July 15th

Regards from Khaled Meshal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am The baklava almost got stuck in the officers’ throats. A week ago, Munib al-Masri, the world’s richest Palestinian, hosted a group of Israeli officers from the West Bank coordination unit at his Nablus home. At one point he mentioned that he had received the pastry from Damascus, from his friend Khaled Meshal, head of the Hamas politburo. “Khaled sends regards,” he said. » Read more

Boycott boomerang? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Globes by Ami Brand - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am The Boycott Law, which it seems will have to overcome the hurdle of the High Court of Justice, has had one unexpected result. After a dormant decade, the moderate Israeli left is suddenly showing signs of revival. On the evening of the vote, following calls on Twitter and Facebook for a protest against the infringement of the right of free speech, several hundred demonstrators gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Compared with the average attendance at similar events, this was an impressive achievement. » Read more

Maybe It's Time for American Jews to Boycott Netanyahu (UPDATED) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am This is what the prime minister of the "Middle East's only democracy," Benjamin Netanyahu, said about the free-speech suppression bill that passed in the Knesset earlier this week: He said, unbelievably, that the new law doesn't taint Israeli democracy. "What stains (Israel's) image are those savage and irresponsible attacks on a democracy's attempt to draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not." Yikes. » Read more

Netanyahu does not seek peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am Yigal Amir has good reason for quiet satisfaction. Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin knows that the three shots he fired on the night of November 4, 1995, slammed shut the door on peace and changed the course of Israeli history. » Read more

How not to have a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Members of the Friends of Israel Initiative - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am The unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and its international recognition, would be a huge mistake. A peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is essential, but can be achieved only through honest negotiations – not by one party imposing a unilateral decision. » Read more

The other Jerusalem march ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am On Jerusalem Day last month, tens of thousands of youngsters active in the religious Zionist movement marched from the city's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to the Western Wall Plaza in what is known as the Flag Parade. Some turned the march into a frightening demonstration of nationalism, racism and violence. Today, this route will be followed in reverse by another march that is the opposite of the rightists' march. Instead of calling for death (to the Arabs ), it will raise a joint cry for life - for an end to the occupation and recognition of Palestinian independence. » Read more

A Year of Waste ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — Almost a year ago, President Obama declared to the United Nations General Assembly: “When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations — an independent sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel.” » Read more

Settler violence against Palestinians up 57 percent in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Tom Perry - July 15, 2011 - 12:00am HUWARA, Occupied West Bank: Scorched hillsides and charred olive groves near Nablus pinpoint the latest acts of arson by hard-line Jewish settlers against Palestinians who say they are ever more the victims of such attacks in the West Bank. “The olive tree is the only source of income for farmers,” said Mohammad Zeban, a Palestinian farmer, lamenting the damage inflicted on hundreds of olive trees by a recent fire near the village of Huwara. “They want to annihilate us.” » Read more

US rejects Arab League support for PA statehood bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh, Hilary Leila Krieger, Tovah Lazaroff - July 15, 2011 - 12:00am An Arab League decision to ask the UN to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines would not serve the peace process, the US said on Thursday. “We’ve been clear in our conviction that unilateral approaches to try to seek statehood via the United Nations will not lead to a comprehensive settlement,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told The Jerusalem Post in a statement. “That will only come via the hard give and take of negotiations and mutual agreement, and we are committed to working with the parties to pursue it that way.” » Read more

Poll Finds Palestinians Disenchanted with Hamas, Iran and the Peace Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Karl Vick - July 14, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians are trudging down the same long road as Israelis. Yes, they want peace. No, they don't think the other side will play ball. So for now their priority is private life: Getting food on the table and keeping the kids safe. That, at least, is the picture painted by a new survey of 1,010 Palestinians interviewed face to face in both the West Bank and Gaza over the last two weeks. It was conducted by a Palestinian firm working for Stan Greenberg, famed as Bill Clinton's pollster but who did this work for The Israel Project, a well-funded private U.S. » Read more