December 13th

Dozens of rightists break into IDF base in West Bank, wound officer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Some 50 settlers and right-wing activists entered a key West Bank military base early Tuesday morning and threw rocks, burned tires, and vandalized military vehicles. The settlers were acting in response to a rumor that the IDF would act to evict a West Bank settlement in accordance with an August Supreme Court ruling. » Read more

Settlers vandalize Israeli military base in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Over 50 settlers infiltrated an Israeli military base near Tulkarem early Tuesday, the army said. Right wing settlers set fire to tires, vandalized vehicles and placed nails along the road at the Ephraim regional division headquarters. They also threw stones at the base commander's vehicle, the army said in a statement. No injuries were reported and the army and Israeli police managed to remove settlers from the area, the military added. » Read more

Israeli lawmaker proposes ban on mosque loudspeakers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am The latest installment in a series of controversial legislative efforts in Israel is a proposal to restrict use of loudspeakers in houses of worship, which really means mosques as the other main religions don't use them. Lawmaker Anastassia Michaeli insists her proposal isn't aimed at silencing the Muslim call to prayer for religious or political reasons but for environmental reasons: it's too loud. » Read more

Israel’s president says he’s ‘ashamed’ of bills he says are undemocratic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Israel’s president says he is “ashamed” that lawmakers are trying to pass a string of bills he regards as undemocratic. Shimon Peres’ comments break with the presidential custom of maintaining silence on political issues. In an interview with the Yediot Ahronot daily published Tuesday, Peres singled out bills that would slash funding to dovish groups, silence Muslim calls to prayer and tighten a defamation law in a way that could hobble investigative reports. » Read more

Israeli plan to move West Bank Bedouin stirs controversy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am A plan by the Israeli authorities to relocate about 2,000 Palestinian Bedouins living in the desert hills east of Jerusalem is raising concerns among U.N. officials and human rights advocates about Israel’s aims in a strategic area of the West Bank. The hills are dotted with more than 20 encampments of Bedouins, formerly nomadic goat and sheep herders who migrated from Israel’s southern Negev region in the early 1950s to the West Bank. Their hamlets, consisting of groups of corrugated metal and wooden shacks covered with plastic sheeting, are visible from roads crisscrossing the area. » Read more

Israeli plan to move West Bank Bedouin stirs controversy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am A plan by the Israeli authorities to relocate about 2,000 Palestinian Bedouins living in the desert hills east of Jerusalem is raising concerns among U.N. officials and human rights advocates about Israel’s aims in a strategic area of the West Bank. The hills are dotted with more than 20 encampments of Bedouins, formerly nomadic goat and sheep herders who migrated from Israel’s southern Negev region in the early 1950s to the West Bank. Their hamlets, consisting of groups of corrugated metal and wooden shacks covered with plastic sheeting, are visible from roads crisscrossing the area. » Read more

December 12th

Hamas in Gaza says it's learning from Arab Spring ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Bans on women smoking water pipes in public and male coiffeurs styling women's hair are no longer being strictly enforced in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, apparent signs of greater tolerance as the Islamic militant group acknowledges mistakes in seeking to impose a religious lifestyle. » Read more

Hundreds of settlers attack Nablus village ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 12, 2011 - 1:00am Hundreds of settlers stormed the Nablus village of Asira al-Qibliya overnight Sunday, causing damage to Palestinian property. Witnesses told Ma'an that around midnight more than 200 settlers from the notorious Yitzhar settlement entered the village and threw rocks at Palestinian homes. Local resident Ibrahim Makhlouf said that the settlers smashed the windows of a bus and tried to set it on fire. “They were armed and wearing black uniform as if it was an organized militia,” he told Ma'an. » Read more

Why Israelis may not be thrilled by sweet nothings from Gingrich, GOP ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - December 11, 2011 - 1:00am Israelis have grown accustomed to being the object of affection by US politicians and a stop on the campaigns of aspiring candidates over the past decade. But the recent one-upmanship in the Republican primary on Israel has taken the debate into new territory. Newt Gingrich’s declaration that the Palestinians are an "invented" people potentially put him further to the right of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, whom Mitt Romney then name dropped in promising to stay on the same page with the government. An embarrassment of diplomatic riches for Israel? Not necessarily. » Read more

Citing public safety, Israel orders closure of controversial walkway in Jerusalem’s Old City ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 12, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli authorities have ordered the closure of a pedestrian walkway in Jerusalem’s Old City that has become a flashpoint for competing religious and political claims. Jerusalem municipality spokesman Stephan Miller said Monday the temporary ramp is dangerous and the city engineer ordered it closed. The walkway leads up to the sacred enclosure known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. It is used by Jews and tourists, while Muslims use other entrances. » Read more