July 11th

Un Criticises West Bank Barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
July 11, 2008 - 2:33pm

The West Bank barrier Israel is building will be devastating for Palestinians if completed along its proposed route, the UN says. In a report, the UN said thousands of Palestinians had already been cut off from their jobs, land or key services. The report blamed Israel's decision to build the barrier inside the West Bank rather than along the agreed border. The report was compiled to mark four years since an International Court of Justice ruling on the barrier.

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Ehud Olmert Will Not Contest Leadership, Officials Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Sheera Frenkel - July 11, 2008 - 2:31pm

Ehud Olmert's tenuous grip on power weakened further yesterday when officials of his ruling Kadima party suggested that he would not contest the leadership primaries in September. Already reeling from a corruption scandal, the fallout from the disastrous war in Lebanon two years ago and poor opinion poll ratings, the Israeli Prime Minister is being asked not to run for re-election by concerned members of his own party.

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Obama In Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - July 11, 2008 - 2:29pm

Senator Obama’s decision to include Israel in his overseas tour makes a lot of sense. Although he has been there before, the ever-changing Israeli scene needs to be experienced firsthand. I only hope Obama is not going to Israel in order to impress a small but vocal minority of Jewish Democrats who are uncomfortable with his candidacy.

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Palestinians: Let Us Tame Wild Jenin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - July 11, 2008 - 2:28pm

Throughout most of the decade, Jenin has been synonymous with what Palestinians generally call fawda: a mix of chaos with the might of gun-toting militants trying to impose their own brand of law and order. Today, the Palestinian Authority (PA) police and paramilitary forces, recently returned from US-sponsored training in Jordan, have fanned out around Jenin as part of a new security campaign to regain control of West Bank cities such as this one, which have been in disarray since the start of the Al Aqsa intifada nearly eight years ago.

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U.s. Tries To Help 3 Scholars Barred From Leaving Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - July 11, 2008 - 2:26pm

American consular officials drove from Jerusalem to the Gazan border on Thursday in an unusual effort to interview three Gazan Fulbright scholars who Israel says are too dangerous to allow into the country. Using a portable fingerprinting machine flown in from Washington for the interviews, the Americans were seeking to expedite the granting of study visas to the three scholars, despite Israeli concerns.

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July 10th

American efforts to secure travel for three Fulbright scholars out of Gaza continue (1). Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank city of Jenin are undermined by Israeli interventions (2). The United Nations issues a report criticizing the West Bank separation barrier (5). Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad urges Palestinians to resist Israeli attempts to shut down a major business complex in the West Bank city of Nablus (6). Ceasefire violations continue on the Gaza border (8) (10).

Mostafa: Israel Is Seeking Reviving Negotiations To Buy Palestinian Gas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Atef Sa'ad - (Opinion) July 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

The managing director of the Investment Fund, Mohammaed Mostafa, has revealed yesterday that Israel is seeking to revive negotiations to buy Palestinian gas, while the Palestinian side and the British Gas company, the main developer of gas from Gaza's beaches, are being cautious in making a decision over this issue until they are certain of Israel's seriousness.

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Pa Official: We'll Freeze Talks If Settlement Building Continues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 10, 2008 - 3:19pm

Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo said Thursday that the Palestinians were considering freezing their peace talks with Israel over Israeli construction plans for East Jerusalem. The Palestinians hope to establish the eastern sector of the city as capital of their future state, and see continued Israeli construction there as undermining that goal.

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Wanted Palestinian Shot To Death By Troops Near Jenin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - July 10, 2008 - 3:17pm

Israeli troops continue to operate in West Bank: A wanted Palestinian man was shot to death Wednesday by IDF and Border Guard forces operating in the Jenin area. According to security forces, the man was shot after attempting to evade arrest.  Reports on A'abad's organizational affiliation were contradictory. According to intelligence information gathered in Jenin, he belonged to the Fatah's Abu-Amar Brigades, but other sources claimed he was a Hamas member.

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Leftists, Border Guard Officer Hurt During Anti-fence Rally In Naalin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - July 10, 2008 - 3:15pm

At least 10 demonstrators, including five Israelis, were injured Thursday afternoon during a rally held in the town of Naalin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, in protest of the construction of the West Bank security fence in the area.   According to the organizers, security forces used excessive force and tear gas to disperse the 400 Israeli left-wing activists, Palestinians and foreign nationals who arrived at the Palestinian village, located north of Ramallah.

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