June 3rd

US response to Israel’s flotilla raid will shape the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Suat Kiniklioglu - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am I am the only Turkish politician who has visited Israel since Israel unleashed the Gaza war in 2008, and the Davos incident in 2009 between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the differences between our countries. I have many friends in Israel, and I did not hesitate to visit Israel when an invitation was extended to me by an Israeli think tank. Despite the many challenges, I maintained my optimism that Turkey and Israel would be able to mend their differences despite their disagreements over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. » Read more

Israel's only friend ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Doyle McManus - (Opinion) June 3, 2010 - 12:00am As most of the world has rushed to condemn Israel for its bungled seizure of a Turkish ferry that was attempting to break the Gaza blockade, President Obama has taken a different approach. Not only has he refused to condemn Israel's hard-nosed prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu; he has cast the United States as Israel's only friend. It's a strategic gamble, and let's hope it works. » Read more

That's No Way To Enforce a Blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Fred Kaplan - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's storming of the Mavi Marmara, killing at least nine Free Gaza activists and wounding several more, was an act of jaw-gaping stupidity—strategically and tactically, even leaving aside morally. You needn't be a partisan of Hamas to think so. Look at today's headlines on the editorial page of Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz: "The price of flawed policy," "Fiasco on the high seas," "Seven idiots in the cabinet," "A failure any way you slice it." » Read more

That's No Way To Enforce a Blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Fred Kaplan - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's storming of the Mavi Marmara, killing at least nine Free Gaza activists and wounding several more, was an act of jaw-gaping stupidity—strategically and tactically, even leaving aside morally. You needn't be a partisan of Hamas to think so. Look at today's headlines on the editorial page of Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz: "The price of flawed policy," "Fiasco on the high seas," "Seven idiots in the cabinet," "A failure any way you slice it." » Read more

Israeli academic says flotilla crisis could have been prevented ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am Calls for an international probe into Israel's deadly raid of a Gaza-bound protest flotilla have put the nation's military on the defense amid allegations of excessive use of force. » Read more

Netanyahu ignores calls for investigation of raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a vigorous, unapologetic defense Wednesday of his government's deadly raid of a protest flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, ignoring international calls for an independent probe into the incident. Netanyahu's televised comments, his first to Israelis since the high-seas military operation killed nine activists on a Turkish-flagged vessel early Monday, did little to appease critics who say Israel used excessive force. » Read more

Two Palestinians shot by Jewish settler in Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 3, 2010 - 12:00am A Jewish settler shot and injured two Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hebron Thursday, witnesses said. According to witnesses, a settler deliberately opened fire at two students near al-Aroub refugee camp, north of the town, injuring one in the back and the other in the thigh. Hospital officials said the one who was injured in the back had suffered sever bleeding, describing his condition as critical. Israeli troops hurried to the scene of the accident and prevented people from approaching the area, witnesses said. » Read more

In Gaza, a complex, dysfunctional way of life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am The ill-fated aid flotilla bound for Gaza this week bore food, medicine and toys. What it didn't have on board were the things that Gazans say they need most: jobs, reliable electricity and a ticket out. » Read more

IDF panel rules West Bank settlers not protected by Basic Law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's Basic Laws neither apply to nor protect settlers, the military appeals committee ruled in response to an appeal from a resident of Yitzhar, Akiva Hacohen, who was banned last October for six months from the West Bank except for Ariel. The ban was later extended for three months. Hacohen, represented by Yitzhak Bam of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, appealed the decision to the military appeals committee, which allows challenges to decisions of the IDF command in the West Bank. » Read more

Israel: remember 1947 and the Exodus ship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Richard Irvine - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am No one can accuse history of not having a sense of irony. Sixty-three years ago, in July 1947, a passenger ship destined for Palestine and named the Exodus was stopped and boarded by the British navy. The ship was crowded with Holocaust survivors determined to make a new life for themselves in British-controlled Palestine. The British, facing Zionist terrorism and trying to keep promises made to the Palestinian Arabs to limit Jewish immigration, were determined to stop it. Accordingly, when the Royal Navy boarded the ship 20 miles out from Haifa, a full-scale battle ensued. » Read more