July 30th

From lynch to escort - cooperating with the PA is bearing fruit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Blog) July 30, 2010 - 12:00am Two reservists en route to their Israel Defense Forces base in the West Bank make a wrong turn and find themselves in the heart of a Palestinian city. They run into Palestinian policemen, who demand that they turn themselves in. » Read more

West Bank leader eyes ‘home stretch to freedom’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - July 30, 2010 - 12:00am Over the road from the offices of the Palestinian prime minister, a new commercial tower is taking shape – one of countless projects that have sprung up across Ramallah. The building site provides a noisy reminder of the economic boom under way in parts of the occupied West Bank, which registered growth of 8.5 per cent last year. Moreover, the upswing is taking place against a backdrop of relative stability and security. Yet the man most commonly associated with the West Bank’s transformation is far from content. » Read more

July 29th

Police, settlers take over Jerusalem home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli settlers accompanied by police took over a building in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem early Thursday morning, evicting families from three of the building's apartments. Israeli National Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said two Jewish families entered the Old City home "based on documents claiming that they owned the property." He described the eviction as proceeding without incident. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: One man’s terrorist ... ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am One evening about 20 years ago, someone with a “Middle Eastern accent” called the Knesset and said a bomb was set to go off. I was working at The Jerusalem Post that night, and I can’t remember how much advance time the caller gave, but security guards went all around the Knesset and informed everyone, and some people left, but many stayed. It turned out there was no bomb. » Read more

Israel speeds up West Bank barrier construction following court injunction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am The Defense Ministry picked up the pace of work on the separation fence near the Palestinian village of Walajeh, south of Jerusalem this week, village residents and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel say. The residents had petitioned the High Court of Justice, asking it to order the state to find an alternative route for the fence. The current route would surround the village on three sides and separate it from large tracts of its land. » Read more

Pandering is no substitute for leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am With less than 100 days until the congressional elections, Republican dreams of taking control of both the House and Senate are giving nightmares not only to Democrats but also to those who want to see the Israelis and Palestinians make peace. As the GOP tries to out-Israel the Democrats by taking an increasingly hard line, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida lawmaker who could become the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) if Republicans win in November, is leading the charge by essentially proposing shutting down the peace process. » Read more

'Israeli Arabs have no choice but to build illegally' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Fadi Eyadat - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's Arabs are forced to build illegal housing due to the government's refusal to recognize many of their communities as official towns or to grant them permits for legal construction, according to a study released by the Dirasat - Arab Center for Law and Policy. The dozens of structures Israel razed earlier this week in the Bedouin town of Arkaib are among the 45,000 illegal constructions in unrecognized villages in the Negev. According to Knesset figures, some 1,500 structures like these are built annually in unrecognized villages. » Read more

Netanyahu: Israel's government will fall if settlement freeze continues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Continuing the construction freeze in West Bank settlements after it expires on September 26 would be impossible politically and would bring down the coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Moratinos told Netanyahu that the European Union's position was that Israel should continue the freeze. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has conditioned direct talks with Israel on a continued construction freeze. » Read more

Hamas bans lingerie displays in Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Scantily-clad mannequins and pictures of underwear models are to disappear from clothes shops in the Gaza Strip after officials announced new rules. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, said that the new rules were to protect "public morality". The ruling comes two weeks after the organisation banned women from smoking water pipes. Hamas has repeatedly denied it intends to impose Islamic Sharia law in Gaza. It has so far taken only limited steps to enforce modesty and prevent the sexes from mixing in public. » Read more

Going to direct talks with Israel is Palestinian decision: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 29, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian official said on Wednesday it is the Palestinians who decide to go to direct talks with Israel or not. "This is a sheer Palestinian decision," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio. "It's the Palestinian leadership who decides on peace-related issues." Erekat's comments came a day before the 13-member Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee meets in Cairo to discuss the United States' calls to start direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. » Read more