Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: An Israeli NGO says PM Netanyahu settlement policies are clearly aimed at thwarting the creation of a Palestinian state, as approval for new settlement units increased 300% in 2012. Israel's separation barrier is spurring wildcat construction projects in Palestinian areas beyond its route. Left-wing parties in Israel are hoping to regain popularity by focusing on economic issues. If he wins the election, Netanyahu's choice of coalition partners will be a major factor in shaping Israel's foreign policy. Palestinian activists attempt to return to their protest site in the area of the highly controversial E1 settlement project. Hamas and Fatah officials will meet again in Cairo to discuss national reconciliation. Remarks attributed to Pres. Obama about Netanyahu raise controversy in Israel. An Israeli military investigation finds that 80 bullets were fired without justification in the killing of a Palestinian by occupation forces. Palestinian activists launch a new reading campaign during long taxi rides. Palestinians say a youth killed by occupation forces in the famed protest village of Budrus was shot in the back while fleeing. A pro-Palestinian activist is suing Air France for denying her passage on a flight to Israel. COMMENTARY: Anshel Pfeffer takes issue with some of David Remnick's portrayal of extremist Israeli politician Naftali Bennett. Chemi Shalev says it's not Obama who is intervening in Israel's elections, it's reality. Ha'aretz says Israel should listen to Obama's warnings. Orly Azoulay says Obama is settling scores with a hostile Israeli leadership. Amnon Be'eri-Sulitzeanu says moderate parties in Israel can't form a powerful coalition without Israel's Palestinian citizens. The Jerusalem Post says Palestinian citizens of Israel should vote for more pragmatic leaders. Barry Rubin says both Israelis and Palestinians are now likely to be mainly spectators in the transformation of the broader Middle East. Two prominent Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders say they have a responsibility to change mindsets. Ben Caspit says Obama intends to revive the peace process and deal with the Iranian nuclear file. Hazem Balousha thinks recent statements by Hamas leaders show more flexibility towards Israel. Daniel Levy says the Israeli election lacks any defining issue.

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Israeli watchdog rips Netanyahu over settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Approval for settlement plans jumped 300% in 2012, says Peace Now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   The number of approvals for home construction plans in the settlements leaped in 2012 compared with the two previous years, says the Israeli non-governmental organization Peace Now. » Read more

Jerusalem barrier spurs illicit building boom ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   Dozens of apartment towers sprouting up illicitly in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem are creating a fraught new dynamic in the struggle for control of the sacred city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Israeli left seeks to regain appeal with focus on economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ori Lewis - January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   In decline since the peace it sought with the Palestinians unravelled into violence, Israel's Labour Party looks set to regain some lost ground in next week's election after waging an economy-focused campaign. » Read more

Netanyahu's choice of coalition partners key to Israel's future foreign policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, which has decided to present a joint-list of candidates with the Yisrael Beiteinu party for the Jan. 22 elections, is expected to become the largest party in the next Knesset (parliament). However, opinion polls show that the two right-wing parties will not get enough mandates to form a majority government by themselves, and will hence have to convince other parties to join them in a coalition government. » Read more

Palestinian activists try to return to E1 outpost after Israeli evacuation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   Dozens of Palestinian activists on Tuesday tried to return to the Bab El-Shams outpost they erected in the controversial E1 area after an Israeli forced evacuation, police sources confirmed to Xinhua. » Read more

Hamas, Fatah officials to meet in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 16, 2013 - 1:00am Hamas and Fatah officials will meet in Cairo on Thursday to discuss national reconciliation, a Fatah official said Wednesday. » Read more

Obama's alleged Netanyahu criticism enlivens election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

IDF probe: 80 bullets fired without justification in death of West Bank Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   An IDF probe has concluded that in November, Israeli soldiers fired 80 bullets without justification causing the death of a Palestinian man shot in the back during clashes in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. » Read more

Library on the Move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Diana Atallah - January 14, 2013 - 1:00am   Palestinian passengers will be more tempted to read books after a new reading campaign is launched next week. A group of young writers are gathering books to put in mini-vans linking major cities in the West Bank, routes that can waste hours. » Read more

Israeli forces shot youth in the back as he ran away, say Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - January 15, 2013 - 1:00am   A teenage boy was killed by Israeli soldiers on the separation barrier close to the West Bank village of Budrus yesterday, shot from behind as he was running away, according to Palestinian accounts. » Read more

Air France sued for refusing to fly pro-Palestinian protester ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) January 15, 2013 - 1:00am   A French pro-Palestinian activist sued Air France for discrimination for not allowing her to fly to Israel in order to visit the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

What does New Yorker interview teach us about Naftali Bennett? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

It's not Obama who's meddling in Israel's elections: it’s reality ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) January 15, 2013 - 1:00am   Likud stalwarts and their colleagues in the Israeli media are up in arms on Tuesday in the wake of Jeffrey Goldberg’s report on U.S. President Barack Obama’s critical remarks about Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. “He’s intervening in our elections,” Bibi champions protest, a complaint which, no pun intended, is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. » Read more

Netanyahu: Listen to Obama's warnings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu began serving as their countries’ leaders at about the same time, in early 2009. Netanyahu’s term could have continued until the fall of 2013, but he chose to shorten it in an effort to obtain a new mandate in an early election, which will be held just a day after the president is to take the oath of office in Washington. » Read more

Obama settles the score ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am Obama has proven that a second term president feels strong and liberated. The comments Obama made about Netanyahu are not new, but their accompanying music is, as is the timing: The American president is blaming Netanyahu directly for the lack of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

No Arabs, no united bloc ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Amnon Be'eri-Sulitzeanu - (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am The leaders of the Left-Center parties discussed the possibility of forming a united bloc against Netanyahu ahead the elections to promote their key goals – a peace agreement with the Palestinians and an economic policy that will narrow the gaps in society. » Read more

The Arab vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) January 15, 2013 - 1:00am Israel’s, who represent roughly one-fifth of the population, or 950,000 eligible voters, have been retreating from national politics. The voter turnout among Israeli Arabs has declined from 75 percent in 1999 to just 53% in 2009. » Read more

Israeli-Palestinian/Arab conflicts enter new era ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Barry Rubin - (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am The UN General Assembly made the Palestinian Authority-ruled entity a non-member state. » Read more

A judge and a rabbi from Israel push another peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Israel and Obama's New Plan For the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   Last week, former British prime minister Tony Blair sent an invitation to the sitting president of the United States, Barack Obama, calling on him to come visit Israel next June. » Read more

Hamas Statements on Israel Show Flexibility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal expressed a tough stance during his recent visit to the Gaza Strip, reaffirming the Islamists’ position on the liberation of historic Palestine from the river to the sea. » Read more

Lost Tribes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) January 16, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

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