August 26th

Lebensraum as a justification for Israeli settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am Until now Israel had supported the occupation of the territories with two pillars: history and security - its right to inherit the land and its obligation to defend it. In recent weeks a third pillar was added, which all these years was hidden under straw and stubble. And maybe it's not a pillar but a snake, whose head must be crushed while it's still small. » Read more

Springtime in Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist August 26, 2011 - 12:00am “Sometimes you have to subordinate strategic considerations to tactical needs,” says Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, former prime minister and the country’s most decorated military man. This is one such time: Mr Barak, backed by the current prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is going to agree to Egypt deploying thousands of troops in Sinai even though the Israel-Egypt peace treaty strictly forbids it. They will have helicopters and armoured vehicles, Mr Barak says, but no tanks beyond the lone battalion already stationed there. » Read more

From stabbing IDF soldiers to having them as teammates, Palestinian uses football for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 25, 2011 - 12:00am Sulaiman Khatib is an ordinary Palestinian with an extraordinary past. Born in the West Bank near Jerusalem, he grew up as a “freedom fighter,” as he describes it, fighting against the Israeli occupation by throwing stones and preparing Molotov cocktails. » Read more

How Israel takes its revenge on boys who throw stones ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent August 26, 2011 - 12:00am The boy, small and frail, is struggling to stay awake. His head lolls to the side, at one point slumping on to his chest. "Lift up your head! Lift it up!" shouts one of his interrogators, slapping him. But the boy by now is past caring, for he has been awake for at least 12 hours since he was separated at gunpoint from his parents at two that morning. "I wish you'd let me go," the boy whimpers, "just so I can get some sleep." » Read more

EU diplomat says aid to Palestinians in question ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Daniella Cheslow - August 25, 2011 - 12:00am Europe's financial crisis is causing some European Union lawmakers to question whether the bloc can continue to deliver millions in aid to the Palestinians, an EU diplomat said Thursday. The EU is the largest single donor to the Palestinians, contributing about 500 million euros ($720 million) a year to build institutions for a future state and pay salaries. Under Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Palestinians embarked in 2009 on a two-year state-building plan to be ready for independence by September. » Read more

Palestinian, Jew give both sides on joint Jerusalem tours ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Catriona Davies - August 26, 2011 - 12:00am As a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, Kobi Skolnick once fired shots at Aziz Abu Sarah's aunt's house in the West Bank town of Hebron. Ten years later, Skolnick, a former Israeli settler, who grew up in an ultra-orthodox household, and Abu Sarah, once a Palestinian militant, work together explaining both sides of the Middle East conflict to tourists. They discovered the uncomfortable coincidence during a tour in Hebron for Mejdi, a "dual-narrative" tour company co-owned by Abu Sarah, where every tour is jointly led by Jewish and Palestinian guides. » Read more

Q+A-Can Palestine become a United Nations member state? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Louis Charbonneau - August 26, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinians have vowed to seek full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital, ignoring opposition from Washington and Israel. But there appears to be little chance it could succeed at present because the United States would veto it in the Security Council. » Read more

Ashrawi: UN statehood bid no threat to PLO ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 26, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi said Thursday that the plan to join the United Nations as a state would not threaten the PLO's rights in the world body. Ashrawi, a senior PLO member, disputed arguments by international law expert Guy Goodwin-Gill, who has informed the Palestinian team that the initiative could terminate the legal status held by the PLO in the UN. Ashrawi said that "this step will not eliminate the role of the PLO," and Palestinian refugees have nothing to fear from the bid to join the UN, which is expected to be submitted in September. » Read more

Gaza PM: We will not recognize Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 26, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister of the Hamas-run Gaza government Ismail Haniyeh restated Friday his party's position that they will not recognize Israel. In an address to worshipers gathered at An-Nour mosque in Gaza City for the last Friday of Ramadan, Haniyeh said "we will not leave any centimeter of Palestine, and we will not recognize Israel and the occupation." The Hamas chief called the revolutions sweeping the Arab world, "the introduction for Palestinian liberation." » Read more

Israel OK's expansion of building in Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman August 26, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is allowing Jewish settlers to expand a building in Hebron, one of the West Bank's most volatile cities. Palestinians object to Jewish construction in areas they envision for their future state. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office said Friday he gave the building permit to house a kindergarten in Beit Romano, a structure built in the late 1800s by a Jewish merchant. Today it houses a religious seminary. Hagit Ofran of settlement watchdog Peace Now says Barak has become a "tool of the most radical settlers." » Read more