August 18th

Witnesses: Settlers beat 10-year-old Palestinian girl
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli settlers assaulted a 10-year-old Palestinian girl on Sunday evening and an Israeli military jeep struck an 8-year-old boy in Hebron, witnesses said. Inas Mazen Qaaqour was beaten by residents of the illegal Tel Rumeida settlement and treated at the Hebron Government Hospital where medics said she was bruised all over her body. Sameh Natshe Jacob was taken to the same hospital, and medics described his condition as stable. An Israeli military spokesman did not respond to several requests for comment.

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Medics: Elderly woman shot dead in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a 60-year-old woman in Gaza City on Tuesday night, medical sources told Ma'an. Relatives of the woman brought her into the Ash-Shifa Hospital from her home of Al-Abeed Street in the city center. She was pronounced dead on arrival, medics said. Gaza emergency medicine director Muawiya Hassanein said the unidentified woman's body was taken to the coroner's office for autopsy and that police had opened an investigation into the incident.


An American woman seeks justice for Palestinian husband
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Get the girls ready, Ziad Jilani's wife recalls him saying as he rushed out the door, and when I'm back from prayers we'll have a day at the beach. With temperatures soaring and school in recess, the Jilani family was looking forward to a little fun and relaxation. After Friday prayers at Al Aqsa mosque in the Old City, Jilani jumped into his white Mitsubishi pickup and began driving through a crowded East Jerusalem neighborhood. His family believes he was planning to buy fruit for his eldest daughter and make a quick stop to visit his grandmother.

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Quartet dispute delays statement on direct talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

A statement by the Quartet that was expected to lead to long-awaited direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians has been delayed due to disputes between the United States and European Union, Israeli diplomatic sources revealed Tuesday. The Quartet, which is made up of the US, EU, UN, and Russia, was expected to bring Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the negotiating table by releasing a statement early this week about the basis for direct talks.

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The banality of occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Edna Canetti - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Those who want to know what’s happening know it. The truth screams from all directions. The Breaking the Silence movement publishes detailed reports about the conduct of IDF soldiers in the territories. The same is true for B’Tselem, Machsom Watch, and journalists such as Gideon Levy and Amira Hass.

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Ground Zero's wounds are still too deep to build upon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Aaron David Miller - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

If there is one lesson to be learned from the controversy over the proposed mosque near Ground Zero, it is that messing with memory, particularly traumatic memory of the first order, is akin to messing with Mother Nature: It rarely ends well, no matter how good the intention.

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Lebanon Gives Palestinians New Work Rights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Nada Bakri - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Lebanon passed a law on Tuesday granting Palestinian refugees here the same rights to work as other foreigners, a step in ending years of discrimination that had restricted them to the most menial of jobs.

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4 Palestinians to be tried for violating settlement boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Finance Ministry decided Tuesday to indict four merchants who violated the boycotted on products made in West Bank settlements. The four Palestinians are expected to face harsh penalties. Moreover, the law states that Palestinians caught selling settlement products may have their license revoked and vehicle impouned. Despite this, Fayyad's counterpart in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said he believes the Palestinian Authority is not being firm enough with Israel. Hamas unimpressed

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Palestinian minors held 3 weeks on suspicion of arson
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian minors suspected of perpetrating even minor crimes against settlers are subject to extreme pressure during detention and interrogation in an effort to extract a confession, the Palestinian branch of Defense for Children International claims.

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August 17th

Direct negotiations are anticipated shortly.The Israeli military condemns pictures of an ex-soldier posing with Palestinian prisoners, but she insists she did nothing wrong. The easing of the Gaza blockade may strengthen Hamas. The PLO says Israel is trying to block a Quartet statement on direct talks and is imposing preconditions. Hamas leaders accuse the PA of waging a “war against Islam.” The World Bank grants the PA $5 million for teacher training. A projectile fired from Gaza wounds two Israeli soldiers, and another is injured while a Palestinian is killed in a separate incident. An Israeli court holds the state responsible for the rubber bullet killing of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl. Ha'aretz says business is now the main topic of conversation in Ramallah. Israeli rightists plan a demonstration in support of rabbis who authorize the killing of non-Jews. Gershon Baskin asks what will happen in direct negotiations.Ben White says the Jordan Valley is a microcosm of Israeli colonization. Harvard says its sale of Israeli assets is not connected to any boycott. Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi says Palestinian education is crucial. Israel is criticized for discrimination against Palestinian citizens in higher education. Jonathan Cook says Israel must open the archives from 1948. Hussein Ibish looks at Palestinian efforts to use state building and education to bolster diplomacy.

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