August 22nd

Israel-Gaza violence threatens protest movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Aron Heller - August 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Security has traditionally trumped all other concerns in Israel. Now some social activists fear a sudden spike of violence with the Palestinians could overwhelm a spontaneous and surprisingly strong summer-long revolt against the country's high cost of living. A deadly ambush that killed eight Israelis, and subsequent Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza over the weekend, have abruptly shifted the country's attention away from the economic protests that were coalescing into a serious threat to the government. Now the security situation is the center of attention again.

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Gaza factions agree ceasefire as overnight calm holds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Reports of a Sunday evening ceasefire deal reached between factions in Gaza and Israel appeared to hold overnight Sunday, as residents paused for breath after four days of Israeli airstrikes. Israeli media and army reported that 12 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel overnight, with no injuries. But the cessation deal, described by a Hamas official as "informal", seemed to take Gaza residents safely through the night. No faction claimed rockets attacks after the deal was in place, around 9 p.m. Israel time, 8 p.m. in winter-saving time.

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Israel apologizes for Egyptian soldiers' deaths
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Jeffrey Fleishman, Edmund Sanders - August 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Eager to head off a diplomatic crisis with its most important peace partner, Israel apologized to Egypt on Saturday over the deaths of three Egyptian soldiers who were accidentally killed last week during an Israeli military incursion into the Sinai peninsula.

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Egypt and Israel Move to Halt Growth of Crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Stephen Farrell - August 21, 2011 - 12:00am

The Egyptian and Israeli governments moved Sunday to ease tensions over fatal cross-border attacks, apparently seeking to stop the crisis from flaring up into a full-scale diplomatic rift. An Israeli official confirmed that an Israeli military delegation arrived in Egypt on Sunday, quietly and unannounced, for behind-the-scenes talks with Egyptian officials, and a second Israeli official issued a public statement of regret for the deaths of Egyptian soldiers.

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August 19th

Israelis awakening to the power of grass-roots activism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by David Borowich Ya'ari - (Opinion) August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

On a recent Saturday night, my wife and I waded into a sea of 6,000 protesters in Modiin as part of 12 other similarly staged rallies across Israel to demand social justice and greater accountability from our elected officials in Israel. This was Modiin, the newly created suburban retreat of the middle class -- a far cry from the social challenges facing the country. Amid a wave of upwardly mobile suburbanites, we found common cause with the hundreds of thousands of protestors who believe that Israel must provide greater social mobility and opportunity.

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NEWS: Israel and militants in Gaza exchange attacks. At least five Egyptians are killed in the fighting. Israel blames "poor security" in Sinai for the attacks. Israeli attacks strike a refugee camp in central Gaza. Reuters looks at the group blamed for the attacks in southern Israel. The Media Line looks at the state of Egyptian security in Sinai. The US urges Egypt to do more to control Sinai. Israel opens a light rail service linking West Jerusalem with occupied East Jerusalem. Pres. Abbas says the PLO will not accept observer status at the UN. The battle intensifies in Congress over how to react to a Palestinian UN initiative. COMMENTARY: Akiva Eldar says Israel no longer looks like a Goliath in the region. Avi Issacharoff says the Egyptian revolution has left a vacuum in Sinai. David Borowich Ya’ari says Israelis are awakening to "social justice" issues. Roi Ben-Yehuda says the protests may lead to a new era of Jewish-Arab cooperation, but Yisrael Harel says they are indifferent to the Palestinians. Abir Kopty explains how Palestinians in Israel are trying to involve themselves in the protests. The Daily Star says the exchange of attacks shows the status quo is untenable and peace is the only option. Shane Farrell and Mona Alami say Abbas achieved much in his trip to Lebanon.

Palestinians on statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Mona Alami - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas most likely left Lebanon Thursday a satisfied man. With high-level talks—most notably with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—as well as the inauguration of the Palestinian Embassy in Lebanon on his itinerary, the Palestinian president has laid some important diplomatic groundwork in preparation of an event next month that has the potential to define his career.

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Deadly direction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

When attacks and counterattacks erupted Thursday in Gaza, it might have been expected to hear analysts and the media talk about a sudden outbreak of violence – in fact, the developments of the last few months represent an instance of deliberately laying the groundwork for such an explosion.

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The boundaries of July 14
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Abir Kopty - (Opinion) August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Although some Israelis are calling for making a clear connection to Israel's occupation, the July 14 movement for "social justice" is far from endorsing a position on this, for many reasons.

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The Israeli protest is indifferent to the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yisrael Harel - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Until Barack Obama entered the White House, Abu Mazen (PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas) was obliged, under pressure from the United States and the Quartet, to negotiate with Israel. But his goal was never to reach agreement. This was graphically illustrated in late 2008 by his refusal to accept the most generous set of principles ever proposed by an Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert.

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