Thousands head to Aqsa mosque ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 20, 2012 - 12:00am Thousands of Palestinians traveled from inside Israel and the occupied West Bank to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the first Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Crossings experienced a large volume of traffic, particularly at the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem. Israeli forces deployed at crossings and checkpoints throughout Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage and other groups are implementing a campaign under the Ministry of Religious Affairs to protect the mosque during the Ramadan period. » Read more

Israeli officials says Iran will face retaliation for bombing that killed 5 in Bulgaria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Karin Brulliard - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli officials maintained Thursday that Iran was behind a suicide bombing that killed five Israeli tourists in Bulgaria and vowed to settle the score, but indicated that retaliation was unlikely to take the form of a military strike on Iran. » Read more

Israeli president vows retribution "both near and far" over tourist bus blast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am "Israel will locate and act against terror all over the world," Israeli President Shimon Peres said Thursday in a strong response to a suicide bombing against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria a day earlier. Five Israelis were killed, along with the Bulgarian bus driver, at the Burgas airport when an as-yet unidentified man detonated a powerful charge that ripped through a tour bus full of just- arrived Israeli tourists. » Read more

Palestinian reconciliation frozen until elections commission resumes work in Gaza: Fatah official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian reconciliation is frozen until Hamas allows the elections committee to resume its work in the Gaza Strip, an official from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party said Thursday. "We are not ready to hold any meeting with Hamas before it cancels its unjustified position," said Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah Central Committee, referring to the closure of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) office in Gaza. Hamas took over Gaza in 2007 after routing pro-Abbas forces in deadly battles. » Read more

Egypt's president promises to help lift Gaza blockade: Hamas official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 20, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi promised to exert more efforts to lift a blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, a Hamas official said Thursday. The promise was made during a meeting between Morsi and a delegation from Hamas in Cairo Thursday, according to the official, Ayman Taha. It is the first time that an Egyptian president has sat with Hamas, the Islamic movement that took over Gaza after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. » Read more

Hamas speaker of Palestinian parliament released ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Israel on Thursday released one of the Islamic militant Hamas movement's most senior members, the speaker of the now-defunct Palestinian parliament. Abdel Aziz Dweik, 64, was freed after serving six months without charges, his aide Baha Mahmoud said. Israel confirmed the release. Hamas defeated the Fatah movement of internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2006 parliamentary elections. After the vote, Israel began arresting Hamas legislators in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. » Read more

Syria Unrest Will Shadow Romney's Israel Trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Buzzfeed by Zeke Miller, Ben Smith - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am The deepening unrest in Syria threatens to drive an unlikely wedge between many American conservatives and their allies in Israel on the eve of Mitt Romney’s friendly visit to the country. Even before the violence intensified and closed in on Damascus this week, Romney and his advisers were pushing for more direct American support of the Syrian rebels, while the Obama administration focused bringing international pressure to bear and working through proxies. » Read more

Syria’s Stockpile of Chemical Weapons is Making Israel Nervous ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am During the first Gulf War in the winter of 1990, Israelis huddled in sealed rooms and donned gas masks as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein lobbed Scud missiles at the Jewish state. Israeli intelligence knew that Hussein had a stockpile of chemical weapons and was worried that he might use them. » Read more

PA fears for Palestinians caught in Syria violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 20, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority officials Thursday concern over the safety of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in Syria. They said that some 300 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the uprising in Syria in March 2011. More than 500,000 Palestinians are believed to be living in Syria, mostly in a number of refugee camps. The PA announced Thursday that it was in contact with the Syrian authorities and opposition to avoid involving Palestinians in the escalating violence. » Read more

Israel Is Forced to Rethink Its Regional Strategies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, observed on Thursday that President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power was slipping away. “The disintegration is not abstract; it is real,” Mr. Barak said after a tour and debriefing with the local commander. “It is getting closer.” » Read more