Israel's settlements in West Bank present a major hurdle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Opinion) July 6, 2009 - 12:00am This sprawling, well-manicured Israeli settlement -- with its rows of red-tile roofs, palm trees and air-conditioned shopping mall -- could almost pass for Orange County. Except the guards in this gated community sometimes pack automatic weapons. Settlements such as the city-sized Maale Adumim, about four miles east of Jerusalem in the West Bank, are viewed by much of the world as illegal because they are built on land seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War. Many Israelis see Maale Adumim as part of their country. » Read more

Music event puts global spotlight on Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 5, 2009 - 12:00am It is not often Palestinians get a chance to see best- selling international artists up close and personal. Once a year, however, the Palestine International Festival offers exactly such an opportunity, and, judging by the packed outdoor venue at the Ramallah Cultural Palace on Friday, it is an opportunity people are keen not to miss. » Read more

Hamas arrests Palestinian woman for not wearing headscarf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas security forces detained a Gazan journalist at a beach over the weekend because she was not wearing a headscarf. Asma al-Ghul, who writes for the Palestinian daily Al-Ayam, said she was at the beach near the Shati refugee camp with a mixed group of friends when men in civilian clothing asked her why she was not wearing a headscarf. When she asked them who they were, they showed her Hamas security forces identity cards. She said that when questioning her, the men accused her of "laughing out loud" and walking around the beach without a male escort. » Read more

The difference a "comedian, actress, activist and dancing gimp” can make ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Deema Dabis - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am "I think that the biggest difference I make is that I actually show people that a disabled person can be members of society. "They look at me and they go woah, she walks funny but she seems to have all this power and she has no fear and her eyes are always looking straight ahead, she doesn't look down,” said founder of Maysoon’s Kids, Maysoon Zaayid. “I want people to think that hey, if I can do that, there is hope for my kid.” » Read more

Fayyad: Jews can be equal citizens in Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 5, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday said that Jews would enjoy freedom and full civil rights in a future Palestinian state, according to a report in the Aspen Daily News. "Jews, to the extent they choose to stay and live in the state of Palestine, will enjoy those rights and certainly will not enjoy any less rights than Israeli Arabs enjoy now in the state of Israel," Fayyad said in response to a question from former CIA director James Woolsey at the Aspen Institute's Ideas Festival. » Read more