June 18th

Israeli driver kills 2 Palestinians, wounds 1
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
June 17, 2012 - 12:00am

An Israeli tow truck driver shot dead two Palestinians and wounded one Sunday during what police said was an attempted car robbery in the West Bank. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the Palestinian men ambushed the Israeli's vehicle and beat him over the head with chains and bars before the driver opened fire in self-defense. He said the driver is being treated for head wounds at an Israeli hospital, and a police investigation is continuing. The Palestinian men have criminal records, according to Palestinian police.

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Hamas ordered Grad attack on Israel at request of Muslim Brotherhood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gili Cohen, Avi Issacharoff - June 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli security officials say that the rockets that landed on Friday in the area near Ovda and Mitzpeh Ramon, were launched after a request by senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. According to these officials, the rockets were launched from the Sinai Peninsula by a Bedouin unit, according to Hamas orders, even though Hamas itself wasn't the initiator of the launching, but responded to the request of the Brotherhood, who wanted such an event on the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Egypt.

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Former Israeli opposition leader charting his own foreign policy course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) June 17, 2012 - 12:00am

In his first major foreign policy speech, Israeli deputy Prime Minister and former opposition chairman Shaul Mofaz called on the Palestinians to sit down to launch unconditional talks with Israel. Mofaz's statement came only days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made remarks indicating that he might be willing to soften his demands on Israel before direct negotiations, which have been held up since September 2010, can resume.

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Medics: Israeli forces shell north Gaza, 2 killed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Two Palestinian men were killed on Monday when Israeli military forces shelled the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. Witnesses told Ma'an the men were riding a motorcycle in a field near Beit Hanoun when Israeli forces bombed the area. Four others were injured and taken to Beit Hanoun hospital, they said.

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Music for the Masses
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Raja Shehadeh - (Blog) June 13, 2012 - 12:00am

Monday night I attended a piano concert in Ramallah given by the internationally acclaimed Palestinian pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar who was born in Nazareth and now lives in Berlin. Despite the hardship of the Israeli occupation, a vital classical music revival has emerged in the West Bank in the last few years.

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At least 3 killed in attack on Israel-Egypt border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Maayan Lubell - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Militants fired on an Israeli crew building a border barrier on the Egyptian frontier on Monday, killing one of the workers, and Israeli soldiers shot dead two of the infiltrators, the military said. The incident, hours after Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood declared victory in the country's presidential election, raised Israeli concern about lawlessness in Egypt's Sinai desert since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

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June 15th

NEWS: PLO officials say they are working on a possible meeting between Pres. Abbas and PM Netanyahu, and say they will demand the release of pre-Oslo prisoners. Israeli settlers in the "Ulpana” outpost say they'll have to be forced to leave. Israel begins fortifying schools near the Gaza border. Israel reportedly arrests a former soldier, now living in Bethlehem and seeking Palestinian citizenship. Israel releases transcripts related to the murder of a settler family. MK Michaeli Is embroiled in a controversy over her stridently homophobic remarks. According to a new poll, most Israelis think Mitt Romney would be a friendlier president to Israel than Barack Obama. A UNESCO committee advises Palestinians not to go forward with an effort to register the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as a World Heritage site in Palestine. Palestinians hope to benefit from a visit by Pres. Putin. Palestinians pressure UEFA over Israel's scheduled hosting of the upcoming European Under-21 soccer championship. The Middle East Quartet meets in Brussels amid Palestinian criticism it has become ineffective. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel must end discrimination against Palestinian college graduates. Dan Sagir says Israel needs a minister for peace. Herb Keinon says the new Israeli Comptroller report on the flotilla incident illustrates a slapdash decision-making process. Alon Ben-Meir outlines the speech he thinks Netanyahu ought to give. A new book looks back on life in Palestine under the British mandate. George Hishmeh says Pres. Obama is dithering on Israeli-Palestinian peace, and that's likely to continue. Emily Hauser says Israel's image problem stems from the fact that it's legitimate to doubt that its government really wants peace. Rafael Frankel says that "modified unilateralism” by Israel might be the only way forward towards peace. Sahar Segal says it's ridiculous for some Palestinians to urge a boycott of Palestinian citizens of Israel who have integrated into Israeli society.

Quartet envoys meet amid Palestinian criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 15, 2012 - 12:00am

Envoys from the Middle East Quartet met in Brussels on Friday amid calls from the Palestinians to step up action to halt continuing Israeli settlement activity. Officials from the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia gathered "to consult as they routinely do over the phone as well", said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

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Palestinians say Israel should not host football tournament
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
June 15, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel is due to host the European Under-21 championship in 2013. PFA President Jibril Rajoub wrote to Uefa to express concern about three Palestinian players who are being held in Israel without charge. One of them, midfielder Mahmoud al-Sarsak, is on hunger strike. Mr Sarsak, 25, is one of a handful of Palestinian prisoners who have rejected a deal that ended a mass hunger strike on 14 May.

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Assimilating Awad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Sahar Segal - (Opinion) June 14, 2012 - 12:00am

Mira Anwar Awad, an Arab-Israeli, will be singing at a festival in Nazareth, a predominantly Arab-Israeli city on Saturday. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), based in Ramallah, demanded the mayor cancel her appearance. Why? Because Awad represented Israel in the 2009 Eurovision song contest.

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