July 21st

What exactly did Netanyahu promise Obama? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Blog) July 21, 2010 - 12:00am A talk given by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Andrew J. Shapiro at the Brookings Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington D.C. last weekend did not gain sufficient attention in Israel. Most of the Israeli newspapers focused on his argument that more American aid, which would fund the manufacture of missile defense systems, would help Israel make "tough" decisions in the peace negotiations with the Palestinians. (In other words – the financial assistance and defense systems would minimize the risk posed by rocket attacks thus facilitating future Israeli territorial withdrawals.) » Read more

Poll: 71.5% Israelis favor peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Lahav Harkov - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University released the 2010 Peace Index on Wednesday, revealing Israelis' positions on peace talks, captive soldier Gilad Schalit, US President Barack Obama and other current events and issues. » Read more

With blockade's easing, some Gaza factories revive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am Some of the hundreds of Gaza factories idled by Israel's blockade are cranking up rusty machines to can tomatoes, mix concrete and press pills again now that Israel is allowing in raw materials for the first time in three years. But Israel's recent easing of the closure appears unlikely to get Gaza's battered economy back on its feet. » Read more

Envoy: Israel threatened by efforts to delegitimize it ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Eli Lake - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's outgoing ambassador to the United Nations said Monday that the most significant threat to the Jewish state is not Iran, but efforts to delegitimize Israel and its leaders. "Israel is the most isolated, lonely country in the world," Gabriela Shalev told reporters in Washington at a luncheon sponsored by the Israel project. » Read more

Abbas: Specific US assurances on borders needed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told his Fatah movement he wants a more specific U.S. commitment on the borders of a future Palestinian state before agreeing to direct talks with Israel, an adviser said Wednesday. Abbas told Fatah leaders in a closed-door meeting late Tuesday that President Barack Obama's assurances so far aren't clear enough. Obama has urged Abbas to resume direct talks that broke off in December 2008. » Read more

Israel gives Gaza banks NIS 100M ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am The Political-Security Cabinet convened Wednesday to discuss Israel's blockade policy in the Gaza Strip. It was stated during the meeting that Israel had transferred NIS 50 million ($12.96 million) to Gaza banks for the payment of salaries on Monday and that an additional NIS 50 million will be transferred in the coming days. Banks in the Gaza Strip have suffered a cash shortage following an increase in trade stemming from blockade easements. » Read more

Israel wants fewer civilian deaths in future wars ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Louis Charbonneau - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am A new Israeli report on the 2008-2009 war in the Gaza Strip says that Israel's army is taking steps to reduce the number of civilian casualties in future wars and will restrict the use of white phosphorous. The 37-page report, which was posted on the Israeli Foreign Ministry's website, was delivered to the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday in compliance with a General Assembly resolution, U.N. officials said. » Read more

Arab who posed as a Jew jailed for rape 'by deception' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Catrina Stewart - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian man who masqueraded as a Jew to have sex with a Jewish woman has been convicted of rape "by deception" and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The unusual case underscores the racial tensions between Israel's Jewish and Arab communities, where intimate relations between the two are often regarded as taboo. » Read more

On and off, with nothing to show for ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) July 21, 2010 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama has been issuing contradictory statements about the prospect for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Once the US president assures Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that he is committed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, then, after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he says the prospects for peace in the region appear slim. Some time before that, Obama had acknowledged that the search for peace in the Middle East is tantamount to walking among land-mines. » Read more

PA urges Israel to hand over oxygen machines ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 21, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health appealed Wednesday to Israel to deliver seven oxygen machines donated by a Norwegian development agency that were seized by Israeli officials en route to hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza. Heath Minister Fathi Abu Moghli delivered a second letter of appeal to donor countries and organizations, calling for "urgent intervention" for the medical supplies to be delivered to hospitals in the occupied Palestinian territories. » Read more