July 19th

Israel continues Jordan Valley demolitions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 19, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's Civil Administration began demolishing over 20 farmer's sheds in the Al-Farisiya area in the northern Jordan Valley on Monday morning, officials said. Director of the Save the Jordan Valley campaign Fathi Khdeirat described the demolitions as an "Israeli policy of collective displacement, aimed at expanding settlement outposts in the northern Jordan Valley." » Read more

The deceptive promise of direct talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - July 17, 2010 - 12:00am I am not privy to the discussions that took place privately between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month in the White House. From the noise and chatter that has followed this meeting, I believe we should start pondering the consequences of the likelihood that there will be no resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict during this generation. I base this pessimistic short-term outlook on several premises: » Read more

Egypt's Mubarak urges Israel, Palestinians to move toward direct talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press July 19, 2010 - 12:00am Pressure intensified on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to agree to direct talks with Israel as Egypt held separate, back-to-back meetings with the two sides Sunday in search of a compromise. Abbas says he will not negotiate directly with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu unless Israel agrees to recognize its 1967 frontier as a basis for the borders of a future Palestinian state and accepts the deployment of an international force to guard them. Netanyahu has refused to be pinned down on a framework for negotiations. » Read more

Hamas Moves to Enforce Water Pipe Ban in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am In its latest attempt to try to impose a conservative Islamic way of life on Gaza, Hamas started this weekend to enforce a ban on smoking water pipes in public. Palestinians smoked water pipes, a long-standing pastime, at a cafe in Gaza recently while watching a World Cup match. A spokesman for the Hamas police, Ayman al-Batniji, said that the ban applied only to women and that it was in line with “the Palestinian people’s customs and traditions.” But many cafe owners said they had been ordered to ban water pipes for both men and women. » Read more

Foundation of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News July 18, 2010 - 12:00am It might seem Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas forgot something when he recently put forth only one condition to resume direct peace talks: That Israel accept its 1967 frontier as a baseline for the borders of a Palestinian state. Abbas did not state the usual prerequisites — the halt of Jewish settlements, that Jerusalem be the capital of the future Palestinian state, the right of return or the return of Palestinian prisoners. » Read more

Ibish, why do you keep talking about what the Israelis will accept? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog by Hussein Ibish - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am It is frequently asked, although rarely directly to my face, “why does Ibish always talk/only seem to care (some version of that) about what Jewish Israelis will accept rather than what Palestinians want?” This question was recently repeated in a tweet, although not, as usual, directly addressed to me. Nonetheless, I do want to answer it because this confusion lies at the heart of a gulf of misunderstanding between the analyses I have been developing in recent years and much conventional wisdom among Arab-Americans and other pro-Palestinian groups. » Read more

House-by-house struggle for East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jeremy Bowen - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am Sometimes you can see just why it is so difficult to make peace in Jerusalem. This city excites strong passions. Not only is it holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians. It is also a national symbol for Israelis and Palestinians. No piece of ground on the planet is more contested. It has changed hands violently many times. On a dusty, narrow and steep street on the Israeli occupied eastern side of the city stands a battered seven-storey building. Scorch marks smudge the stonework around some of the windows. » Read more

The Fayyad difference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Alon Ben-meir - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am When the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister Salam Fayyad first introduced his plans to build the infrastructure for a future Palestinian state, many Israelis and Palestinians thought of it as nothing more than another Middle Eastern mirage that will leave no lasting impression. A little more than a year later, the plan is showing not only tremendous promise, but has become indispensable to the emergence of a democratic Palestinian state – one living alongside Israel in peace and security. » Read more

July 16th

FM presents: 2nd disengagement from Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shimon Shiffer - July 16, 2010 - 12:00am Five years after Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has proposed a new plan aimed at ridding Israel of any responsibility for the coastal enclave, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Friday. Lieberman is troubled by the fact that despite the evacuation of all Israeli settlements in Gaza and a full IDF withdrawal, the disengagement was not acknowledged by the international community, which still demands that Israel provide the Strip's residents with their basic necessities. » Read more

MESS Report / In the West Bank, new cars signal the good life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - July 16, 2010 - 12:00am New car lots and showrooms, offering vehicles of every kind but mainly Korean, have sprung up at the entrances to Nablus, from the Hawara checkpoint in the south and from the west. Similar showrooms have appeared at Jenin's southern and northern entrances. The dealerships, showing brand-new cars, reflect the economic growth in the West Bank. While in the '90s, West Bank cities served as a hideout for cars stolen from Israel, today their streets are lined with just-bought models. A Palestinian journalist in Nablus calls it "the car intifada." » Read more