May 26th

UN peace envoy: 2-state solution urgent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 26, 2010 - 12:00am

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry spoke Tuesday of the urgency of achieving the two state solution at a UN International Meeting in Turkey.

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Gaza: 15 injured in Israeli airstrikes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Fifteen Palestinians were injured on Wednesday morning as Israeli F16 warplanes bombarded a training base belonging to Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources confirmed that some of the victims sustained critical wounds, with media coordinator for Gaza medical services Adham Abu Selmiyya saying injured were evacuated to hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip. He explained that several houses close to the training base sustained material damage.

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What Do They Want from the Palestinians?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Yariv Oppenheimer - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Those Palestinians, what ingrates. Instead of being happy that the Israeli economy has learned to exploit the lands of Judea and Samaria and to invest inordinate sums of money to build factories and industrial zones in the territories, the Palestinian Authority announces a boycott and a ban on purchasing Israeli goods that are manufactured in the settlements. We could have expected better from the Palestinians.

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PA's Abbas slams Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas harshly slammed the Iranian regime Tuesday for interfering in Palestinian affairs. In an interview with Egyptian television, Abbas said that Hamas was refusing to achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation because of an Iranian veto. "We, the Palestinian people, are like a hijacked airplane," he said. "The decision-making power is not in our hands, but rather, in the hands of the Iranians. For that reason, the Palestinian people's unity, just like the plane, is also hijacked."

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Effective resistance to illegal occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian campaign to boycott settlement products is enjoying exceptionally high levels of enthusiasm and support from all sectors of Palestinian society. It is also garnering sympathy and understanding from a wide range of members of the international community.

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May 25th

Special Envoy Mitchell says the US may set a deadline for negotiations. Hamas and Islamic Jihad will boycott upcoming municipal elections. Lebanese PM Hariri says Middle East peace is a global concern. The Christian Science Monitor looks at allegations that Israel discussed selling nuclear weapons to apartheid-era South Africa. Pres. Abbas defends the settlement goods boycott, as Israeli leaders threatened sanctions. Israeli police recommend indicting FM Lieberman. Hamas arrests extremists suspected of torching a UN summer camp, and confronts several dilemmas. UNSG Ban calls for Israeli restraint in Jerusalem. An Israeli court confirms orders to evacuate a Jerusalem settlement project. Yoel Marcus says it's not too late for Israel to make peace. Eldad Yaniv says Zionists are not racists or settlers. An Israeli border guard is indicted for killing an 11-year-old Palestinian child. A prominent Palestinian citizen of Israel may be indicted next week on charges of spying for Hezbollah. Gershon Baskin says international peacekeepers are needed between Israel and Palestinians. Neve Gordon profiles an Israeli protester against the occupation preparing to go to prison. Israel prepares to impose harsh new measures on Hamas prisoners.

Special Envoy Mitchell says the US may set a deadline for negotiations. Hamas and Islamic Jihad will boycott upcoming municipal elections. Lebanese PM Hariri says Middle East peace is a global concern. The Christian Science Monitor looks at allegations that Israel discussed selling nuclear weapons to apartheid-era South Africa. Pres. Abbas defends the settlement goods boycott, as Israeli leaders threatened sanctions. Israeli police recommend indicting FM Lieberman. Hamas arrests extremists suspected of torching a UN summer camp, and confronts several dilemmas. UNSG Ban calls for Israeli restraint in Jerusalem. An Israeli court confirms orders to evacuate a Jerusalem settlement project. Yoel Marcus says it's not too late for Israel to make peace. Eldad Yaniv says Zionists are not racists or settlers. An Israeli border guard is indicted for killing an 11-year-old Palestinian child. A prominent Palestinian citizen of Israel may be indicted next week on charges of spying for Hezbollah. Gershon Baskin says international peacekeepers are needed between Israel and Palestinians. Neve Gordon profiles an Israeli protester against the occupation preparing to go to prison. Israel prepares to impose harsh new measures on Hamas prisoners.

700 days of no, and one yes: George Mitchell on peacemaking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - May 25, 2010 - 12:00am

With Israeli-Palestinian indirect proximity talks having finally gotten underway after more than a year of his shuttle diplomacy, Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell took to two stages Monday evening to talk about his peacemaking efforts in the Middle East and Northern Ireland in the role of diplomatic dean.

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Harsh jail rules for Hamas prisoners threaten riots, Israel warned
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas officials yesterday warned that new legislation before the Israeli parliament that seeks to worsen conditions for Hamas prisoners detained in Israeli jails could spark prison riots that might spill over into the streets. Human rights organisations also condemned the legislation, which cleared a major hurdle on Sunday when it passed a ministerial committee and received the support of the Israeli government.

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Even picnics in Israel are political
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Neve Gordon - May 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Picnics, like almost everything else in Israel, are often political. Oz Shelach underscores this point in his collection of short stories, Picnic Grounds, where he describes how a history professor takes his family on a picnic in the pine forest near Givat Shaul, a Jerusalem neighbourhood. The professor teaches his son some of the camping skills he learned while serving in the Israeli military, using old stones to block the wind and to protect the newly lit fire. The stones, we are told, are the remains of a village known as Deir Yassin.

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