August 29th, 2011

WEST BANK: Olive Revolution seeks free access to East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Analysis) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

When Israeli police and soldiers manning Qalandia checkpoint prevented West Bank Muslims under the age of 50 from crossing into Jerusalem to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the last Friday of Ramadan prayer, the dozens left behind decided to pray at the checkpoint. When they finished, they, along with Israeli and international supporters from a movement called Olive Revolution, gathered facing Israeli police and soldiers separated only by cement blocks. They chanted anti-occupation slogans and demanded access to East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since June 1967.

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National reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Nermeen Murad - August 29, 2011 - 12:00am

The underlying political current against reform in Jordan is closely tied to the continued ripple effects of the 1970 clash between Palestinian “resistance groups” and the Jordanian government. Unspoken is the fear that any relaxing of the restrictions on the security-driven containment of the Jordanians of Palestinian origin or refugee residents of camps in Jordan could recalibrate the tenuous political balance in the country and provide grounds for civil conflict.

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Israel mulls ties with a changed Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - (Analysis) August 27, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A deadly border incident this month that drew a threat by Egypt to recall its ambassador to Israel has starkly revealed the changed political terrain in the relationship between the two countries. Israeli officials who relied on former president Hosni Mubarak as a partner in upholding the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty are now contending with the newly assertive voice of public opinion in Egypt and its influence on that country’s leadership.

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Congressional tourists avoid apartheid in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Salon.com
by Ahmad Tibi - August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Americans, do you know where your member of Congress is? He or she may well be visiting Israel right now. In fact, 81 members of the House of Representatives -- nearly 20 percent of the whole body -- are expected here this month, according to new reports. If challenged, the representatives (numbering 55 Republicans and 26 Democrats) are likely to say a few words about looking for business opportunities good for their constituents or the need to provide for the security of Israel, which has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. That's their business and yours. ? ?

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Palestinians Thirsting for Justice in Water-Starved Occupied Territories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Thalif Deen - August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

STOCKHOLM, Aug 26, 2011 (IPS) - In the strife-stricken Middle East, oil has always been in the realm of politics. But in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, oil has been supplanted by water. Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, told IPS that the Palestinians have not only been deprived of water as a basic human right but that water is also being used as a weapon of war by the Israelis.

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With Mideast in Turmoil, Israel Debates Strategy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Eight days after Israel suffered a terrorist attack from Egyptian Sinai and weeks before it faces a Palestinian statehood resolution at the United Nations, its officials say they are struggling with a painful set of strategic and diplomatic challenges produced by the region’s popular uprisings.

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August 26th

NEWS: The death toll in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes grows to nine. The Israeli settlement in Hebron is expanding. Hamas leaders reaffirm they will never recognize Israel. Hanan Ashrawi says statehood would not threaten the legal status of the PLO. Reuters looks at the mechanics of statehood and UN membership. The EU says aid to Palestinians is threatened by Europe's financial crisis. Videos document the brutalization of young Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces. Israelis and Palestinians bond over soccer. Israel agrees that Egypt should deploy more troops in Sinai. Palestinians and Israelis host dual-narrative tours. COMMENTARY: Yossi Sarid says "cost of living" is the latest argument for the occupation. Zeev Sternhell says social justice requires ending the occupation. Khaled Diad looks at the Israeli-Palestinian-Egyptian triangle. Patrick Seale says a larger confrontation is brewing in the Middle East. Al Jazeera interviews Guy Goodwin Gill on the implications of Palestinian statehood for the PLO's legal status. Avi Issacharoff says there is the possibility of more violence soon.

Fear of engagement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's southern cities were bombarded by rocket and missile fire from Gaza as the weekend approached. There had been talk of a cease-fire at the beginning of the week, but this situation is actually a new form of tahadiyeh (lull ): It has different rules than the one after Operation Cast Lead two years ago. When Israel has an opportunity to attack, it does so, as it did Wednesday, killing Islamic Jihad operative Ismail al-Asmar in an air strike. That bombing sparked a new flare-up.

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Legal opinion challenges PLO statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
by Guy Goodwin Gill - (Opinion) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

A legal opinion highlighting the challenges and risks facing the Palestinian people in their quest for statehood has been obtained by Al Jazeera, in the lead up to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's bid at the United Nations in September.

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Stage is set for much bigger conflagration in Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

As if sparked by the intense summer heat, fierce fighting and other acts of extreme violence have broken out across the Middle East. The danger is that one of these nasty local conflicts will escalate into a full-scale war, setting the whole region on fire. In retaliation for an ambush of a Turkish military convoy on August 17 by guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which killed eight soldiers and wounded another 15, the Turkish Air Force, a couple of days later, struck at 60 suspected PKK hideouts and bases in the mountains of northern Iraq.

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