June 8th

The Palestinians’ trick answer to Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The chief Palestinian negotiator with Israel staked out a new position Tuesday in Washington: “We want to resume negotiations,” said Saeb Erekat, on the basis of President Obama’s recent Middle East address.

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In India and Israel, the burden of protest falls on the victims of injustice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Pankaj Mishra - (Opinion) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

At a dark moment in postcolonial history, when many US-backed despots seemed indestructible, the great Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, whose centenary falls this year, wrote: "We shall witness [the day] when the enormous mountains of tyranny blow away like cotton". That miraculous day promised by the poet finally came in Egypt and Tunisia this spring. We have since witnessed many of the world's acknowledged legislators scrambling to get on the right side of history.

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Violence at Palestinian camp funerals in Syria leaves 20 dead
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Roula Hajjar - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Funerals in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near the Syrian capital of Damascus turned violent late Monday as clashes erupted between camp residents and a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction, leading to the deaths of as many as 20 people, according to Palestinian sources and amateur video posted on the Internet.

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Readiness and blindness in the Golan Heights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The IDF proved this week that it does a good job preparing for the previous war. It may only be an isolated incident, whose character was more civilian police-oriented than military, but anyone who found flaws in the intelligence and military systems on Nakba Day (May 15 ) must admit the lessons were learned, the forces were deployed and the mission was accomplished. On Sunday, Naksa Day, the Israel Defense Forces succeeded in blocking hundreds of demonstrators who, surrounded by cameras, stormed the border fences in the Golan Heights, carrying flags, posters and loudspeakers.

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The end of the media's Israel fixation?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Carmel Gould - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab spring has had a remarkable effect on the media's appetite for Middle East news which doesn't revolve around Israel. Over the first three months of this year, correspondents usually engaged full time in counting Israeli bricks going down in the West Bank were dispatched to Tahrir Square and Tripoli, because something even bigger was happening.

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Pro-Syrian Palestinian group kills 11 refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Khaled Yacoub Oweis - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

AMMAN (Reuters) – Gunmen from a Palestinian faction loyal to Syria shot dead at least 11 Palestinians at a refugee camp near Damascus Monday in a dispute over the group's backing for Damascus, Palestinian sources said Tuesday. Hundreds of angry refugees had tried to storm the headquarters of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in Yarmouk camp on the edges of Damascus. They accused the group of sacrificing Palestinian lives by encouraging protesters to demonstrate at the Golan Heights, where several were shot by Israeli forces.

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June 7th

NEWS: Israel disputes Syria’s account of the deadly Golan border incident. Palestinians accuse settlers of torching a mosque in the occupied West Bank, and PM Netanyahu condemns the attack. 14 Palestinians are reportedly killed in a refugee camp in Syria. Palestinian officials deny that Washington meetings are indirect talks with Israel. The Media Line looks at legal obstacles to a Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN. Robert Fisk of the Independent purports to have new details on the Palestinian reconciliation agreement. Israel’s plans to forcibly relocate 30,000 Bedouins is denounced as “cruel.” COMMENTARY: Sefi Rachlevsky says Meir Dagan is being subjected to unfair attacks. Ha’aretz says Israel had a tactical victory and a strategic defeat at the Golan border. Gershon Baskin says that whatever happens in September, a third violent intifada must be prevented at all costs. Joseph Dana says Israel’s occupation looks permanent. The Jordan Times and Gulf News say Israel has again shown its true colors at the Golan border. Palestinian nonviolent activist Bassem Tamimi addresses the Israeli military court which is trying him. Ephraim Sneh says the Palestinian and Israeli right-wings stand against a two-state solution. Ghassan Khatib says all Palestinians are affected by the Gaza blockade. Issam Younis says Israel’s claims to no longer be responsible for Gaza are false.

Weakening the chances for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ephraim Sneh - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Applying the term "blockade" to the Gaza Strip involves not a little hypocrisy. It ignores both the nature of the regime there and what that regime has done in Gaza in its four years in power.

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A radicalizing factor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The recent developments in Egypt that led to changes in the Egyptian regime, together with the reconciliation of Fateh and Hamas, have once again brought to the surface the Israeli blockade of Gaza and possible ways of lifting it. The most recent illustration of this was Egypt's decision to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza to travelers, which seemed to be an incentive for Gaza's rulers, Hamas, to proceed with the reconciliation pact.

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Israel bears responsibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Issam Younis - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Since 1967, Israel has controlled the movement of individuals and goods in the Gaza Strip through force, military orders, and executive measures and policies. This "over-control" has only served the interests of Israel, connecting the Israeli economy to the Gaza Strip through its six crossings.

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