July 13th

Conflict-worn Palestinians carve out niches of joy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Middle-class matrons shop for imported furniture in a marble-and-glass emporium. A new movie house is screening "Transformers." Teens bop to a Danish hip-hop band performing on their high school basketball court. Life in the West Bank — in sharp contrast to beaten down, Hamas-ruled Gaza — has taken on a semblance of normalcy. Exhausted after more than two decades of on-and-off conflict with Israel and deeply skeptical about prospects of statehood, Palestinians here are increasingly trying to carve out their own little niches of happiness.

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Abbas says he won't meet Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated on Sunday his refusal to resume peace talks with Israel unless Binyamin Netanyahu's government accepted the two-state solution and agreed to freeze all construction in the settlements in the West Bank. Abbas's remarks came in response to an appeal from Netanyahu made during the Sunday cabinet meeting in which the Israeli prime minister called for the two leaders to revive the stalled peace process. Abbas was speaking to reporters in Ramallah after meeting with visiting Romanian President Traian Basescu.

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EU's Solana calls for UN to recognise Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 12, 2009 - 12:00am

The European Union's foreign policy chief called for the U.N. Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state by a certain deadline even if Israelis and Palestinians have not reached agreement among themselves. The EU's Javier Solana made his comments on Saturday at a lecture in London while Palestinian and Israeli peace talks remain stalled. The Palestinians have said they will not revive peace talks unless there is a halt to Israel's settlement activities in the West Bank.

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Israel phone firm's West Bank wall gag fails to amuse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - July 12, 2009 - 12:00am

A television advert for an Israeli cellphone firm showing soldiers playing soccer over the West Bank barrier has sparked cries of bad taste and prompted Arab lawmakers on Sunday to demand it be taken off air. The jaunty commercial for Israel's biggest mobile phone company Cellcom makes light of Palestinian suffering and shows how far Israelis fail to understand their neighbors, critics said. The company stood by the ad, however.

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July 10th

The West Bank city of Nablus sees signs of renewed economic growth (1) as Israel begins to relax restrictions on movement for Palestinians (9)(13). Tensions between the EU and Israel continue during a visit by the German foreign minister (2). Six months after the cessation of the war in Gaza, the outlook for the area remains grim (3)(7). Israeli National Security Adviser Uzi Arad rules out a total withdrawal from the Golan Heights during a discussion about possible talks with Syria (4). Egypt claims progress in negotiations for the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit (8)(10). Israel may permit a specially trained Palestinian counterterrorism unit to operate in the West Bank (12).

Peace Now: Probe settler youth movements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - July 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Peace Now has declared war on Hilltop Youth – will the State join in? In an appeal to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, Peace Now demanded Friday that an investigation be opened against two prominent right-wing youth organizations that focus their energies on establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank and on fighting authorities seeking to evacuate them.

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Officer: Removing roadblocks spares moral problems
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - July 10, 2009 - 12:00am

The ease of restrictions on the Palestinian population in the West Bank and the cooperation with the Palestinian security organizations have led to a cautious satisfaction in the Israel Defense Forces. "Where roadblocks are not needed – they will be removed," a senior officer told Ynet on Thursday night. "This spares conflicts and moral problems for us too, and the risk we are taking is very calculated."

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Israel may allow PA counter-terror force
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - July 10, 2009 - 12:00am

The IDF is considering allowing the Palestinians to establish a specially trained counterterror squad qualified to carry out pinpoint operations against Hamas terrorist cells in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Such a force would be able to carry out special operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank more effectively than could existing Palestinian security forces. The French have already offered to train such a team.

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Settlers are encountering their first real opponent - Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - (Opinion) July 10, 2009 - 12:00am

The mood in Jerusalem this week was one of shock. As if it weren't enough that the Obama administration is ignoring previous understandings between Israel and the Bush administration regarding natural growth in the settlements, now it seems there isn't agreement even on the outposts.

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Report: Gilad Shalit talks to resume soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Talks between Israel and Hamas on a prisoner swap involving captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit will resume soon, Egyptian sources told the pan-Arab daily Al Hayyat. Shalit was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006, and has not been heard from since. Hamas have demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's freedom.

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