Germany and Israel's 'special relationship' in spotlight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Stephen Evans - June 5, 2012 - 12:00am If ever there were two countries with a truly "special relationship", they are Germany and Israel. For obvious reasons of history, they are bound together. The genocidal madness of a previous generation of the one and the suffering of the victims of a previous generation of the other make them intertwined in a way no other two countries are. But is the relationship changing? There are certainly signs that it is being re-examined in Germany. What was taken as a given in the past is now up for questioning. » Read more

Palestinian Athlete Heads to the Olympics, Makes History ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Yossi Eli, Rimon Margia - June 4, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian sports just made history: 28-year-old Maher Abu Ramila from Jerusalem’s Old City, met the Olympic qualifications and earned a trip to compete in the 2012 London Olympic games next month. Thus he has become the first Palestinian athlete to compete in the games on his own merit, and not as a “solidarity gesture” — awarded by the Olympic committee as a mark of identification. » Read more

Abbas to Israelis: Don't turn your backs on peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on Israel “not to turn [its] back to the prospects of peace” and cautioned that the chances to achieve peace may not remain for too long. » Read more

Obama worried PA not interested in peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON -- US President Barack Obama is worried that Palestinian leadership was no longer as interested in advancing toward peace, he said in a conversation with Orthodox Jewish leaders on Tuesday. » Read more

Learning from the Nakba ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am I do not need anyone to teach me about the Palestinian Nakba. It is the defining moment of my existence. During the war in 1948, my family had already fled our home in Talpiot in southeast Jerusalem and taken shelter in a monastery. We quickly gathered some possessions and climbed down and up the mountain to Bethany, and then to Jericho. » Read more

A Glimmer? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am There is a plenty of blame to be shared for why peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians are going nowhere. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem are a big part of the problem. There may be some glimmer of hope in Mr. Netanyahu’s decision to support an Israeli Supreme Court order to close an illegal neighborhood, known as Ulpana, in the West Bank settlement of Beit El. » Read more

Six days in Israel, 45 years ago ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Miko Peled - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am In early June 1967, as I cowered with my mother and sisters in the "safest" room of our house near Jerusalem — the downstairs bathroom — we feared the worst. None of us imagined that the war that had just begun would end in six days. » Read more

PM to head ministerial committee on settlement affairs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am In a move meant to placate right-wing ministers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he will head a new ministerial committee that would deal with settlement affairs. The announcement was made hours before the Knesset convened to vote on a bill aiming to legalize homes built on contested land in the West Bank. » Read more

Knesset votes down bill to sanction illegal West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis, Oz Rosenberg - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's Knesset on Wednesday voted down a bill that aimed at legalizing homes on the Ulpana Hill neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, which were built on privately owned Palestinian land. In a preliminary reading, 69 Knesset members voted against the bill, while 22 voted for it. » Read more

Israeli airstrike injures 2 in Gaza City ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 6, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes fired on a naval police base in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, injuring two Palestinians. Medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said two people were evacuated to Shifa hospital, one of whom was in a critical condition. The dawn airstrike hit a naval police post in the Sudaniyya neighborhood of Gaza City, a Ma'an correspondent said. Witnesses also said Israeli fighter jets fired at a poultry farm in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning. No injuries have been reported. » Read more