June 14th

Palestine’s White September ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Historical dates often emerge by sheer coincidence. In 2009, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad formulated an operational goal for his tenure: by 2011 he wanted to build institutions that would justify the proclamation of a Palestinian state. This would not just have symbolic value, as PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat's statement in 1988, but would carry practical implications. Fayyad's efforts have commanded international admiration. The West Bank is indeed run in a way that meets many criteria for successful statehood. » Read more

Take away Hamas excuses on unity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) June 14, 2011 - 12:00am Salam Fayyad probably saw it coming. Four years ago, the Palestinian prime minister told The New York Times that he had every intention of de-legitimising the Islamist movement of Hamas. Violence is "not who we are", he said in 2007. "I want to disappoint them." On Sunday, it was Hamas that did the disappointing. » Read more

Israel’s Real Arab Problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Ilan Peleg, Dov Waxman - (Opinion) June 14, 2011 - 12:00am “Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights,” Prime Minister Netanyahu boasted in his recent speech to the United States Congress. Lest the point be lost on his audience, Netanyahu emphatically reiterated it: “Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of 1% are truly free, and they are all citizens of Israel!” » Read more

Report: Deputy Israeli FM visits Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 14, 2011 - 12:00am Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon visited Egypt two weeks ago and met with top officials, Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported Tuesday. It is the first time since the country's former leader Hosni Mubarak was toppled that such a high-ranking Israeli political official visited Egypt, the daily reported, although the Israeli foreign ministry has denied the visit took place. Ma'ariv said that Ayalon met with Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt’s higher military council, and Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Al-Arabi. » Read more

Unofficial Nakba study kit a hit with teachers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Asaf Shtull-Trauring - June 14, 2011 - 12:00am When Shira (not her real name ), a history teacher at a junior high school in the center of the country, mentioned "nakba" in a class three years ago, none of her students had any idea what it referred to. Today, she says, the word just surfaces naturally among the students. They know about it and talk about it. According to her, the reason is clear - Amendment 40 to the Budget Foundations Law, more commonly known as the "Nakba Law." » Read more

Gaza unemployment levels 'among worst in world' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - June 14, 2011 - 12:00am Gaza's unemployment rate was among the world's highest, at 45.2% in late 2010, the UN has found, as Israel's blockade of the territory enters its fifth year. Real wages meanwhile fell by more than a third, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said. Its report says that private businesses have been hardest hit by the continuing ban on virtually all exports. Israel tightened sanctions on Gaza in 2006 after militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. » Read more

UN marks 5 years of Gaza siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 14, 2011 - 12:00am "If the aim of the blockade policy was to weaken the Hamas administration, the public employment numbers suggest this has failed," a UNRWA spokesman said Tuesday as the UN marks Gaza's fifth year under intense Israeli siege. Commenting on a report released by the UN agency charged with providing care and services for the one million refugees living in the Gaza Strip, on the fifth anniversary of the siege, spokesman Chris Gunness added "it has certainly been highly successful in punishing some of the poorest of the poor in the Middle East region." » Read more

Choose wisely, Mr. Prime Minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Colette Avital - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Israelis were glued to their televisions last month, listening to a torrent of eloquent speeches from Washington, DC. With his rich language, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won over both houses of Congress – which couldn’t seem to cheer loudly enough – as well as his hard-Right base at home. Most Israelis, however, were left cold. When you’ve lived with an unresolved, violent conflict for this long, the cheers of Congress do not help. What matters is that we find a way to get past rhetoric and take our country’s future back into our own hands. » Read more

EU: Palestinian state vote could be ‘dangerous’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Las Vegas Sun June 14, 2011 - 12:00am The president of the EU parliament says a unilateral Palestinian move toward statehood could be "dangerous." Frustrated by a long-standing impasse in peace talks with Israel, the Palestinians have mounted a campaign for international recognition at the U.N. General Assembly in September. European support would be critical, but EU parliament chief Jerzy Buzek sounded cool to the idea on Tuesday. Speaking in Ramallah, Buzek said he "understood" the Palestinian position but added it could complicate peace efforts. » Read more

What you see is what you get ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am In June 2011, almost 100,000 people show up for the gay pride festivities in Tel Aviv – an amazing achievement after years of struggle. Six thousand showed up for a peace demonstration a few nights before. In the West Bank, more than 20,000 Palestinians work in Israeli settlements, and only a few hundred participate in the Friday demonstrations against the occupation. » Read more