July 3rd

Palestinian dispute hits UN global arms treaty talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Talks on the $70 billion a year global arms trade talks hit deadlock before starting Monday amid a diplomatic battle over Palestinian representation. Arab demands that Palestinians be allowed to take part led to a threat of an Israeli walkout and a block on European Union presence at the conference, diplomats said. Even the Vatican has been drawn into the dispute. "This chaotic start is a tragedy for this event, which is so important," said a minister from a western nation who went to the UN headquarters for the start of the negotiations. » Read more

Reach Out to Morsy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's new president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsy, is not a man after my own heart. He represents a movement that seeks to apply religious norms to a secular state -- even as he vows to represent all people, including Coptic Christians and liberals. Clearly, at some point in the near future, he will face the necessary conflicts between liberty and human rights on the one hand and his religious precepts on the other, and we cannot know how he will resolve them. » Read more

Ashrawi condemns violence against Ramallah protesters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 3, 2012 - 12:00am PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Monday condemned the violent suppression of weekend protests in Ramallah. Palestinian Authority police attacked demonstrators at a rally Saturday against a proposed meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's vice premier. A day later, police used brutal force at a demonstration against police brutality. » Read more

West Bank faces cash crisis after $100m IMF request is rejected ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinians in the West Bank are facing more financial hardship after a plan to borrow US$100 million (Dh367m) was rejected because they have no state of their own. The plan called for Israel to borrow the money from the International Monetary Fund and then turn it over to the Palestinian Authority to prevent its financial collapse. The PA would repay the loan to Israel, which in turn would repay the IMF. » Read more

Israelis, Palestinians: 2 states in 5 years unlikely ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Sharon Udasin - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Most Israelis and Palestinians view the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the next five years as low or nonexistent, a new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll reported. Meanwhile, the majority of Israelis oppose military intervention in Syria and an unaided strike on Iran, the latter of which they agree could spark the eruption of a major regional war, according to the survey. » Read more

IDF holds drill in Palestinian village ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am The IDF held an urban warfare drill in the Palestinian village of al-Aqabah in the northeastern West Bank, Ynet learned Tuesday. The drill was held according to the military's training protocol. The IDF has recently resumed training in designated live-fire zones in the Jordan Rift Valley – even those riddled with some Palestinian and Bedouin villages. » Read more

Israel to begin recording settler land claims, deny Palestinians' right of appeal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am After 45 years of running the West Bank, the State of Israel plans to start compiling land registry records of assets controlled by settlers. The registry would bypass regular tabu land-listing processes, and appears designed to prevent Palestinians from appealing the validity of the ownership listings. » Read more

Israel Confronts Strangers In Its Midst ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) July 1, 2012 - 12:00am What shall be done about the large number of non-citizens that dwell in Israel? This question is no longer merely vexing, it is urgent, inflammatory, sometimes violent, often vulgar. The ger has a long and detailed history in Jewish texts and thought. Its conventional translation is “stranger,” but you don’t have to search hard to find alternatives: sojourner, foreigner, alien. » Read more

Settlers say they bought outpost land, one year after Palestinian owner's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Residents of the condemned West Bank outpost of Migron have appealed the High Court to stay the demolition of the settlement's illegal structures on Tuesday, claiming that they had recently purchased the land on which the homes were built. However, a preliminary inspection of the purported sale reveals that the Palestinian whom the settlers claim sold them the land passed away in 2011, one year before the alleged transaction. » Read more

PLO: Hamas pull-out from voter registration 'unjustifiable' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 3, 2012 - 12:00am PLO officials gathered in Ramallah on Monday evening to discuss Hamas' decision to suspend voter registration in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day. Electoral officials were set to start registration on Tuesday, the first time rolls have been updated in Gaza since 2005. The meeting in the West Bank, headed by Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas, called the move an "unjustifiable decision which contradicts with all agreements reached in Cairo and Doha." » Read more