Dozens faint during prayers under Ramadan sun
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am


Tens of thousands of Palestinians lined up at West Bank checkpoints early on Friday morning, waiting to be granted access to the holy city of Jerusalem for prayer on the second Friday of Ramadan. Officials at the Islamic Waqf office estimated 150,000 worshipers gathered in the Old City mosque for prayer, while Israeli estimates put the number at 95,000.


Arab states cut aid to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am


Arab states have cut financial aid to the Palestinian Authority so far this year and the United Nations has warned of a looming Palestinian cash crisis. "The Arabs are not paying. We urge them to meet their financial pledges," said Saleh Rafat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee and one of the few Palestinian officials willing to speak out on the matter. Arab government officials declined to comment on the issue.


Israeli-Palestinian peace talks expected to resume in September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Douglas Hamilton - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am


Israelis and Palestinians will be invited Friday to begin direct peace talks in two weeks in Washington, a diplomatic source said Thursday night. Both sides were expected to attend the talks, which would begin Sept. 2, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Envoys from the so-called Quartet of powers -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- agreed to the details Thursday, the source said, adding that President Obama would be present at the talks. The White House declined to comment Thursday.


Anshel Pfeffer / It's all too easy for Israeli rights groups to call the IDF's bluff
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am


This week I published in Haaretz the story of a small group of reserve soldiers who last month, while on active duty in the Jordan Valley, decided to make a small modification to their routine: They replaced the standard collection of curt phrases in basic Arabic - used by generations of IDF soldiers to order Palestinian civilians to stop, open their car door, present documents and identify themselves - with the more pleasant greetings and respectful, traditional blessings of which Arabic is so full.


Report Criticizes Gaza Restrictions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am


Kamal Sweleim’s family has owned a farm in this northern part of Gaza for six decades. For most of that time, it was a mix of citrus orchards and plump cows, and the family made a handsome living selling its products to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. But 10 years ago, when the second Palestinian uprising broke out, spreading violence in Israeli streets, Israeli tanks started repeatedly tearing through the family’s fields, chasing militants. Last year, during the Israeli war in Gaza, the Sweleims were ordered to move out, and their trees and wells were bulldozed.


Israelis and Palestinians to Resume Talks, Officials Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am


Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to announce Friday that Israel and the Palestinians will return to direct negotiations for the first time in 20 months, delivering the Obama administration a small victory in its protracted effort to revive the Middle East peace process, two officials briefed on the situation said Thursday evening. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, have agreed to place a one-year time limit on the talks, these officials said.



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