Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Occupation forces clash with Palestinian protesters after Israeli troops raid a West Bank village. Villagers are still trying to recover from the spasm of violence. Israel says it has "yet to decide" whether to transfer Palestinian tax revenue to the PA this month or not. An Israeli NGO says settlement construction in occupied East Jerusalem reached a new high in 2012. Israel orders dozens of Bedouins to leave their villages in the occupied West Bank so it can conduct military exercises. Israel has finished most of its barrier along the Egyptian border. Pres. Abbas will visit Egypt on Jan. 11. The PA cancels electricity debts for all West Bank residents. Israeli settlers are farming privately-owned Palestinian land while the military keeps the owners away. Likud party members are increasingly calling for annexation of occupied Palestinian territories in the run-up to the election in Israel. The JTA profiles Netanyahu aide Ron Dermer. COMMENTARY: Ari Shavit says the settlers are trying to politically occupy Israel. Amira Hass says Palestinian "threats" to Israel are driven by fears that the status quo could remain permanent, but Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid says Palestinians really should consider dissolving the PA. Shimon Shiffer says the attack by Israeli officials on diplomats who question the timing of the E1 settlement expansion announcement is bewildering. A.B. Yehoshua says Israelis have to demand an end to the settlement project in order to save Israel as a Jewish state, but the Washington Post dismisses the significance of settlements. Ariel Katz says both Israelis and Palestinians are driven by self-preservation. Geoffrey Aronson harshly criticizes PM Fayyad's policies, but Hussein Ibish says his account is fundamentally wrong.

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Israeli undercover raid sets off violent protests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - January 3, 2013 - 1:00am     » Read more

Tamoun reeling from IDF raid, riots ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - January 3, 2013 - 1:00am Residents of the West Bank village of Tamoun, south of Jenin, are still trying to reel from the raid that took place in their village on Tuesday, when a covert IDF force was dis » Read more

Israel 'yet to decide' over tax revenue transfer to PA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 3, 2013 - 1:00am The Israeli government has not yet decided whether to transfer tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority this month, the spokesman of the Israeli Prime Minister said Thursday. » Read more

Construction in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond Green Line peaked in 2012 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - January 3, 2013 - 1:00am   Last year was a record year with regard to construction in the Jerusalem neighborhoods over the Green Line, with tenders for 2,386 apartments issued in 2012 compared to only 726 in 2011. » Read more

Israel orders Bedouins to leave West Bank area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Ballas - January 3, 2013 - 1:00am   The Israeli military on Wednesday ordered dozens of Palestinian Bedouins to leave their communities so it could conduct military exercises in a remote area of the West Bank. » Read more

Israel completes bulk of Egypt border fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - January 2, 2013 - 1:00am   Israel completed the main segment of a razor-wire fence along its border with Egypt on Wednesday, a barrier against illegal migrants and Islamist militants hiding out in the lawless Sinai region. » Read more

Abbas to visit Egypt on Jan. 11 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 2, 2013 - 1:00am   Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit Egypt on Jan. 11 to discuss Palestinian reconciliation issues, Egyptian official MENA news agency reported Wednesday quoting a Palestinian source. » Read more

PA cancels electricity debts for every West Bank resident ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 2, 2013 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority announced on Wednesday that it is cancelling outstanding electricity debts for each West Bank resident, on the heels of a deal that aims to help assuage the electricity companies' own arrears. » Read more

Palestinian owners barred from Jordan Valley land, while Israeli farmers profit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - January 3, 2013 - 1:00am   Settlers in the Jordan Valley are farming more than 5,000 dunams (1,250 acres) of private Palestinian land located between the border fence and the actual border with Jordan. They received the land from the World Zionist Organization in the 1980s. » Read more

Likud members call for Israeli annexation of West Bank territories ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - January 3, 2013 - 1:00am Prominent members of Israel's ruling Likud party have proposed the annexation o » Read more

Netanyahu aide Ron Dermer brings American sensibilities to Israeli politics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Sales - January 2, 2013 - 1:00am   Like many Israeli politicians, Ron Dermer is an unapologetic defender of Israel’s actions, even if it might mean being undiplomatic. » Read more

The settlers' aim: Occupy Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) January 3, 2013 - 1:00am   The old occupation was the occupation of Palestine. It started with the military occupation of the West Bank and continued with the settlement occupation of the West Bank, and has reached the point where some 360,000 Israelis live today in the West Bank. At the same time that the smaller occupation of the Gaza Strip failed, the large occupation of the West Bank has done quite well. » Read more

Season of Palestinian threats ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) January 3, 2013 - 1:00am   The Palestinian threat season is in full swing, although what sounds like a threat to Israeli ears is a promise to anyone who has had his fill of the occupation: to turn weakness into an advantage in the asymmetric balance of power. It's a promise of something that will shake up and disrupt the violent complacency with which Israel continues to dominate the Palestinians. » Read more

Will Abbas hand over the key to the Israelis? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) January 3, 2013 - 1:00am This is how Mahmoud Abbas, commonly known as Abu Mazen, threatened Israelis, when he said that he would dismantle the Palestinian Authority (PA) and “give the keys to the Muqata’a” — his government complex in Ramallah — to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, effectively dumping responsibility for the Palestinians on the Israeli leader. » Read more

Not Baron Netanyahu's clerks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shimon Shiffer - (Opinion) January 3, 2013 - 1:00am The speech delivered by Israel's UN Ambassador Ron Prosor ahead of the recognition of the Palestinian Authority as a non-member observer state a month ago was impressive and echoed the sentiments of many Israelis. Netanyahu called Prosor and praised him with warm words. » Read more

The heart of the conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by A.B. Yehoshua - (Opinion) January 1, 2013 - 1:00am With elections just around the corner, now is a good time to define the heart of the conflict between the "hawks" and "doves" in Israel. The heart of the conflict today is not so much about the peace process. » Read more

Overheated rhetoric on Israeli settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) January 1, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Self-preservation affects Israelis as it does Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Ariel Katz - (Opinion) January 3, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Salam Fayyad: Obstacle to Peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Geoffrey Aronson - (Opinion) December 26, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

A Serious Look at Fayyad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) December 31, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

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