Palestinians to request Arab support in Arafat's probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 15, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian delegation to the Arab League (AL) will demand support for an international investigation into the death of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Palestinian officials said on Sunday. PLO senior official Saeb Erekat said he will use the emergency meeting next Tuesday to discuss new facts suggesting that Arafat was poisoned. The meeting was requested by Tunisia following an investigative program on the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera, aired on July 3. The AL is meeting in Doha, Qatar next Sunday. » Read more

Hillary Tends the Garden in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 15, 2012 - 12:00am Former secretary of state George Shultz used to compare diplomacy to tending a garden. If you wanted results, you had to keep up with it. As the secretary of state lands in Israel this week, she will see a lot more weeds than flowers. And no amount of watering and weeding is going to make this garden grow, whether on the peace process, Iran or the Bibi-Obama relationship. Rarely has a secretary of state been more boxed in and had less leverage to press an American agenda on the two most important issues: Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. » Read more

Palestinian women breaking into business ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 15, 2012 - 12:00am From corner fruit stalls in Hebron to chic Ramallah ballet studios, Palestinian women are making their mark in business, some out of necessity and others looking to break the gender mould and pursue a dream. For Shyrine Ziadeh, a 24-year-old Birzeit University graduate, that dream was to open a dance studio. » Read more

You Gotta do What You Gotta Do ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) July 13, 2012 - 12:00am J Street, long assaulted by the right, is suddenly under attack from the left. Ever since its staunch—and perhaps decisive—opposition to a divestment initiative under consideration by the Presbyterian Church, some of J Street’s ideological allies have been slamming it for being on the wrong side of the anti-occupation struggle. » Read more

PM blames Iran for thwarted Cyprus terror attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on for what he described as an attempted Hezbollah attack against Israeli targets in Cyprus, the second time this month he has pointed a finger at Tehran for attempted terrorist attacks against Israelis abroad. » Read more

The PA's Pitiable Strategy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by George Hale - (Opinion) July 12, 2012 - 12:00am The mood in Bethlehem this weekend offered a stark contrast to the wailing and gnashing of teeth going on in Washington since UNESCO recognized the birthplace of Christ as a world heritage site. Hundreds of Palestinians gathered Saturday at the Church of the Nativity to hear their leaders take credit for a rare victory and promise more to come. » Read more

U.S. Jews to Netanyahu: Report urging state to legalize settlements will aid those seeking to delegitimize Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - July 15, 2012 - 12:00am More than 40 American Jewish leaders and philanthropists have sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressing their concern about the recent Levy Committee report on the legality of settlements in the territories and urging him to make sure that the government does not adopt it. » Read more

Think Before Joining Anti-Israel Boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) July 15, 2012 - 12:00am True or false: Boycotts are bad. True. And false. » Read more

Obama's Promise Kept to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Mel Levine - (Opinion) July 15, 2012 - 12:00am ‘I can assure you, if somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.” This was the vow made by then-senator Barack Obama in Sderot in 2008, after the besieged Israeli city had been hit by more than 2,000 rockets, » Read more

Uprooting Palestinian trees - and lives ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am The hummer and the jeep screeched to a halt on the path in the olive grove. The soldiers bravely climbed out of the vehicles, and proceeded toward the unknown. Armed and determined, they cleared their way through thorns, stones and rusty barrels; they headed toward the suspicious figures. Within a few minutes, the soldiers received reinforcements. Another hummer appeared on the scene, and its soldiers climbed out of it, armed and determined. Behind them the Swiss red rooftops of the Nachliel settlement jutted into the skyline. Standing before them was a group of thirty people. » Read more