Israeli left flies flag to urge end to occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alastair MacDonald - May 16, 2010 - 12:00am A weekend rally in Jerusalem by Israelis demanding an end to their country's settlement and occupation of the West Bank was hailed by its left-wing sponsors as the start of a major push that could help U.S. peace efforts. But the turnout of just a couple of thousand people drew scorn from settlers, who count on the rightist-led government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resist President Barack Obama's drive for a deal to establish a Palestinian state. » Read more

Israel shuts down PA municipal office in Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Muhammad Oweiweih - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli authorities closed down the Palestinian Authority Municipal Inspectors building in the Old City of Hebron on Sunday, the city's mayor said. Hebron Mayor Khalid Al-Useili said the procedure was "illegal and a violation of the Hebron agreement," and would endeavor to reopen the office immediately. Al-Useili said Israeli authorities accused the PA of allowing its police force to operate secretly in the area, known as H2 and under full Israeli control, which would constitute a contravention of the Hebron Protocol and Agreement signed on 15 January 1997 between the PA and Israel. » Read more

PA dissolves ministries of information, sport ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Insisting the move was not part of the anticipated Ramallah-based government cabinet shuffle, officials said Sunday that the ministries of information and sport were replaced with "higher councils." Caretaker government spokesperson Ghassan Al-Khatib told Ma’an that the ministries of sport and information were dismantled during the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, and replaced with two higher councils for sport and information respectively. » Read more

Abbas spokesman: Negotiations likely to fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Indirect negotiations are not likely to create significant changes or advancements in the peace process, Fatah official and presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said on Sunday. Blaming "Israeli stubbornness and insistence to continue building in settlements," Abu Rudaineh cast a pessimistic shadow over indirect negotiations scheduled to resume on Monday as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell returns to the region. » Read more

Why some in Israel say the Gaza blockade has failed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - May 14, 2010 - 12:00am Both Hamas and Israel chalked up victories this week. In Damascus, the Islamic militants got a rare international embrace from Russia President Dmitry Medvedev. In Washington, the Jewish state got about $280 million for weapon system to intercept rockets from Gaza. Skip to next paragraph » Read more

Architect eyes tony Palestinian city with eco-mindset and fast Internet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - May 14, 2010 - 12:00am The state Palestinians dream of may not actually exist by next summer, as the Palestinian premier recently promised. But at the very least, a city upon a hill may have started to rise, with ground already being broken in the first planned Palestinian community – and the first new Palestinian city to be built in centuries. » Read more

Chomsky Barred From West Bank by Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - May 16, 2010 - 12:00am Noam Chomsky, an American linguist and political thinker who has been critical of Israel, was denied entry into the West Bank on Sunday by Israeli immigration officials when he tried to cross into the Palestinian territory from Jordan to deliver a lecture. Amira Hass of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported: » Read more

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books by Peter Beinart - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am In 2003, several prominent Jewish philanthropists hired Republican pollster Frank Luntz to explain why American Jewish college students were not more vigorously rebutting campus criticism of Israel. In response, he unwittingly produced the most damning indictment of the organized American Jewish community that I have ever seen. » Read more

Palestinians turn to boycott of Israel in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am MAALEH ADUMIM, WEST BANK -- In Mishor Adumim, a bougainvillea-lined industrial zone inside this West Bank Jewish settlement, at least 17 businesses have closed since Palestinians began boycotting its products several months ago. For the Israelis, it's "an insufferable situation," according to Avi Elkayam, who represents the settlement's 300 factory owners. But for Palestinians, it might be the strategy they have been looking for. » Read more