[NOTE: Due to the upcoming holidays, the ATFP News Roundup will be suspended for next week and resume service on Monday, December 30.]
News:
Palestinians say Sec. Kerry has modified somewhat a US security proposal [1] after hearing Palestinian concerns. (Xinhua)
Palestinians urge China [2] to help pressure Israel on peace. (Jerusalem Post)
The Irish ambassador to Israel says the Israeli-Palestinian deal is "inevitable." [3] (Times of Israel)
Violence and settlement activity [4] are complicating Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. (AFP)
The PA condemns [5] Israel's killing of two Palestinians. (Xinhua)
The UN says at least 3,608 Palestinians were injured [6] by Israeli occupation forces in 2013. (PNN)
An Israeli soldier filmed hitting Danish activists with his gun is sentenced to two months community service [7]. (Jerusalem Post)
Pres. Abbas is going to Cairo [8] to meet with Egyptian officials and Arab foreign ministers. (Ma'an)
Hamas urges Abbas [9] to speed up the process of national reconciliation. (Xinhua)
Israeli occupation forces detain two young men [10] in Qalqiliya and clash with local residents. (Ma'an)
The New York Times profiles "Arab Idol" Mohammed Assaf, including in both an article [11] and a video feature [12]. (New York Times)
The outgoing EU Middle East envoy says [13] support for labeling Israeli settlement goods [14] is growing in Europe. (Ha'aretz/AP)
Israelis are split [15] over whether an international boycott movement is really a threat or not. (AP)
Israel is promoting Arabic studies in Jewish schools to counter growing anti-Arab racism [16]. (Ha'aretz)
A Jewish Israeli is indicted for throwing hot tea [17] on Palestinian MK Tibi. (YNet)
Tibi says Arab MKs suffer from incitement [18] in the Knesset, which leads to such incidents. (Times of Israel)
A "Jihadist" leader in Syria [19] spells out his vision of an Islamic state [20] in the country in an Al Jazeera interview. (New York Times/BBC)
Human Rights Watch urges Lebanon to protect minorities [21] and prevent more spillover Syrian conflict. (AP)
A new report shows Palestinian refugees, particularly women, in Lebanon live in constant fear of eviction [22]. (The Daily Star)
450,000 Syrian Christians [23] are said to have been displaced in that country's conflict. (Xinhua)
Syrian Kurds remain divided [24] over upcoming peace talks in Geneva. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Leaked conversations about Egyptian DM Sisi having prophetic dreams [25] seem to have enhanced rather than harmed his popularity. (AP)
Egypt begins its national dialogue on its "transitional roadmap." [26] (Xinhua)
Egyptian authorities extend their crackdown [27] on dissent to a non-Islamist NGO [28]. (New York Times/Christian Science Monitor)
Tunisia's new caretaker PM [29] faces many complex challenges. (Reuters)
Suicide bombers kill 36 [30] Shiite pilgrims in Iraq [31]. (Reuters/AP)
Six more Iraqis are killed [32] in a double bombing at a sheep market north of Baghdad. (AP)
The death toll in Iraq on Thursday reaches 46 [33], with at least 100 wounded. (Xinhua)
Eight people close to the government are jailed [34] in Turkey in an anticorruption probe. (AP)
Libya extends voter registration [35] for a constitution-drafting Constituent Assembly. (Xinhua)
Commentary:
Joshua Mitnick interviews chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat [36]. (Wall Street Journal)
Yoel Marcus [37] says time is running out for peace talks to succeed and it's in Israel's vital national interests they don't fail. (Ha'aretz)
Uri Savir [38] says 2014 is the year for both Palestinians and Israelis to decide if they want to accept reasonable peace terms or not. (Jerusalem Post)
Mazal Mualem [39] says PM Netanyahu's hard-line speech at the recent Likud convention doesn't sound like he's ready for compromise. (Al Monitor)
Uri Dromi [40] says Kerry will need a miracle to succeed in peace talks. (Miami Herald)
An anonymous Economist correspondent [41] says Palestinians are upset about recent developments but Jordan is pleased. (The Economist)
The New York Times [42] and Victoria Brittain [43] both remember the late Palestinian psychiatrist and activist Eyad Sarraj. (The New York Times/The Guardian)
Zafrir Rinat [44] says Palestinians tend to hate "nature reserves" in the occupied territories because they find them reserved for settlers. (Ha'aretz)
Michael Ross [45] says boycotting Israeli universities is an attack on academic freedom. (Los Angeles Times)
Lawrence Grossman [46] says calls for academic boycotts against Israel are hypocritical and should be stopped. (JTA)
Henry Siegman [47] says there is no bigotry in anti-Israel boycotts because of the occupation. (Ha'aretz)
George Hishmeh [48] says the BDS movement is gaining ground. (Jordan Times)
Shlomi Eldar [49] says Israeli academics are worried the academic boycott movement could have "a snowball effect." (Al Monitor)
Martin Kramer [50] calls the academic boycott "ridiculous." (Foreign Policy)
The Jerusalem Post [51] says Israel needs to pick its battles and not every critic is an "anti-Semite." (Jerusalem Post)
David Fachler [52] says Israel tried to court Nelson Mandela and other Africans in the 1960s with training and other inducements. (Ha'aretz)
David Horovitz [53] says there is growing evidence the Lockerbie bombing attack was conducted by an extremist Palestinian group tied to Syria. (Times of Israel)
Diana Atallah [54] profiles a Palestinian woman victim of a so-called "honor killing." (The Media Line)
Rami Khouri [55] looks back at three years of Arab uprisings. (Jordan Times)
Eyad Abu Shakra [56] says Iran's efforts at exercising regional hegemony through proxies like Hezbollah is pushing the region to the brink. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Asharq Al-Awsat interviews Lebanon's PM-designate Salam [57] about his unsuccessful attempts to form a government. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The National [58] says clerics are spewing sectarian hate speech and Gulf states have to put an end to it. (The National)
Hasan Tariq Alhasan [59] says GCC states should turn their focus back onto economic integration. (Gulf News)
Kadri Gursel [60] tries to tally the damage done to the government by Turkey's ongoing corruption scandal. (Al Monitor)
Samir Salha [61] says upcoming municipal elections will determine the future of Turkey's ruling AKP and PM Erdoğan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Mohammad Akef Jamal [62] says April elections in Iraq will be a litmus test for that country's future. (Gulf News)
The Daily Star [63] says the US should listen closely to the legitimate complaints of its Arab allies. (The Daily Star)
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