July 24th

'Hamas may get claws into Gaza aid' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz, Herb Keinon - July 24, 2009 - 12:00am Increasingly concerned that Hamas will steal money donated for Gaza's rehabilitation, the Defense Ministry distributed a document this week revealing that unions affiliated with the terrorist group have set up joint committees with UN agencies that dispense humanitarian aid. The document was distributed to the Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry and the Israeli intelligence community, and was also sent to the United States to warn it that the $900 million it has pledged to help rebuild the Gaza Strip could fall into Hamas hands. » Read more

I remember the Nakba ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoram Kaniuk - (Opinion) July 23, 2009 - 12:00am This week I visited the Knesset for the third time in my life. The first time was during the War of Independence, when the site was not yet under Israel’s control. Today, it’s an immense building. If Netanyahu’s policy of going to war against the Americans will be implemented, even the US Army won’t be able to take over the Knesset building. Israel’s parliament looks like the formidable fortress of a strong nation. Barbed wire, thick walls, police officers, and checkpoints. An ugly citadel surrounded by even uglier buildings. » Read more

Netanyahu says seeks peace with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - July 23, 2009 - 12:00am "We hope in the months and years ahead to forge peace with the Palestinians and to expand that into a vision of a broader regional peace," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. Speaking during a reception at the residence of Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Reda in Herzliya, days before US President Barack Obama's peace envoy, George Mitchell, is expected in the region for new talks about how to renew peace efforts, Netanyahu praised the 2002 Arab Initiative for regional peace. » Read more

Arab Jerusalemite's plight is proof of two-faced policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - July 24, 2009 - 12:00am Thirty-one years ago, the High Court of Justice rejected a petition by Mohammed Said Burkan to lease an apartment in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter on the ruins of his family's home which, he asserted, had been bought under Ottoman rule. The ruling put a legal gloss on the practice of blocking access by non-Jews to state land. After years of steady encroachment, Burkan now lives in the heart of a Jewish neighborhood. The court not only rejected his petition but ordered him to pay court expenses to the state. » Read more

Reform leader: Most U.S. Jews back settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - July 24, 2009 - 12:00am The vast majority of American Jews back a settlement freeze, according to Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of Reform Judaism. "American Jews don't like when their government is at odds with the government of Israel," said Yoffie, whose organization's 1.5 million members make it the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S. » Read more

U.S. warns Israel: Don't build up West Bank corridor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - July 24, 2009 - 12:00am The U.S. administration has issued a stiff warning to Israel not to build in the area known as E-1, which lies between Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim. Any change in the status quo in E-1 would be "extremely damaging," even "corrosive," the message said. » Read more

Catastrophe? Israel bans 'nakba' from Arab textbook. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - July 23, 2009 - 12:00am In the lexicon of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, few terms elicit as much energy as the word nakba – Arabic for "the catastrophe," the term Palestinians use to describe the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. This week, the term became even more of a lightning rod. Amid a rising nationalistic tide in Israel's government, Education Minister Gideon Saar moved to expunge the word from school textbooks, reversing a 2007 decision. » Read more

Hamas Shifts From Rockets to Public Relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - July 23, 2009 - 12:00am Seven months after Israel started a fierce three-week military campaign here to stop rockets from being fired on its southern communities, Hamas has suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through cultural initiatives and public relations. » Read more

July 23rd

Few takers for engaging Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Mazen Mahdi - July 23, 2009 - 12:00am An article last week by Bahrain’s crown prince calling on Arab countries to adopt a new approach to relations with Israel has unleashed a torrent of debate from Manama to Washington, and is testing the ability of Gulf states to leverage their growing economic clout into regional political influence. Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, in his article for The Washington Post, argued that for the Arab-Israeli peace process to move forward “a great deal of campaigning – patiently and repeatedly targeting all relevant parties” was needed. » Read more

Waiting for Obama to deliver as promised ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) July 22, 2009 - 12:00am Six months have passed since Barack Obama settled in the White House, a precedent-setting achievement for an African-American, and yet he now seems inexplicably hesitant to follow up his initial and commendable step in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. » Read more