July 26th

Rosemary's baby - Uri Avnery ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 24, 2010 - 12:00am Since I witnessed the rise of the Nazis during my childhood in Germany, my nose always tickles when it smells something fascist, even when the odor is still faint. When the debate about the “one-state solution” began, my nose tickled. Have you gone mad, I told my nose, this time you are dead wrong. This is a plan of the left. It is being put forward by leftists of undoubted credentials, the greatest idealists in Israel and abroad, even certified Marxists. But my nose insisted. It continued to tickle. Now it appears that the nose was right, after all. » Read more

Abbas: Israel renewing cycle of violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 26, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Israel’s continued settlement building on what would become a future Palestinian state was impeding a two-state solution and renewing the cycle of violence. In his speech delivered at the summit of the African Union in Kampala, Abbas said Palestinians were clinging to peace “to build a better future for our coming generations and all peoples of the region,” the PA news agency Wafa reported. » Read more

Settlers riot near Nablus checkpoint ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 26, 2010 - 12:00am Residents of an illegal Israeli settlement rioted Monday in the northern West Bank, protesting the demolition of structures built in an adjoining outpost, onlookers said. Ma’an’s Nablus correspondent reported from the scene that dozens of armed settlers stormed the nearby Burin village, opening fire at Palestinian homes. Israeli forces also ransacked houses, locals said, including the homes of Bashir Az-Zein and Ibrahim Abid. » Read more

Israeli Forces Kill Unarmed Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli forces shot to death an unarmed Palestinian man early on Thursday at the edge of a Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank, Israeli military and Palestinian officials said. The Palestinian Authority government condemned the killing, calling it a "breach of the rule of law." The Israeli military said that soldiers saw three Palestinians approaching the settlement of Barkan before dawn. Suspecting that one was armed, the military said, the soldiers opened fire, killing one man. The two others fled. It initially reported that there had been only one other man. » Read more

'Israel interfering in U.S. efforts in West Bank' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am A report by a U.S. government watchdog has found that the Israeli government's conduct in recent years - including delaying the transfer to Palestinian security forces of AK-47 rifles, radios, vehicles and uniforms - hampers U.S. efforts to train those forces in the West Bank. » Read more

July 23rd

Eiland: Flotilla was preventable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post July 23, 2010 - 12:00am Maj.-Gen Giora Eiland said it was possible to prevent the May 31 flotilla to Gaza by political means, speaking in an interview with Reshet Bet Friday. "Three months before the flotilla there were many courses of action which could have prevented it," said Eiland, head of a military commission charged with conducting an internal investigation of the Gaza-bound flotilla, which was boarded by Israeli commandos and left nine Turkish citizens dead. » Read more

Israel gives green light to armored vehicles for Palestinian Authority ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - July 23, 2010 - 12:00am The defense establishment has advised the government to allow the Palestinian Authority to import 50 Russian-made armored vehicles - something Israel has been refusing to do for five years now. » Read more

F-35 jet purchase decision pending ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - July 23, 2010 - 12:00am Israel is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks regarding the purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), senior defense officials said on Wednesday. This would make Israel the first foreign customer to sign a contract to purchase the advanced stealth fighter jet. Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. Udi Shani convened a meeting with top IDF officers Wednesday evening to discuss the potential deal, which is expected to be decided upon at a meeting later this month that will be chaired by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. » Read more

Abbas warns Fatah to get organized or die ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 23, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned the Fatah party he leads that its days are numbered unless it puts its house in order. His remarks underscore the troubles facing a party in decline since the death of Yasser Arafat, its co-founder, in 2004. The movement's weaknesses have contributed to the rise of the Islamist group Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip for three years. » Read more

Abbas: Obama is being unclear ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 23, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday criticized US President Barack Obama for failing to provide him with clear answers to a number of questions regarding the future of peace talks with Israel. Abbas also confirmed that Obama has been exerting pressure on him to enter direct negotiations with Israel. Abbas was speaking during a closed meeting of members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in Ramallah. » Read more