August 29th

Corrie verdict exposes Israel's false narrative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) August 29, 2012 - 12:00am


After nine years of injustice, the Israeli court's decision did not come as much of a surprise. For the parents of the 23-year-old American activist crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to stop it from demolishing a Palestinian home, there will be no justice from an Israeli court. But today, perhaps more than at any time since her death, Rachel Corrie continues to fight the injustice that Palestinians face under occupation.


Bulldozing the Special Relationship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am


Only the most naive observers would be surprised by the verdict from an Israeli court on the civil case brought by the parents of Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed in 2003 at the hands of the Israeli military. The court ruled this week that Israel was not responsible for the death of the 23-year-old student, referring to it as a "regrettable accident" that Corrie herself could have prevented by staying out of the area.


The Corrie verdict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) August 28, 2012 - 12:00am


The death of 23-year-old American rights activist Rachel Corrie was a “regrettable accident,” not an intentional war crime, Haifa District Court Judge Oded Gershon ruled on Tuesday. For those following the trial who are unbiased by a perennial desire to bash Israel and search tirelessly for its faults, the verdict was no surprise.


Why did Hamas cancel participation in Iran's Non-Aligned Movement summit?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) August 29, 2012 - 12:00am


A fierce storm briefly raged in the Palestinian political arena over the weekend. A few hours after the Hamas government spokesman announced in Gaza on Saturday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had invited Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to attend the Non-Aligned Movement conference and that Haniyeh intended to go, officials close to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that if Haniyeh goes to Tehran, Abbas would not.


Scars of an Israeli survivor of the Hebron massacre
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mordechai Twersky - (Opinion) August 29, 2012 - 12:00am


Shlomo Slonim gazes at four large black and white photos of family members adorning the dining room wall of his apartment in Ra'anana, a city in central Israel. He battles with his health. He has recurrent flashbacks. But some memories cut even deeper than the one-inch indentation above his freckled forehead and the scars on his right hand from where his fingers were nearly severed.


The U.K. extreme right is undecided on who to hate: Jews or Muslims?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) August 29, 2012 - 12:00am


The battle for leadership of Britain's far-right took a bizarre twist this month when the British National Party, long the most prominent racist group in British politics, issued a detailed report accusing their main rivals, the English Defense League, of being the “useful idiots” of “neo-cons” and “ultra-Zionists.”


Palestinian Authority prime minister attending TIFF
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Brent Lang - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am


Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad will make the argument for statehood at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Fayyad will appear at a press conference on September 11 in conjunction with the Toronto premiere of "State 194," producer Participant Media said Tuesday.


Report: 40% of east J'lem seniors drop out of school
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Noam Dvir - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am


No student registration, high dropout rates, overcrowded classes and slow construction of new classrooms – these are only some of the failures characterizing the east Jerusalem education system, a report published Tuesday by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Ir Amim organization suggests.


Fayyad approves measures to counter electricity crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 29, 2012 - 12:00am


Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad approved new measures on Tuesday to help counter an electricity crisis in the West Bank, a statement said. Fayyad approved the measures during a weekly session of the Council of Ministers in Ramallah. The council endorsed measures to support low-income consumers of electricity as well as encouraging higher-income consumers to conserve their energy consumption. The council will also enter discussions with Jordan about bringing electricity prices into line with previous tariffs.


Former Israeli official denies Israel poisoned Arafat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
August 29, 2012 - 12:00am


A former Israeli official is denying allegations that Israel poisoned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as French prosecutors begin investigating his possible murder. Dov Weisglass was chief of staff to the Israeli prime minister when Arafat died in 2004. He says Israel had no interest in harming the Palestinian leader at the end of his political career. Weisglass told Army Radio Wednesday that Israel permitted Arafat to seek medical treatment in France so Israel could not be accused of exacerbating his illness.



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