September 27th

UNHRC settlement probe calls for submissions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am The UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission into UN Human Rights Council settlements is seeking written submissions with documentation on the topic from all relevant parties. It has made this request of member states, international organizations, national institutions and nongovernmental organizations, according to a letter sent last week by Christine Chanet, the head of the three-person mission, to council president Laura Dupuy Lasserre. » Read more

High Court rejects Gaza students' petition to study in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am The High Court of Justice ruled on Monday against four female university students from the Gaza Strip who have been seeking to study at Birzeit University in the West Bank. The court rejected a petition filed on the women's behalf by the Gaza-based Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Israeli group Gisha, which advocates in favor of Palestinian freedom of movement, particularly from the Gaza Strip. A panel of high court judges accepted the state's argument that it has no obligation to accord Gaza residents the right to study in the West Bank. » Read more

Israeli forces detain 2 Palestinians 'attacked by settler mob' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 26, 2012 - 12:00am NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday detained two Palestinians who were attacked by a mob of settlers south of Nablus, locals said. Iyad Rashdan and Muhammad Allan were picking olives in fields of Einabus village when a group of settlers attacked them. Israeli forces arrived and detained the two Palestinians, locals told Ma'an. An Israeli military spokeswoman was not familiar with the incident. » Read more

Palestinian smuggler dies in tunnel cave-in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 26, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian worker died when a smuggling tunnel on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt collapsed Wednesday, medical sources said. Medics at Abu Yusuf al Najjar hospital in Rafah city identified the man as Sulieman al-Masri, 24. Two other workers were injured in the tunnel cave-in, the medics added. » Read more

Half of Israelis 'fear for the state's existence' if war breaks out with Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am The Jewish New Year that began last week doesn't seem to hold much optimism for Israeli citizens: A majority rates the chance of a war breaking out with Iran in the coming year as "high" or "medium," according to a new Haaretz-Dialog survey. And half of Israelis say they either "fear" or "greatly fear" for the state's continued existence if such a war breaks out. » Read more

Israelis shrug at Netanyahu's urgent warnings on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Christa Case Bryant - September 25, 2012 - 12:00am Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses the United States for “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear development and Iran ramps up its rhetoric, Israelis don’t seem to be expecting a war with Iran anytime soon – and are not frantically preparing for one. » Read more

Netanyahu promises tough response to Ahmadinejad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Douglas Hamilton - September 26, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday promised a tough response at the United Nations to the latest verbal attacks on Israeli by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said he was determined to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons. Before boarding a flight to New York to address the annual U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu issued an open letter to Israelis marking the end of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most sacred holiday in the Jewish calendar. » Read more

Egypt: No need to amend treaty with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press September 26, 2012 - 12:00am CAIRO —A spokesman for Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi said Wednesday that there is currently no need to amend the peace treaty with Israel, despite calls in Cairo to revise the 1979 accord to allow the country to beef up its presence in the Sinai Peninsula to combat militants there, the state news agency reported. » Read more

Hamas Leader Meshaal's Exit Sparks Reports of Internal Strife ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat by Tamer Samadi, Mohammad Younes - September 26, 2012 - 12:00am Informed sources in the Hamas movement said the head of the movement’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, was discontent with accusations made against him "from within the closed leadership rooms in the Gaza Strip," particularly those made by two leaders, Mahmoud el-Zahar and Khalil al-Hayya. The sources described these accusations as "flawed, shameful and made against a man who served the movement for many years.” » Read more

Abu-Marzuq most likely to head Hamas - Sources ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Saleh Al-Naami - September 26, 2012 - 12:00am   Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat- with Hamas officially announcing that Khalid Mishal, head of its Political Bureau, will not run again for a new term, sources in the Movement said that they expect to a large extent that his successor would be from the leaders abroad. » Read more