Abbas rejects accusations over his role in Arafat's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected on Thursday accusations that he was involved in an alleged Israeli plot to poison deceased Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The accusations were made by Farouk Kaddoumi, a senior leader both in Abbas and Arafat's Fatah faction and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Speaking to the Al Jazeera television network from Jordan, Kaddoumi also said that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Mohammed Dahlan, the former Palestinian security chief in Gaza, were also involved in the plot. » Read more

Arad's summer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Summer. It's hot and humid and full of irritants. It's hard to concentrate. And the current scandals are the scandals of summer, too. Intense, juicy and insignificant. Between Dudu Topaz's letter and mourning over the death of Michael Jackson, there's no chance to really think. There's no way to distinguish between policy and gossip, between what's central and what's marginal, between what is of primary and secondary importance. It's time for the petty and the low. » Read more

Jerusalem adviser: Demolish illegal buildings near Old City ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Jerusalem's legal adviser has ordered city prosecutors to take legal action to remove new structures built illegally in the City of David by Elad, the nonprofit organization that operates the site, Haaretz has learned. The order was issued after Elad put up several structures in the Peace Forest, just south of the Old City. » Read more

Don't worry Netanyahu, Obama peace plan is still far off ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am The following joke is making the rounds in the Prime Minister's Bureau these days: What do Americans do when something breaks down in their home - when the sink is blocked up, the toilet overflows, a fuse burns out? Simple: They ask Barack Obama to give a speech and the problem is solved. » Read more

Living apart together ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jerry Kindred - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Ariel Atias is Israel's minister of construction and housing. Speaking at the Israel Bar Association in Tel Aviv recently, he said that Jews and Arabs shouldn't live in the same towns. He pointed to last year's Jewish-Arab riots in Akko as proof that we just don't get along. Atias said he intends to formulate and implement housing policies that create and perpetuate separate townships for Jews and Arabs. » Read more

In Jerusalem, battle of Palestinian day camps ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - July 17, 2009 - 12:00am As she hands out paper and magic markers, Basima Alian quizzes her young campers in a sing-songy voice. "How many times a day do we pray?" asks Ms. Alian, the head counselor. "Five!" They respond in unison. "Can a woman be muezzin?" she asks, referring to the individual who calls a Muslim community to prayer. "No, only a man," one boy answers. "How do we pray together in the mosque?" "Men in the front, women behind them," a girl says. » Read more

Arabs Need to Talk to the Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Shaikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am We need fresh thinking if the Arab Peace Initiative is to have the impact it deserves on the crisis that needlessly impoverishes Palestinians and endangers Israel's security. This crisis is not a zero-sum game. For one side to win, the other does not have to lose. The peace dividend for the entire Middle East is potentially immense. So why have we not gotten anywhere? » Read more

How to Achieve a Lasting Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Ehud Olmert - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's partnership with the United States is one of its greatest strategic assets. The United States provides Israel with crucial security and economic aid and invaluable political backing in the international arena. Amid the legitimate rapprochement President Obama has initiated with the Arab and Muslim world, it is important not to underestimate the multifaceted nature of U.S. relations with Israel, the only real Middle Eastern democracy whose founding principles are based on the Western values of liberty and freedom for all. » Read more

Signs of Hope Emerge in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - July 16, 2009 - 12:00am The first movie theater to operate in this Palestinian city in two decades opened its doors in late June. Palestinian policemen standing beneath new traffic lights are checking cars for seat belt violations. One-month-old parking meters are filling with the coins of shoppers. Music stores are blasting love songs into the street, and no nationalist or Islamist scold is forcing them to stop. » Read more