Palestinian state is not synonym for terrorist entity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 17, 2009 - 12:00am


The soldier at the Qalandiyah checkpoint gave a bored look at the car with the Israeli license plates. No one asked for documents or passes. Ten minutes later we were in the heart of Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian Authority. The security forces obviously know there is no cause for concern. Nowadays Tel Aviv's beaches are more dangerous than the West Bank's cities. According to statistics from the Prime Minister's Office, more Israelis have been murdered in the past month in Israel than those murdered since January 2007 in the territory of the PA.


U.S. group invests tax-free millions in East Jerusalem land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uri Blau - August 17, 2009 - 12:00am


American Friends of Ateret Cohanim, a nonprofit organization that sends millions of shekels worth of donations to Israel every year for clearly political purposes, such as buying Arab properties in East Jerusalem, is registered in the United States as an organization that funds educational institutes in Israel.


Abbas: Talks, not terror, is way to Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 17, 2009 - 12:00am


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday negotiation was the only path to statehood, espousing non-violence after his Fatah party backed an option of "resistance" against Israeli occupation. "We are peace seekers," the Western-backed leader said at a cabinet meeting in Ramallah of the Palestinian Authority. "The main and the only path is the path of peace and negotiations. We don't have any other path and we do not wish to use any other path."


In Israeli army, rabbis deepen religious tone. Is that kosher?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 9, 2009 - 12:00am


In the final days before his infantry platoon entered Gaza last January against Hamas, "M." and his reservist buddies were approached by a representative of the military rabbinate. Would they be interested in a chat with a military clergyman during a break in training? With no objections, they were introduced to a "Rabbi Chen," dressed in civilian clothes and red-bearded, who told the soldiers that "holiness of the people of Israel" would keep them safe.


Israel, Hezbollah threaten war – again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nicholas Blanford - August 15, 2009 - 12:00am


Israel and its arch foe Hezbollah are waging an increasingly heated war of words, fanning concerns about another bruising encounter between the two enemies who fought a devastating but inconclusive conflict in 2006.


'Israel Is Real: An Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and its History' by Rich Cohen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ruth Andrew Ellenson - (Book Review) August 16, 2009 - 12:00am


If you have an inclination to be a rabble-rouser and find yourself bored at a dinner party with American Jews, bring up Israel. You might not get invited back, but in the meantime you'll have fun throwing down a choice apple of discord. Just for kicks, ask people how they feel about Noam Chomsky, the Jewish American linguist who's famously critical of Israel's policies regarding Palestinians, and let the games begin.


For Hamas, Challenges May Be Growing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - August 17, 2009 - 12:00am


The deadly shootout in a Gaza Strip mosque Friday between members of the ruling Islamist Hamas movement and a militant splinter group may signal further challenges to Hamas's authority in Gaza as it tries to reconcile the demands of running a government with its policy of armed conflict with Israel, according to Palestinian and Israeli analysts.


Radical Leader Killed in Gaza Clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - August 17, 2009 - 12:00am


A shootout at a mosque in the southern Gaza city of Rafah between Hamas security men and a more extreme Islamist group called the Warriors of God ended early Saturday with 22 dead, including the group’s leader and a senior Hamas security officer. The Ministry of Interior in Gaza said the leader, Abdel Latif Moussa, died in an explosion at his house near the mosque when fighting resumed after dawn. A ministry spokesman said his death might have resulted from explosives in his house that detonated when security men sought to reach him.


Mubarak to Tell U.S. Israel Must Make Overture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Michael Slackman - August 17, 2009 - 12:00am


In White House meetings beginning Monday, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt is expected to tell the Obama administration that Arab nations want peace, but are unwilling to abide Mr. Obama’s call to make good-faith concessions to Israel until Israel takes tangible steps like freezing settlements, an Egyptian official said.



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