence. The raid caught the settlers off guard. Only a day earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had moved to block the eviction order. Settler supporters in Netanyahu’s hard-line government condemned the surprise raid, a key political ally threatened to quit the coalition and settler leaders vowed retaliation. » Read more

Fuel arrives in Gaza to ease power crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News April 4, 2012 - 12:00am Fuel has started arriving in the Gaza Strip as a result of a deal between the territory's Hamas-led government and the rival Palestinian Authority. Raid Futuh, co-ordinator of the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, said tankers of Israeli diesel had begun arriving on Wednesday. He said 430,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's sole power plant were expected. Gaza has been affected by severe power cuts for months, and the plant closed 10 days ago because of a lack of fuel. » Read more

Palestinian, Israeli negotiators expected to meet in Amman today ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Hani Hazaimeh - April 3, 2012 - 12:00am AMMAN — Palestinian and Israeli top negotiators are expected to meet “most likely in Amman”, a senior Palestinian official said on Tuesday. Speaking from Ramallah, the official, who asked to remain unnamed, stopped short from confirming reports that exploratory talks Jordan hosted this year between the two sides would resume, but said there is a plan that Palestinian top negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Molcho would meet today, either in Cairo or Amman, “but most likely in Amman”. » Read more

A Middle East Twofer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) April 3, 2012 - 12:00am There is so much going on in the Middle East today, it’s impossible to capture it all with one opinion. So here are two for the price of one. » Read more

Israel is not the threat, Mr. Obama. Iran is ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by John Bolton - (Opinion) April 3, 2012 - 12:00am The Obama administration appears to be conducting an organized campaign of public pressure to stop Israel from attacking Iran’s well-developed nuclear-weapons program. So intense is this effort, and so determined is President Obama to succeed, that administration officials are now leaking highly sensitive information about Israel’s intentions and capabilities into the news media. » Read more

Just like Iran, Israel has a supreme leader: Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am The horizon has a familiar optical quality. The closer you think you're getting, the more it recedes. To avoid disappointments, the best thing is to stay where you are so that the horizon always seems at arm's length, or at least not further away. For decades now, the term "political horizon" has been an inseparable part of the Palestinian dictionary. Without a political horizon, they will start an intifada, without a political and economic horizon, they will remain our enemies. » Read more

Giving up Jerusalem would mean end of Zionism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ronen Shoval - (Opinion) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am Former prime minister Ehud Olmert said a few days ago: "It breaks my heart to initiate relinquishing sovereignty over the Temple Mount but there is no other choice." However, conceding the Temple Mount means opting for a one-way road that leads straight to the annihilation of Zionism. And the heart that will be broken will not be that of Olmert but rather that of the Jewish people. There is only one meaning to giving up the Temple Mount: the end of the State of Israel. » Read more

Israelis Divided Over Changing Anthem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - (Opinion) April 3, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV — When an Arab Supreme Court justice stood silent instead of singing the national anthem at a public ceremony in late February, it sparked a furor on Israel’s nationalist right. Some lawmakers said that the judge, Salim Joubran, should be dismissed, and Yisrael Beiteinu’s David Rotem went so far as to claim that he “spat in the face of the State of Israel.” » Read more