Israel's Ehud Olmert Survives 3 No-confidence Votes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 23, 2008 - 4:42pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government survived three no-confidence motions in parliament Monday, even though one of them saw a majority voting against him for the first time. One motion was approved by 41 votes to 40 after Olmert's Shas coalition partner boycotted the vote. But under Israeli law, 61 votes are needed to pass a no-confidence motion, which would lead to the dissolution of the 120-member parliament and herald new elections.

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Jerusalem Shooting Officer Dies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
July 23, 2008 - 4:41pm

An Israeli policeman has died 12 days after being shot in an apparent militant attack in Jerusalem. David Shriki was hit in the head when an unidentified gunman opened fire as he was on patrol in the Old City, in mainly Arab East Jerusalem. Israeli police said they were treating it as a "terrorist" attack. Another officer was wounded by the gunfire and is recovering. There have been a number of violent incidents in Jerusalem recently.

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An ATFP translation of an article by Hasan Khader in Al-Ayyam daily suggests that there may be a double standard in the Arab world for judging human rights violations (1). Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faces three no-confidence votes as the investigation into alleged bribery continues to challenge his position (3). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announces that he will remove his troops in the West Bank if the IDF does not cease their operations there (4) (7). Barack Obama pledges to take up the Palestinian-Israeli issue immediately after taking office (5). The ceasefire is holding in Gaza but Hamas warns that it will not last much longer if Israel continues the current state of siege (9). Meanwhile, YNet News reports on Gazans reliance on underground tunnels for smuggling in the goods that they cannot access (11).

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