July 21st

Omar H. Rahman: Economic crisis looms as Palestine nears UN push in September ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Omar Rahman - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian territories may soon be experiencing an economic crisis that is, at least in part, directly tied to their diplomatic initiative scheduled for the United Nations in September. The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority is facing a massive budget shortfall and has reached a ceiling in its borrowing from local banks and the private sector, with the situation becoming increasingly acute. » Read more

FEATURE-Wife battering, sexual abuse get attention in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am GAZA, July 20 (Reuters) - Most safe-houses in the Gaza Strip are meant to provide protection for armed militants on Israel's target list. Now Gaza is offering protected shelter to battered Palestinian women. Its lone women's safe-house, opened two months ago, has had eight clients, all guarded by police from the Islamist Hamas movement that runs the enclave and enforces a conservative though not radical Muslim religious code. » Read more

Worldview: Can once-friendly Israel and Turkey mend frayed ties? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Inquirer Digital by Trudy Rubin - (Opinion) July 21, 2011 - 12:00am As blood flows in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, and the region continues its meltdown, the only two Mideast democracies out there are Israel and Turkey. Ideally, these two would be working together, especially as Syria, which is sandwiched between them, shows signs of regime failure. Of course, the times are far from ideal. Israeli-Turkish relations, once close, are in the deep freeze; they nearly snapped last year after nine Turkish civilians were killed in an Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara, an aid ship that tried to run Israel's blockade of Gaza. » Read more

Abbas: UN bid will not affect peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 21, 2011 - 12:00am BARCELONA (AFP) -- Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said his efforts to seek UN membership for the Palestinians would not affect negotiations "that we want to continue to have" with Israel. Abbas is in Spain as part of a foreign tour aimed at drumming up support for United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state amid a long stalemate in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. » Read more

Former CIA Man: Don't Bet on Israel Bombing Iran on My Speculation! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Robert Baer - (Opinion) July 21, 2011 - 12:00am To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I wonder what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had first discussed them on talk radio. Having found myself at the center of a bizarre series of stories claiming that Israel is planning to attack Iran in September as a result of some speculative answers to a talk-show host's questions, I think I now know. » Read more

For Refugees, a Frustrating Feeling of Permanence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Rana F. Sweis - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am AMMAN — When Iraqi militias threatened Ghasswan Al Taee, 36, in 2006, he fled to Jordan. Five years later and with three children born here, his state of limbo has become a constant. Since 2003 an estimated four million Iraqis have fled their homes, the largest exodus since Israel’s creation in 1948. Deepening violence and sectarian strife have led to the internal displacement of many Iraqis and have driven others out of the country, largely to Syria and Jordan, but also to Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and the Gulf. » Read more

Breaking the Israel-Palestine Impasse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus by Didier Jacobs - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am On a recent trip to Israel, I visited a school in Sderot featuring bunkers in the playground. I asked the principal what she thought about her government: “Things are quiet now, so the policy is working”, she replied. And when rockets rain down, it’s time to retaliate. Hawks take political advantage of violence, and doves can’t convey the urgency of peace in good times. » Read more

September: Why Israelis Are Anxious ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Talking Points Memo by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) July 21, 2011 - 12:00am This week, the Fatah leadership of the Palestinian Authority announced a full-bore diplomatic effort to gain UN membership for a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders with its capital in Jerusalem. President Mahmud Abbas is touring Europe and Turkey. Emissaries will be traveling to China, India and other rising powers. Saeb Erekat, Abbas's indefatigable chief negotiator, called the campaign for statehood "massive." » Read more

Standing up to the pro-Israel establishment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Salon.com by Teresa Cotsirilos - (Interview) July 20, 2011 - 12:00am In the two years since Jeremy Ben-Ami founded J Street, which bills itself as a "pro-peace, pro-Israel" voice for a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian dispute, his organization has been attacked as "morally deficient" and "appallingly naive" by critics in the American Jewish community and on the right end of the political spectrum. And in Israel, members of the Knesset have even formed a committee to determine whether J Street is "anti-Israel" and should be publicly condemned. » Read more

As U.S. Steps Back, Europe Takes Bigger Role in Mideast Peace Push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — It is a truism of Middle East peacemaking that the United States is the pivotal player — the most credible broker between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But with talks at a standstill, the Obama administration now finds itself on the sidelines, and Europe is emerging as the key diplomatic actor. » Read more