July 3rd

Settlers say they bought outpost land, one year after Palestinian owner's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Residents of the condemned West Bank outpost of Migron have appealed the High Court to stay the demolition of the settlement's illegal structures on Tuesday, claiming that they had recently purchased the land on which the homes were built. However, a preliminary inspection of the purported sale reveals that the Palestinian whom the settlers claim sold them the land passed away in 2011, one year before the alleged transaction. » Read more

PLO: Hamas pull-out from voter registration 'unjustifiable' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 3, 2012 - 12:00am PLO officials gathered in Ramallah on Monday evening to discuss Hamas' decision to suspend voter registration in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day. Electoral officials were set to start registration on Tuesday, the first time rolls have been updated in Gaza since 2005. The meeting in the West Bank, headed by Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas, called the move an "unjustifiable decision which contradicts with all agreements reached in Cairo and Doha." » Read more

Israelis and Palestinians Share Intrigue over Cancelled Meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - (Opinion) July 1, 2012 - 12:00am It has been almost two years since Israeli and Palestinian officials at the most senior level have sat down together. That was supposed to happen on Sunday, when Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas had invited Israeli Vice Premier Shaul Mofaz to come to Ramallah. But that meeting was called off after a series of domestic events in Israel and the Palestinian Authority made it impossible. » Read more

Fabled Israeli spy dies at 93 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Yaakov (Mayo) Meidad, widely considered one of the best to had served in Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, died last weekend at the age of 93, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported Monday. Former Mossad chiefs and many of its past and present agents attended the funeral, held at an undisclosed location in central Israel on Sunday. » Read more

Israeli NGO posts video of Israeli policeman kicking Palestinian child ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem on Monday posted a video showing an Israeli border police officer kicking a Palestinian child in the West Bank city of Hebron. The video, filmed by a B'Tselem volunteer on June 29, shows that a policeman caught a child and another officer hurriedly approached them, kicked the child once and left just as fast, while the kid ran away crying. In a statement, B'Tselem said the case was referred to Israeli Justice Ministry's department for investigation of police. » Read more

Israel approves Palestinian water projects in controlled area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Israel approved three water projects in a controlled area in the West Bank more than one year after the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) made the request. The projects will provide water supply system to three Palestinian villages located in Area C in the West Bank, where Israel retains security and administrative control. In a statement, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) said the projects are "important and vital," adding that they were funded by the governments of Japan and the United States. » Read more

Palestinians humiliated by their own ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am The security men delivered a beating like there was no tomorrow, as if they were defending their lives. No, it wasn't the riot police in Tel Aviv, but rather the Palestinian police in Ramallah. On Saturday, cautiously and moderately in comparison with their Israeli counterparts, and again on Sunday with mounting brutality, the Palestinian police tried to prevent a small group of demonstrators from advancing on the grand presidential compound, the Muqata. » Read more

Israeli leader vows more settlement building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's prime minister says his government will continue settlement construction in the West Bank. A participant in a closed meeting of parliament's powerful Defense and Foreign Affairs committee said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday to continue developing areas near Jerusalem, deep inside the West Bank and in the Jordan Valley. The Israeli leader struck a defiant note on settlements days after Israel evacuated a West Bank outpost ruled illegal by Israel's Supreme Court. » Read more

After Arab Spring, Abbas discovers importance of public opinion in PA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Several hours after an official from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud's Abbas' office leaked to the media that a planned meeting with Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz would not take place, the latter's aides claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was behind the move. This reaction was both immature and condescending, reflecting a characteristic Israeli response to Abbas' moves - as if the Palestinian leaderhas no will of his own, no independent interestsand especially no public opinion to take into consideration. » Read more

Lebanon: Israel explodes its spy devices in south ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press July 3, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has remotely detonated three spying devices in south Lebanon, the Lebanese army said Tuesday. The explosions occurred Monday evening in the village of Zrariye, north of the Litani river, which runs through southern Lebanon, the army said. The militant Hezbollah group said it discovered the devices before their detonation and hailed that as a major achievement, accusing Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty. » Read more