July 29th

Could Peace Break Out For Israel And Syria?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Janine Zacharia - July 29, 2008 - 4:53pm

Israel and Syria have suddenly found fresh reasons to try to make peace after eight years of stalemate. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, concerned about the survival of his regime, wants to reap the political and economic benefits of ending his nation's isolation from the West. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, mindful of his own precarious political future, seeks to wrest Syria out of Iran's orbit and stop it from funneling weapons to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which used them against Israel in the 2006 war.

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July 28th

The International Herald Tribune assesses the possibility of a peace between Israel and Syria (1). A colonel in the IDF faces allegations that he ordered a soldier to shoot a Palestinian detainee at close range (2). A report issued by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency shows that poverty in Gaza has reached an all time high of almost 52 percent (4). Pressure mounts on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down (5). Israel demolishes a Palestinian home near East Jerusalem which was allegedly built without planning permission (7).

Obama: We’ll Make Sure Palestinians Have A State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - July 28, 2008 - 4:39pm

"The Palestinian people are having a very tough time right now economically, and it is in US interests to make sure that they have a sense of hope and opportunity and a Palestinian state. I think it's in Israelis' interest as well," US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday on the heels of his Mideast tour.

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Palestinian Family Losing Jerusalem Home After Five Decades
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
July 28, 2008 - 4:37pm

"I was married here, I had my five children here and I want to die here," says a defiant Fawzia al-Kurd, determined that Jewish settlers will not drive her family from their home in occupied east Jerusalem. But sadly for the Al-Kurds, whose single-storey two-room house of golden stone that has been their home for the past 52 years, Israel's High Court has ruled differently. They are to be expelled, and the house, a wing of which has already been taken over by settlers will be lost forever.

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Red-dead Canal Just One Option To Save Endangered Dead Sea - Wb
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Mohammad Ghazal - July 28, 2008 - 4:36pm

A study looking into alternatives to save the shrinking Dead Sea will kick off later this year, according to the World Bank (WB). Experts warn the water body is dropping by one metre every year, calling for a plan to save this "world heritage" attraction and make available much needed water in the area.

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Hamas Militants Vow Revenge After Israel Kills Top Operative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
July 28, 2008 - 4:35pm

Israeli forces killed a top Hamas operative in an early morning gunfight in the southern Occupied West Bank city of Hebron, according to Palestinian security officials who said another three people were arrested in the raid. Hamas' armed wing vowed to take revenge for the killing of Shihab al-Natshe, who Israeli media reported was behind a suicide bombing in February that killed an Israeli woman and wounded 11 other people.

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Palestinian Factional Fighting Wounds Six In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Sakher Abu El Oun - July 28, 2008 - 4:33pm

Clashes broke out in Gaza City on Sunday, wounding at least six people, as Hamas-run security forces pressed on with a territory-wide crackdown on rival Palestinian factions after a deadly bombing. The fighting erupted when Hamas-run police moved to arrest members of the Army of Islam, a small shadowy group believed to have links to Al-Qaeda. "Hamas forces came to arrest us early this morning, just after midnight," one member of the group who asked not to be identified told reporters.

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Israel To Move Small Part Of West Bank Barrier - Report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 28, 2008 - 4:31pm

Israel plans to tear down a small portion of an internationally condemned barrier and move it closer to its border with the occupied West Bank, an Israeli newspaper reported on Monday. The Haaretz daily said a 2.4 km stretch of fencing would be moved in response to a petition filed with Israel's high court by Palestinians from two villages. Palestinians would recover most of some 700 acres Israel had confiscated for the barrier near the West Bank town of Qalqilya, the report said.

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U.s. Still Hopes For Israeli-palestinian Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Sue Pleming - July 28, 2008 - 4:30pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday there was still time for Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace deal by the end of 2008. Rice said trilateral peace talks in Washington next week between the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority should be closed to offer the best hope of progress. Rice said the latest round of talks which began in Annapolis in the United States in November 2007 had laid a "firm foundation on which these two parties can finally end their conflict".

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West Bank Residents Face Severe Water Shortages As Drought Continues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 28, 2008 - 4:29pm

West Bank Palestinians are suffering a serious water shortage this year as a severe drought has exacerbated already existing supply problems, the head of the Palestinian Water Authority said Sunday.

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