August 29th

France opens Arafat murder inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 29, 2012 - 12:00am A French court has opened a murder inquiry into the 2004 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, prosecutors said on Tuesday, following claims by his wife that he may have been poisoned. Arafat died in a Paris military hospital in November 2004, a month after being airlifted - when his health collapsed - from his battered headquarters in Ramallah, where he had been effectively confined by Israel for more than two and a half years. » Read more

Egypt's Morsi invited to visit Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 29, 2012 - 12:00am In a rare departure from his oft- quoted hawkish declarations, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday extended an invitation to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to visit Israel. Speaking at a legal conference in Tel Aviv, Lieberman said, "We hope that whoever speaks about peace and about stability understands that there can be no hypothetical peace. "We hope that Morsi will meet with Israeli officials, that he will be interviewed by Israeli media and that he will visit Jerusalem as the guest of President (Shimon) Peres." » Read more

Two Palestinian cars torched in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Two Palestinian vehicles were torched and vandalized Tuesday night in a refugee camp near Ramallah just several hours after a similar incident in the West Bank, Israel Radio reported Wednesday. Perpetrators lit two cars on fire and spray painted them with slogans reading: "Revenge on the Arabs" and "Freedom for the homeland." Security forces were called into the Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah and launched an investigation after reports of Israelis entering the camp, Israel Radio reported. » Read more

Palestinian woman critically wounded by Israeli fire in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli forces stationed on Gaza borders opened fire at Palestinian farmers Wednesday, critically wounding a woman, witnesses and medical sources said. The 42-year-old woman was working on her land near the eastern edge of central Gaza Strip when she received several gunshots, the witnesses added. Israel has established a buffer zone along its borders with the Gaza Strip, saying the aim was to distance militants from the security fence separating the two territories. However, Palestinians say the 300-meter wide no-go area takes most of Gaza' s agricultural land. » Read more

Palestinian's UN recognition quest on hold ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian foreign minister says the Palestinians are putting their quest for international recognition at the U.N. on hold for now. Foreign Minister Riad Malki says President Mahmoud Abbas has decided not to apply at the General Assembly session next month, although he will informally appeal for recognition in a speech. The decision stands in contrast to last year, when the Palestinians asked the Security Council to admit them as a full member state. » Read more

Egypt broadens Sinai campaign against militants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Marwa Awad - August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's military said on Wednesday it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border. After militants attacked and killed 16 border guards on Aug. 5, Egypt launched an operation using the army and police to raid militant hideouts, arrest suspects and seize weapons, including rockets and other arms, that are rife in the area. » Read more

Egypt leader said to reach out to Sinai radicals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Maggie Michael - August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's Islamist president is using former jihadists to mediate with radical Islamists in Sinai, trying to ensure a halt in militant attacks in return for a stop in a military offensive in the lawless peninsula, participants in the talks say. » Read more

Former Israeli commandos dominate politics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - August 29, 2012 - 12:00am When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to fill a sensitive Cabinet post recently, he turned to an old army buddy from his days in an elite commando unit. His choice for minister of civil defense, Avi Dichter, replaced another graduate of the legendary Sayeret Matkal unit. Netanyahu's defense minister and vice premier, as well as Israel's opposition leader, also served there. » Read more

Witness to Rachel Corrie’s Death Responds to Israeli Court Ruling Absolving Soldier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am As my colleagues Jodi Rudoren and Danielle Ziri report, an Israeli judge ruled on Tuesday that the state bore no responsibility for the death of Rachel Corrie, an American activist who was crushed to death by a military bulldozer in 2003 as she tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. Ms. Corrie, who was a student at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., joined the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement in January 2003, and was killed two months later in the Gazan town of Rafah, which straddles the border with Egypt. » Read more

August 28th

Bibi's own "tree limb" In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Over the past few years it was frequently alleged, not least by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Palestinian leadership had climbed out onto various political “tree limbs.” The implication was that on issues such as the settlement freeze, Palestinian leaders adopted rhetorical positions that were not in keeping with their real strategic options and hadn't allowed themselves sufficient room to climb down. As a consequence, it was suggested, they were stuck with unworkable policies.  » Read more