May 4th

Palestinian journalists shun press freedom reception by U.S. consulate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 3, 2012 - 12:00am


RAMALLAH, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian journalists on Thursday boycotted a reception by the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, protesting against the lack of U.S. pressure on Israel to respond to demands of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners.


New foot and mouth strain spreads to Gaza Strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 2, 2012 - 12:00am


ROME, May 2 (Reuters) - A new strain of foot and mouth disease (FMD) has reached the Gaza Strip and threatens to spread further after first being detected in Egypt and Libya in February, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Wednesday. FAO said sick animals had been detected on April 19 in Rafah, a town that lies on the border between the coastal Palestinian territory and Egypt.


Hamas says it's holding talks with 5 EU countries
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am


BEIRUT — Hamas has been holding secret political talks with five European Union member states in recent months, a senior official in the Islamic militant group told The Associated Press on Wednesday. If confirmed, such talks would be a sign that the isolation of the Gaza-based Palestinian movement is easing in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings that have brought Islamists to power in parts of the Middle East. The EU and the U.S consider Hamas a terror group and refuse to deal with it unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel.


Methodists Vote Against Ending Investments Tied to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Laurie Goodstein - May 2, 2012 - 12:00am


The United Methodist Church, the nation’s largest mainline Protestant denomination, voted against two proposals on Wednesday to divest from companies that provide equipment used by Israel to enforce its control in the occupied territories.


ATFP Expresses Grave Concern Over Condition of Hunger Striking Palestinian Prisoners, Urges Urgent Measures to Diffuse Tensions
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - May 4, 2012 - 12:00am

  The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today expressed grave concern about the health of hundreds of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, and the rapidly deteriorating condition of several of the detainees. The Task Force noted that the crisis is adding to tensions in an already volatile atmosphere on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territories, and calls for urgent measures to defuse the situation.


NEWS: Palestinians increasingly see nonviolent tactics, like hunger striking, as key to their movement. PM Fayyad says PM Netanyahu is ultimately responsible for prisoners' health. Hungers-striking prisoners appeal to Israeli courts. Israeli prison authorities say prisoners cannot consult their lawyers if they can no longer stand to meet them. Public Security Minister Aharonovitch agrees “administrative detention” should be kept to a minimum. The brother of the assassin of the late PM Rabin is released. The Israeli Navy inaugurates its 4th Dolphin class submarine. Sec. Clinton's top technology adviser tells Palestinian bloggers the US supports Internet freedom. Hamas complains the PA detained 61 of its members in the West Bank last month. An abandoned Israeli military base in the occupied West Bank becomes the latest settlement outpost. Israel removes six large roadblocks near major West Bank towns. COMMENTARY: Saliba Sarsar says Palestinian Christians are disappearing. Adrian Blomfield asks if a revolt against Pres. Abbas is brewing in the West Bank. The CSM interviews former Israeli official Yossi Beilin. Yoel Marcus says if he wins the coming Israeli election, Netanyahu will have a mandate for his policy of doing nothing. Guy Bechor says Israel's regional dominance in deep-sea waters is growing through its expanding submarine fleet. Racheli Malek-Boda says she and other settlers should realize the humanity of the Palestinians around them. Jay Bushinski says there is growing interest in Israel about a "federated state" with the West Bank, but not with Gaza. J.J. Goldberg says a recent conference demonstrated huge rifts between Israeli and Jewish-American perceptions regarding Iran. Patrick Seale says Netanyahu's attitudes are increasingly being challenged within the Israeli establishment. Ahmad Majdoubeh says Arabs and Muslims should keep visiting Jerusalem. George Hishmeh says Israeli politics are in disarray over Iran and the Palestinians.

Israel in disarray
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) May 3, 2012 - 12:00am


Since the criticism, last Friday, by a key secret service official of the right-wing Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his wishy washy Labourite defence minister, Ehud Barak, the Israeli establishment appears to be in a serious state of disarray.


The road to Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ahmad Majdoubeh - (Opinion) May 3, 2012 - 12:00am


I, like many who sympathise with the Palestinians during these particularly hard times, was extremely disappointed and saddened by the Islamists’ condemnation of the visit to Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem by the grand mufti of Egypt a couple of weeks ago. This condemnation is yet another evidence of Islamists’ shortsightedness and negative vision.


Changing course in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) May 4, 2012 - 12:00am


Israel’s hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing an unprecedented challenge. As Israel’s longest serving prime minister, who has been in office for more than three years, he had come to seem immovable.


Explosive Dust-Up Over Iran Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) May 2, 2012 - 12:00am


On a sunny Sunday afternoon in late April, Israel put its raucous, divided political culture on full exhibition in New York for a day — and New York did not like what it saw.



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