Egypt's tunnel closures hit Gaza builders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Business was booming for Gaza brick-maker Yasser Qreqea, until neighboring Egypt shut down smuggling tunnels across its border that were funneling arms to militants in the territory and cement and other basic goods to everyone else. Overnight the price of building materials soared in the Gaza Strip, hitting Qreqea's key customers and, industry sources said, slowing the construction of apartments, roads and houses across the enclave run by Hamas.

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Israel arrests 2 Palestinians in West Bank raids
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

The Israeli army detained at least six Palestinians from cities and towns across the occupied West Bank early Wednesday, relatives and security officials said. Soldiers raided the house of 20-year-old Walid Mohammed Ajouli in the village of Qaffin north of Tulkarem, detaining him on the scene. The detainee’s family said Walid had heart problems. An army spokeswoman said six Palestinians were detained overnight.

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Israeli Authorities Mostly Ignore Settler Attacks on Palestinian Village
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
(Editorial) March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Hilmi Hassan lies in the intensive care unit of Hadassah Hospital, while Osama Rami has been transferred to the eye hospital in Jerusalem a few days after he was in Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. The two young boys are from the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, and were wounded by settlers who attacked Qusra’s villagers at the end of February 2013.

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Jerusalem's Begin Expressway plan angers Arab neighborhood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Construction of a freeway extension through one of Jerusalem's most-prosperous Arab neighborhoods is igniting tension in the once-quiet community and reviving complaints about how the city treats Palestinian residents. If completed as planned in 2015, the nearly 1-mile extension of Jerusalem's Begin Expressway will slice through the neighborhood of Beit Safafa, home to about 12,000 Arabs.

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The Rise Of Palestinian Non-Violent Resistance: A Conversation With Mustafa Barghouti
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Raja Shehadeh - (Opinion) March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Last Friday, I spoke to Dr. Mustafa Barghouti after he returned from commemorating the eighth anniversary of the weekly protests in the Palestinian village of Bil’in against the Separation Wall, which has denied the village large tracts of its agricultural land. Dr. Barghouti is the General Secretary of the Palestine National Initiative, the Mubadara, which he, along with others, was instrumental in establishing in 2002 to introduce new political thinking.

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Palestinian official condemns Canadian FM's response of suing Israel at ICC
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

A senior Palestinian official on Thursday condemned remarks by Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird to cut aid if the Palestinians take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC). "We do not know why Canada is showing all this hostility against us," said Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian peace negotiator. "Those who fear international courts must force Israel to stop its crimes," he said. On Sunday, Baird threatened that there will be consequences in the Canadian-Palestinian relations if a complaint that was filed by Palestinians goes to the ICC.

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Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No 46
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

In view of the financial crisis that the Palestinian Authority (PA) suffers from due to the delay in transferring tax returns from Israel and the delay of funds from the Arab countries, strikes organized by trade unions influence everyday life in the West Bank.

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East Jerusalem woman wounded by Israeli Border Police fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

An East Jerusalem woman sustained a serious injury to her jaw last week from a foam-tipped plastic bullet fired by a Border Police officer in an incident whose particulars are in dispute. According to a police spokesman the incident, in the East Jerusalem village of Silwan, began when one young woman was arrested by the Border Police. He said residents began throwing rocks at the arresting officers from nearby rooftops, in response to which “the forces fired three foam-tipped bullets.” But residents insist that no rocks were thrown at the officers.

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Hamas's ban on women running Gaza marathon is a missed opportunity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Nabila Ramdani - March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

Anyone who takes part in a long-distance run knows there will be plenty of problems to overcome, but the Gaza marathon was always going to be in an endurance class of its own. When I registered for this year's race, my concerns were certainly less about my personal training schedule than about global conflict. The length of the blighted Palestinian territory is slightly shorter than the 26 miles and 385 yards required for an official marathon course, making its densely packed population particularly vulnerable to military action by its neighbour Israel.

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Israeli Soldiers Assault Palestinians, Remove Woman's Veil at Al-Aqsa Mosque
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
March 6, 2013 - 1:00am

On Wednesday 6th March, Al-Aqsa Association for Waqf and Heritage said in a press statement that Israeli settlers and soldiers stormed al-Aqsa mosque and assaulted several Palestinian worshipers in clashes erupted at the mosque's courtyards. Eyewitnesses said that a group of settlers raided the mosque, and the Palestinian women worshipers started following them and chanting "Allah Akbar, "God is the Greatest" as a way to protest the raid. The soldiers suppressed the protest and tried to arrest one of the women.

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