March 5th, 2013

Op-Ed: Begin was right to fire Sharon over ‘83 massacre
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
(Opinion) March 3, 2013 - 1:00am


Israel's State Archives last week released the previously classified minutes of a 1983 Cabinet meeting during which the government debated the Kahan Commission’s recommendation to fire Defense Minister Ariel Sharon on account of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The killings had taken place some months before, on Sept. 16, 1982, when 150 fighters of the Lebanese Christian Phalanges entered two Palestinian refugee camps and massacred 700 to 800 residents. The Israel Defense Forces, which controlled the area, allowed the Lebanese forces access to the camp.


European Campaign to Boycott Israeli Phone Companies in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
March 4, 2013 - 1:00am


Monday 4th March, Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported that labor Unions of France, Ireland, Britain, Italy, and Sweden signed an agreement to boycott illegal Israeli settlements' products, including telecommunication services in the west Bank, according to a statement by the union. The agreement, which was signed following a conference organized by the Association France Palestine Solidarity (AFPS) in Paris, discussed the Israeli settlement activities and their effect on economic, political and social life in Palestine.


Facts – review
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Michael Billington - (Theater Review) March 4, 2013 - 1:00am


How do you tackle the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Most British dramatists, with the striking exception of David Hare in Via Dolorosa, shy away from it. But Canadian playwright Arthur Milner has had the bold idea of confronting some of the key issues in the form of a 90-minute police procedural; and, even if it can't cover the whole territory, the result is undeniably tense.


Abbas, Fayyad at odds over finance minister's resignation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 5, 2013 - 1:00am


The opposing statements by President Mahmoud Abbas and his premier Salam Fayyad over the finance minister's resignation have stirred debates over the leaders' jurisdictions. Nabil Qassis on Saturday announced his resignation, less than a year after he was appointed to replace Fayyad as finance minister. Abbas refused the resignation, but Fayyad told the cabinet on Sunday that he had accepted it. Under Palestinian Basic Law, the prime minister is responsible for dismissing ministers or accepting their resignations.


News Analysis: Israeli PM can form new gov't before new deadline: analysts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - March 5, 2013 - 1:00am


Despite the hard time over the past weeks in talks with his potential coalition partners, Israeli Prime Minister designee Benjamin Netanyahu, who has got an additional 14 days from President Shimon Peres to form a new government, can complete the task, though he kept complaining about the boycott of "certain parties," analysts say.


West Bank Buses Only The Latest In Israel's Segregated Public Transport
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Anna Miller - (Opinion) March 4, 2013 - 1:00am


Today, Israeli bus company Afikim will begin operating a “Palestinian-only” bus service to transport Palestinian workers to central Israel. Previously, Palestinians holding permits to work in Israel would use Israeli buses to travel to work there. Now Palestinians who try to use the Israeli buses will be requested to use the Palestinian bus instead.


New routes to racism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 5, 2013 - 1:00am


At the beginning of the week, separate bus lines were launched for Palestinians in the territories who travel into Israel. The Transportation Ministry claims the lines are meant to ease travel conditions for the Palestinians, but they’re actually another manifestation of a regime based on discrimination and segregation.


Ramallah is Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
(Opinion) March 5, 2013 - 1:00am


No other city says Palestine to me more than Ramallah. At the Kalandia checkpoint, a large Israeli sign warns visitors they are about to enter Palestinian territories and that as such their safety and security are under threat. The obvious separation wall Israel has erected is an eyesore that immediately sets a mood of desperation and isolation. The huge cement wall which Israel calls “security fence” is tall and lifeless. It separates, divides even West Bank residents from their schools and businesses.


Settlers build new illegal outpost near Nablus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 5, 2013 - 1:00am


Israeli settlers erected a new outpost on Sunday on a hilltop east of Nablus, a Palestinian Authority said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said residents of the Elon Moreh settlement installed 10 mobile homes in Ras Hazim fields, a few hundred meters from Deir al-Hatab village. Settlers used bulldozers to dig a road to Ras Hazim, Daghlas told Ma'an. He said farmers would no longer be able to access 100 acres of private Palestinian land.


The Myth of the Missed Opportunity In Israeli-Arab Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 4, 2013 - 1:00am


The month of March holds out the promise of abundant political opportunities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected, in all likelihood, to form his third government; President Barack Obama is coming on his first visit as a sitting president to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, and immediately after that the summit meeting of the Arab League is convening in Doha. As it does every year, the summit will likely ratify the Arab Peace Initiative born in Beirut more than 10 years ago.



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