July 17th, 2012

Defense Ministry hires architect to resume construction of illegal West Bank outpost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - July 17, 2012 - 12:00am


The government is stepping up construction in the West Bank settlements and acting to legitimize at least one illegal outpost it has pledged to demolish, Haaretz has learned. The Defense Ministry recently contracted an architect to resume construction of the Givat Sal'it outpost in the Jordan Valley, in what is seen as a step toward legitimizing the outpost. Givat Sal'it is one of 26 communities the Sharon government had promised the United States it would tear down nearly 10 years ago.


Palestinian journalists balk at strip search
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 16, 2012 - 12:00am


A Palestinian journalist says he and three colleagues trying to cover U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's news conference walked away after being asked to drop their pants in an Israeli security check. The Palestinian journalists were invited to Monday's event by the U.S. consulate, which sent a staffer to guide them through security. Mohammed Abu Khdeir of the Al Quds newspaper says Israeli and foreign journalists were not asked to strip.


Police launch campaign against child labor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 17, 2012 - 12:00am


Police took to the streets of Tulkarem on Tuesday to raise awareness about a campaign to stop child labor and begging, a statement said. Accompanied by a committee set up to fight child labor, police toured Tulkarem's markets and main streets. Sixteen children aged between 11-16 were taken to the police station for questioning, and their parents were called to explain that child labor is illegal.


BDS supporters can’t decide on what the endgame is
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mira Sucharov - (Opinion) July 13, 2012 - 12:00am


On the heels of new semantic murkiness about what is and is not Israeli occupation, one could be forgiven for being a tad confused about how to oppose whatever-it-is-we-should-now-call-it.


Mideast peace slips to second billing for US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - July 17, 2012 - 12:00am


Mideast peace, America's defining issue for decades of dealings with Israel and its Arab neighbors, was just a postscript Monday as Hillary Rodham Clinton made perhaps her final visit to the region as secretary of state. Three years after President Barack Obama declared the plight of the Palestinians "intolerable," his administration no longer sees the failing Arab-Israeli peace efforts with the same immediacy. U.S. interests are focused now on Iran and Syria, though the deep differences between Israel and the Palestinians are not ignored.


Hamas executes three Gaza men for murder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 17, 2012 - 12:00am


Three men convicted of murder were hanged in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the territory's interior ministry said. A total of 14 Palestinians have now been executed since the Islamist group Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 from Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. No details of the murder cases were given and the Hamas-run ministry identified the executed men only by their initials.


Romney, Condi, and the meme that pro-Israel must be anti-peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) July 17, 2012 - 12:00am


Studies have shown that among American voters, Israel as an issue does not figure significantly in decision-making at the ballot box – even for Jews. It shouldn't matter, but it could. One step down the wrong slippery slope - a cross-border war, perhaps, or a spiral of civilian deaths in terrorism and air strikes, or, in the nightmare scenario, a conflagration involving Iran – and Israel could become very much an American campaign issue.


Peace Talks Must Resume, Clinton Says in Israel Visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am


Visiting Israel for the first time in nearly two years, with the Palestinian peace process seemingly on perpetual hold, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that “the status quo is unsustainable” and urged leaders from both sides back to negotiations.


Five Reasons Why the Two-State Solution Just Won't Die
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 16, 2012 - 12:00am


By all accounts it's time to say a kaddish -- the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead -- over the idea of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel.


July 16th

NEWS: Hamas is hoping for a new Gaza policy from Egypt. A Palestinian investigator falls off a third floor building while in police custody. Backtracking on a public promise, Israel is planning more subsidies for a controversial settlement. Some Palestinians from Gaza are allowed to visit relatives jailed in Israel for the first time in five years. PM Fayyad will meet Sec. Clinton in Jerusalem. Pres. Abbas asks the Arab League for a date to revive the Palestinian UN bid, and help in establishing an international inquiry into the death of the late Pres. Arafat. A Palestinian intelligence officer accuses “Palestinian figures” of being responsible for Arafat's death. Israel considers sanctions against OCHA for “illegal activities.” Abbas and Fayyad welcome a $100 million donation to the PA by Saudi Arabia. Settlers continue a pattern of uprooting trees in Palestinian villages. Jewish American leaders send a letter to PM Netanyahu saying recommendations in a recent report promote the delegitimization of Israel. Israel accuses Hezbollah and Iran of plotting terrorist attacks in Cyprus. Palestinian women are building businesses in the West Bank. COMMENTARY: Scott Wilson provides a narrative of how Pres. Obama “failed on forging Middle East peace.” Harriet Sherwood says the rise of ultra-Orthodox religious soldiers in Israel raises the prospect of mutiny. Mel Levine says Obama has fulfilled his pledge to defend Israel. Leonard Fein suggests that, rather than boycotts, opponents of Israeli policy should seek to end US tax deductions for funds for settlements. George Hale says gaining UNESCO recognition for heritage sites doesn't constitute a Palestinian strategy. Peter Beinart says J Street's Washington strategy meant that it couldn't support the Presbyterian Church boycott effort. Aaron David Miller looks at Clinton's visit to Israel.

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