Prisoner’s death fuels Palestinian protests, as Israel braces for more
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - February 25, 2013 - 1:00am

  JERUSALEM – The death of a Palestinian prisoner under Israeli interrogation after a week of demonstrations for the release of four other inmates on hunger strikes triggered fresh clashes Sunday and heightened concerns in Israel about a swelling wave of unrest in the West Bank.

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Israel bans Palestinian construction near separation barrier for " security reasons"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 25, 2013 - 1:00am

Israel is banning Palestinians from building on more than 1,000 acres of land under the Palestinian civil control adjacent to the separation barrier, the Ha'aretz daily reported on Monday. The lands in question are under Palestinian control according to the 1993 Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, the ban is derived from "security reasons."

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Minister: Autopsy shows torture killed Jaradat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 24, 2013 - 1:00am

An autopsy has revealed that Arafat Jaradat died of extreme torture in Israeli custody and did not have a cardiac arrest, the PA Minister of Detainee Affairs said Sunday. At a news conference in Ramallah, Issa Qaraqe said an autopsy conducted in Israel in the presence of Palestinian officials revealed that 30-year-old Jaradat had six broken bones in his neck, spine, arms and legs.

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The Israel-Hezbollah Shadow War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Ali Hashem - February 24, 2013 - 1:00am

Five years ago, when Hezbollah's military commander Imad Mughniyah was assassinated in Damascus, fingers were quickly pointed toward Israel. The group's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, promised to launch an open war on Israel to avenge his slain comrade. Everyone was worried the blood of the most wanted Hezbollah member might ignite a regional conflict.

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Gaza court slashes jail term in Italian murder case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 24, 2013 - 1:00am

A Palestinian military court in Gaza on Sunday cut by half the jail sentence of a man involved in the abduction and murder of Italian national Vittorio Arrigoni. An AFP reporter said the tribunal's judge accepted the appeal of former policeman Khadr Faruq Jerim, who last year was convicted of kidnapping Arrigoni, and cut his prison term from 10 to five years. Jerim's lawyer Mohammed Zaqut told AFP that "the conviction was adjusted from abduction for the purpose of murder to abduction for the purpose of holding captive."

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Palestinian MP: New intifada if prisoners harmed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Palestinians marched Thursday morning from the West Bank village of Bituniya to Ofer Prison in protest against the continued administrative detention of four Palestinians who are on a hunger strike. Several hundred demonstrators waving Fatah flags advanced toward the Bituniya checkpoint. Ofer Prison is located just beyond the checkpoint.

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Fatah irate at reported indirect Israel-Hamas talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Fatah officials expressed outrage on Wednesday over reports that Hamas and Israel are conducting indirect talks in Cairo. According to the reports, Israeli and Hamas officials who arrived in Cairo recently have been holding indirect talks about consolidating the current cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which has been in effect since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in November.

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Israeli officials fear impending U.S. budget cuts to trim military aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Israeli officials are concerned that the United States' budget cuts due to begin on March 1 will reduce its military aid to the Jewish country, economic Globes reported on Wednesday. The report said the planned budget cuts will approximately chop 250 million U.S. dollars from the aid and will halt the U.S. assistance to Israel's missile programs.

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Witnesses: 1 shot, 2 detained in Israeli raids in Jenin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Israeli forces shot a Palestinian in his leg and detained two people in raids in the Jenin district overnight Wednesday, witnesses said. Soldiers detained Samid Abu Haija from his home in al-Yamun, northwest of Jenin, and 24-year-old Mohammad Naser al-Sadi from Jenin refugee camp. In Birqin village, west of Jenin, soldiers surrounded the home of Mohammad Qablawi and ordered residents to leave the house.

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Palestinian Security Forces Struggle to Maintain Security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Diana Atallah - February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

  Calling the police for help in the Palestinian territories doesn't always mean they'll come to the rescue. Fight, murder, drug deal or theft, without Israeli approval the Palestinian security forces can go nowhere. Instead they fight an ongoing battle against what they calls Israeli limitations  and interference with their operations.

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