February 5th

Israeli airstrike complicates Syria's crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 5, 2013 - 1:00am Israel's recent airstrike on a Syrian military research center has complicated the Syria crisis that has been protracted for nearly two years with no signs of an end in sight. On Monday, Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij said Israel launched the Wednesday airstrike in cooperation with armed Syrian rebels fighting government forces on the ground. » Read more

In Israel raid, Syria options severely constrained ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Zeina Karam - February 4, 2013 - 1:00am Syria's defense minister signaled Monday that his country won't hit back at Israel over an airstrike inside Syria, claiming the Israeli raid was actually in retaliation for his regime's offensive against rebels he called "tools" of the Jewish state. » Read more

Herzog, Fayyad meet, warn of PA collapse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 5, 2013 - 1:00am Labor MK Isaac Herzog met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah on Monday and warned that the collapse of the PA would be "catastrophic" for Israel. Fayyad told Herzog that Israel's continual withholding of tax revenues to the PA and the failure of donor states to transfer promised aid to the West Bank had the Palestinian Authority  on the brink of collapse. » Read more

Dissenters on Panel Blast Study Claiming Palestinian Textbooks Don't Vilify Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - February 4, 2013 - 1:00am Controversy quickly engulfed a new study that said Palestinian textbooks do not incite hatred for Jews with Israel blasting the report — with some members of the report’s advisory panel claiming they were blindsided by its release. » Read more

February 4th

Israel right to say 'Enough!' to grotesquely biased UNHRC inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nachman Shai - (Opinion) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am As a re-elected Member of Knesset for the Labor Party, I was disturbed by two developments in the past couple of days: the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) call for sanctions against the State of Israel, and the decision of the New York Times to lambast  » Read more

NGOs Face Challenges in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Hazem Balousha - (Opinion) February 3, 2013 - 1:00am For decades, Palestinian society has suffered from instability in the provision of basic needs, volatile political conditions and constantly changing authorities, while its civil institutions remain relatively stable. But the relationship between Palestine’s vast non-governmental network and authorities has often been fraught with tension. » Read more

Egypt holds Black Bloc member over 'Israeli sabotage plan' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am Egyptian authorities on Thursday detained a member of the Black Bloc group suspected of planning to carry out an Israeli-directed sabotage plan, the official MENA news agency said. One person "belonging to the Black Bloc organisation was arrested inside a building overlooking Tahrir Square carrying Israeli plans to target petrol companies and vital installations, maps of these places and instructions on setting fire to some places," MENA reported. Israel firmly rejected the notion of its involvement in any such plot. » Read more

East Asian nations to meet Fayyad in Japan on Palestinian aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 4, 2013 - 1:00am Japan is to host a meeting of Asian countries next week to discuss financial assistance for the Palestinian Authority. Ministers from Japan, South Korea and several member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, such as Thailand and Indonesia, will get together on February 13 and 14, Kyodo News agency reported today. The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is expected to attend the meeting aimed at helping pave the way for resuming direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the agency quoted government officials as saying. » Read more

Dancing in Ramallah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Diana Atallah - February 3, 2013 - 1:00am   They're dancing the night away, here of all places. While it might be normal to see men offering to buy women at the bar a drink, that hasn't always been the case in this city, where such establishments were once shut down during the second intifada and remain controversial among Palestinians. » Read more

Changes in Jerusalem police brass bring crackdown on Arab residents ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - February 4, 2013 - 1:00am    Changes at the top of the Jerusalem District police are being felt in the eastern part of the capital. Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem have complained that the police, under New district commander Maj. Gen. Yossi Prienti, have been implementing an almost declared policy of collective punishment against neighborhoods considered too disruptive. » Read more