Abbas thanks Pope for supporting Palestinian UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 17, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday to thank him for supporting the recent UN resolution recognizing a Palestinian state. Abbas chatted privately with Benedict for 25 minutes Monday and then met with the Vatican's top diplomats. Abbas gave Benedict a mosaic of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, with the inscription saying it was presented by the "President of the state of Palestine." » Read more

A Middle-Class Paradise in Palestine? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Armin Rosen - (Opinion) February 11, 2013 - 1:00am The sole outlet to Rawabi sits off a dizzying two-lane highway flanked by round, scraggly hills. In this part of the West Bank, just north of where the Jerusalem suburbs thin into a dry, granite-gray wilderness, the mountains seem to aid in the illusion that Israeli and Palestinian spheres of authority can remain perfectly, even harmoniously separate. » Read more

The Shin Bet's dream investigation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) February 10, 2013 - 1:00am Do military judges rely on decisions by their colleagues that conflict with the positions of the military prosecutor? More specifically, will one judge, Maj. Meir Vigisser use as precedent the decision of another judge, Col. Ronen Atzmon, who on Dec. 27, 2012 found a man innocent of assisting homicide because the incriminating witness fell asleep during a Shin Bet interrogation? In other words, the judge understood that the Shin Bet investigators engaged in the very common torture method of sleep deprivation, disrupting rather than furthering the pursuit of truth.  » Read more

Palestinian official rules out three-way summit during Obama visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 10, 2013 - 1:00am A Palestinian official on Sunday ruled out holding a meeting with Israeli officials on the sidelines of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the region next month. "There are no preparations for a three-way meeting," said Saeb Erekat, senior Palestinian negotiator. "We were only told that Obama will visit the region in March and the reports about summits and new ideas and initiatives are journalistic analysis," Erekat said. » Read more

A textbook debate riddled with tired cliches ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Daniella Peled - (Opinion) February 10, 2013 - 1:00am That Palestinian school books teach their children to hate Israeli Jews is a cliché as legendarily interminable as the conflict itself. It’s part of a canon that includes the smug regurgitation of the paucity of Arab Nobel prize-winners and the bemoaning of the lack of a Palestinian Peace Now. But the charge that Palestinian textbooks are riddled with incitement has long become an integral part of Israel’s diplomatic strategy, echoed by Western leaders in front of Israel-supporting and Jewish audiences. » Read more

Ahead of Obama’s visit to region, Israel advances plan to build in West Bank settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 11, 2013 - 1:00am An Israeli official says the government has given final approval for construction of 90 new homes in a West Bank settlement, a move that could cause tensions with the U.S. ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to the region. The official says the homes were first announced last year in an agreement with Jewish settlers in exchange for evacuating an unauthorized West Bank outpost. The government published its final approval on Sunday. » Read more

The Brooklyn College BDS debacle highlights the perils of pro-Israeli overkill ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) February 9, 2013 - 1:00am Far more Americans know of the Palestinian BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement today than did a week ago. Many millions of people have been exposed for the first time to the idea that Israel should be boycotted, divested and sanctioned for its occupation of the territories. Many more Americans, one can safely assume, have formed a positive image of the BDS movement than those who have now turned against it. » Read more

Palestinian panel starts updating voter registers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 11, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Why BDS Isn't Compatible With Two States ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Mira Sucharov - (Opinion) February 8, 2013 - 1:00am The latest salvo in the BDS movement’s attempt to find broad appeal is its claim that, contra its critics, the movement does not necessarily oppose a two-state solution. » Read more

Hamas blames Abbas after unity talks falter ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Aker - February 9, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more