August 29th

Scars of an Israeli survivor of the Hebron massacre ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Mordechai Twersky - (Opinion) August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Shlomo Slonim gazes at four large black and white photos of family members adorning the dining room wall of his apartment in Ra'anana, a city in central Israel. He battles with his health. He has recurrent flashbacks. But some memories cut even deeper than the one-inch indentation above his freckled forehead and the scars on his right hand from where his fingers were nearly severed. » Read more

The U.K. extreme right is undecided on who to hate: Jews or Muslims? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) August 29, 2012 - 12:00am The battle for leadership of Britain's far-right took a bizarre twist this month when the British National Party, long the most prominent racist group in British politics, issued a detailed report accusing their main rivals, the English Defense League, of being the “useful idiots” of “neo-cons” and “ultra-Zionists.” » Read more

Palestinian Authority prime minister attending TIFF ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Brent Lang - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad will make the argument for statehood at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Fayyad will appear at a press conference on September 11 in conjunction with the Toronto premiere of "State 194," producer Participant Media said Tuesday. » Read more

Report: 40% of east J'lem seniors drop out of school ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Noam Dvir - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am No student registration, high dropout rates, overcrowded classes and slow construction of new classrooms – these are only some of the failures characterizing the east Jerusalem education system, a report published Tuesday by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Ir Amim organization suggests. » Read more

Fayyad approves measures to counter electricity crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad approved new measures on Tuesday to help counter an electricity crisis in the West Bank, a statement said. Fayyad approved the measures during a weekly session of the Council of Ministers in Ramallah. The council endorsed measures to support low-income consumers of electricity as well as encouraging higher-income consumers to conserve their energy consumption. The council will also enter discussions with Jordan about bringing electricity prices into line with previous tariffs. » Read more

Former Israeli official denies Israel poisoned Arafat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press August 29, 2012 - 12:00am A former Israeli official is denying allegations that Israel poisoned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as French prosecutors begin investigating his possible murder. Dov Weisglass was chief of staff to the Israeli prime minister when Arafat died in 2004. He says Israel had no interest in harming the Palestinian leader at the end of his political career. Weisglass told Army Radio Wednesday that Israel permitted Arafat to seek medical treatment in France so Israel could not be accused of exacerbating his illness. » Read more

France opens Arafat murder inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 29, 2012 - 12:00am A French court has opened a murder inquiry into the 2004 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, prosecutors said on Tuesday, following claims by his wife that he may have been poisoned. Arafat died in a Paris military hospital in November 2004, a month after being airlifted - when his health collapsed - from his battered headquarters in Ramallah, where he had been effectively confined by Israel for more than two and a half years. » Read more

Egypt's Morsi invited to visit Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 29, 2012 - 12:00am In a rare departure from his oft- quoted hawkish declarations, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday extended an invitation to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to visit Israel. Speaking at a legal conference in Tel Aviv, Lieberman said, "We hope that whoever speaks about peace and about stability understands that there can be no hypothetical peace. "We hope that Morsi will meet with Israeli officials, that he will be interviewed by Israeli media and that he will visit Jerusalem as the guest of President (Shimon) Peres." » Read more

Two Palestinian cars torched in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Two Palestinian vehicles were torched and vandalized Tuesday night in a refugee camp near Ramallah just several hours after a similar incident in the West Bank, Israel Radio reported Wednesday. Perpetrators lit two cars on fire and spray painted them with slogans reading: "Revenge on the Arabs" and "Freedom for the homeland." Security forces were called into the Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah and launched an investigation after reports of Israelis entering the camp, Israel Radio reported. » Read more

Palestinian woman critically wounded by Israeli fire in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 29, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli forces stationed on Gaza borders opened fire at Palestinian farmers Wednesday, critically wounding a woman, witnesses and medical sources said. The 42-year-old woman was working on her land near the eastern edge of central Gaza Strip when she received several gunshots, the witnesses added. Israel has established a buffer zone along its borders with the Gaza Strip, saying the aim was to distance militants from the security fence separating the two territories. However, Palestinians say the 300-meter wide no-go area takes most of Gaza' s agricultural land. » Read more