May 24th

Adopting a shared perspective on Arab-Jewish relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Samia Hathroubi - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am For a while now, the both of us, two French citizens, a Muslim and a Jew, having strong ties with Tunisia and Israel respectively, realized that it is high time we speak out. We have both committed to YaLa-Young Leaders in France, in Tunisia and in the Middle-East, and saw Toulouse and Montauban’s attacks as a national tragedy that challenged our beliefs. It revealed and highlighted issues concerning Muslim and Jewish dialogue in France and in the world. This piece, which we wrote together, points out the necessity to stand united beyond hatred and division and calls for peace. » Read more

Palestinian irreconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am Fatah and Hamas signed another power sharing agreement this weekend in Cairo, but if experience is any guide it is doubtful this one will be any more successful than the previous attempts at reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions. The new pact calls for voter registration in Gaza and consultations on formation of an interim government of technocrats to begin May 27. The new cabinet, to be agreed upon within 10 days, would operate for six months, during which time it would set a date for presidential and parliamentary elections, probably sometime next year. » Read more

Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Yousef Munayyer - (Opinion) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am I’M a Palestinian who was born in the Israeli town of Lod, and thus I am an Israeli citizen. My wife is not; she is a Palestinian from Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Despite our towns being just 30 miles apart, we met almost 6,000 miles away in Massachusetts, where we attended neighboring colleges. » Read more

Israel's politics of nothing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Tzipi Livni - (Opinion) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am Espouse the vacuous, the hollow slogan; appropriate the show, the gestures. Lose the content, the vision and the values. Do not let a position or an opinion stand in your way, pick-pocket the opinions of others before they take your idea first. Conduct public opinion polls and tell the masses what they want to hear. Do nothing, because in any case it is unnecessary. » Read more

Boycotting the settlements is justified ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am I don't buy merchandise that comes from the settlements and I never will. To my way of thinking, those are stolen goods and, like any other goods that have been stolen, I try not to buy them. Now perhaps the South Africans and the Danes also will not buy them; meanwhile their governments have merely requested that products from the settlements be marked so as not to deceive their customers. Just as there was no need in the past to label merchandise from the British colonies as British products, so there is no need to mark products from Israel's colonies as Israeli. » Read more

An African migrant's plea for a few basic rights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Adam Ibrahim - (Opinion) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am I live in the Shapira neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, what is currently happening in the neighborhood is intolerable. I have a friend who was told last Friday by two individuals that they were police officers in civilian clothing, who then proceeded to push him and steal 700 shekels from him. The police, of course, did not even deal with it. I think the Israelis do not treat us well, and then due to their guilt they come complaining about us. » Read more

Senate fight today over Palestinian ‘refugees’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Josh Rogin - (Blog) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am Thirty U.S. senators will vote today over whether there really are 5 million Palestinian "refugees" or just around 30,000 -- a hot-button issue that has already become the subject of a vigorous international debate involving Israel and its Arab neighbors. » Read more

Gaza fleet leashed by Israel, starved for fuel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - May 24, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- Israeli gunboats and an Egyptian clampdown on fuel smuggling into the Gaza Strip are strangling the enclave's little fishing fleet, slowly turning a generation of fishermen into fishmongers. Since 2009, they have been unable to sail out beyond three miles because of Israel's strictly enforced blockade. This year they can hardly afford to go out at all because diesel has nearly tripled in price. » Read more

‘Citizen journalism’ focuses on Israeli occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters May 24, 2012 - 12:00am ASEERA AL-QIBLIYA, West Bank — Amateur video of Israeli soldiers appearing to watch idly as settlers opened fire on Palestinians throwing stones has emphasised the growing power of "citizen journalism" in the occupied West Bank. » Read more

Abbas renews threat to seek Palestinian statehood at UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 23, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday renewed his threat to unilaterally seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state in response to Israel's refusal to accept his conditions for resuming the peace talks. Abbas, meanwhile, met with US Consul-General Daniel Rubinstein and discussed with him the latest developments surrounding efforts to resume the stalled peace talks. » Read more