July 2nd

Amnesty details violations in Gaza assault
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Vita Bekker - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel and Hamas of having committed “serious and extensive” violations during Israel’s assault in the Gaza Strip and urged the international community to boost its support for a United Nations inquiry into the alleged war crimes. In its 119-page report, the London-based human rights group also called on Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, to fully co-operate with the UN probe headed by Richard Goldstone, an ex-chief prosecutor at the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.


Israeli troops wound four Palestinians in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


Israeli soldiers shot and wounded four Palestinian youths on Wednesday while firing at protesters throwing stones at Israeli civilian vehicles, an Israeli military spokesman and medics said. Two of the wounded were in serious condition in an Israeli hospital, and two others were listed as moderate in a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus, an Israeli military source and Palestinian medical officials said. A Palestinian official said all those who were shot were boys younger than 16. The Israeli spokesman had no details on their identities.


Abbas: Hamas hoarding weapons in plot to assassinate PA officials
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


The Palestinian Authority has intelligence indicating Hamas is planning to attack its officials, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday. Abbas' statement follows the announcement made earlier this week by the PA, in which it confirmed that members of a Hamas cell were arrested, and later confessed to plotting to carry out attacks against Palestinian Authority officials and institutions before July 7th – the date Fatah and Hamas are expected to sign a reconciliation agreement.


ATFP Translation: What does it mean to be a Palestinian leftist?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Hassan Khader - (Opinion) June 30, 2009 - 12:00am


I have been reading newspaper accounts over the past few days about a conference in Ramallah entitled "Experiences of unifying and activating the left in Palestine and the world." I recall the memory of a young woman from the cold and distant north who asked me during the Beirut civil war thirty years ago what was preventing the unification of two large leftist organizations. I instantly responded: stupidity.


Settlers hope PM won't yield to US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am


Settlers leaders on Wednesday promised to lobby against any concessions that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu might consider making to the Americans on the issue of settlement construction, when he meets with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell in the next few weeks. "We have two weeks to work with," said Dani Dayan, who heads the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. He added that the council was seeking a meeting with Netanyahu.


Merkel: Settlements endanger two-state deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Thursday that Israeli settlement building in the West Bank stop, saying it endangered efforts to achieve a two-state solution with the Palestinians. "I think it is now important to get commitments from all sides and that includes the issue of settlement building," Merkel said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. "I am convinced that there must be a stop to this. Otherwise we will not come to the two-state solution that is urgently needed."


Without any tricks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


The repeated demands by Barack Obama and the Europeans for a freeze on settlement construction reveals that Benjamin Netanyahu's promise - that Israel will neither build new settlements nor expropriate land for the benefit of the settlements - is nothing more than an effort to throw sand in the public's eyes.


Some See Extended Olive Branch For Israel In Ross Appointment to NSC
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


The promotion of Middle East adviser Dennis Ross to a senior White House position may open the door to a more positive tone by the United States toward the Israeli government, experts believe.


'U.S. can't get Arabs to commit to normal Israel ties'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Matthew Lee, Cnaan Liphshiz - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


The U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem said Wednesday. The source said U.S. President Barack Obama's recent meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did not produce a commitment to encourage the other Arab states to begin normalization. "In such a situation, the Americans can't continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction," the source said.


Growing Gulf Between U.S. And Israeli Jews on Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am


He swept to power with the support of 78% of American Jews. But has Barack Obama become the bane of Israeli Jews? A gulf between American and Israeli Jews was evident even before Obama moved into the White House. Just a third of Israelis would have endorsed him had they been allowed to vote, polling indicated, while almost half would have chosen John McCain.



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