July 30th, 2008

Where's Our Jerusalem? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) July 30, 2008 - 3:32pm The image of municipal workers, backed by armed Border Police, demolishing a practically new residential dwelling in east Jerusalem makes for bad publicity. It also exposes an underlying incoherence in Israel's approach to the capital's Arab neighborhoods. » Read more

Blast At Hamas Gaza Training Camp ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English July 30, 2008 - 3:31pm At least four people have been injured in an explosion at a Hamas training camp in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials and witnesses. The blast near the town of Khan Yunis late on Tuesday reportedly destroyed the base and it was still on fire about one hour later. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but the Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the incident. » Read more

Not Just Another Interfaith Parley ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by David Rosen - (Opinion) July 30, 2008 - 3:30pm Last week, an amazingly colorful array of Arab princes and Muslim clerics came together with representatives of the world's major faiths in the Spanish Royal El Prado Palace in Madrid. While the Western media generally failed to appreciate the magnitude of the event, the Arab media understood how important it really was. » Read more

Livni Wants To Be Pm 'to Restore Public Confidence': Interview ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 30, 2008 - 3:28pm Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed publicly for the first time on Tuesday she wanted to become prime minister, saying the public needed leaders who respect the law. "I want to be prime minister ... in order to carry out changes and corrections because (the public) no longer has confidence in politicians and this confidence should be restored," Livni told Channel 10 private television. "The public wants to know that their leaders give priority to the interests of the country and respect the law," she added. » Read more

Soldiers Seldom Punished For Attacks On Palestinians: Report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 30, 2008 - 3:28pm Only six percent of probes into offences allegedly committed by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank yield indictments, an Israeli rights group said on Wednesday. The report came as the armed forces vowed to investigate the death of a 12-year-old boy Palestinian allegedly shot by Israeli troops during a protest on Tuesday against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank. » Read more

Palestinians Capture Violence Of Israeli Occupation On Video ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Peter Beaumont - July 30, 2008 - 3:26pm An Israeli child from a far-right settler group in the West Bank city of Hebron hurls a stone up the stairs of a Palestinian family close to their settlement and shouts: "I will exterminate you." Another spits towards the same family. Another settler woman pushes her face up to a window and snarls: "Whore!" » Read more

Palestinian Child Shot Dead By Israeli Soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by James Hider - July 30, 2008 - 3:25pm Israeli soldiers shot dead a young Palestinian boy today during heated protests in a West Bank village close to Israel’s huge separation barrier. Hammad Hossam Mussa, believed to be around nine years old, was mortally wounded by an Israeli bullet as protestors threw rocks near the West Bank close to the village of Nilin. » Read more

July 29th

Provocateurs Vs. Defeatists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 29, 2008 - 5:22pm The outgoing commander of the northern West Bank, Colonel Amir Baram, says he is "not surprised" by the settlers' recent rioting. Nor were his predecessors. There is really nothing new under the West Bank sun - things repeat themselves. Officials in the Israel Defense Forces, police and prosecution know mainly how to summarize events, warn of similar ones in the future, write reports and hold meetings summing up their failure to deal with the West Bank lawbreakers. » Read more

Cash-strapped Palestinian Government Seeks World Bank's Help ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 29, 2008 - 5:20pm Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has appealed to the World Bank to help him secure emergency financing to bridge a shortfall in donor funds and pay public workers, Palestinian and European sources said Tuesday. Fayyad is seeking a so-called comfort letter from the international lending agency to obtain short-term private bank funding, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. His unusual appeal underscores the extent of the Palestinian Authority's budget crisis despite billions of dollars in aid pledged last year as part of a US-backed peace drive. » Read more

The Arabs Will Look Differently Upon America ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ron Pundak - July 29, 2008 - 5:15pm On January 20, 1993 we departed--Yair Hirschfeld and myself--for our first meeting in Norway with the PLO delegation headed by Abu Ala (Ahmed Qurei). This meeting would eventually lead to the Oslo accord, signed nine months later on the White House lawn under the auspices of the president of the United States. That same evening, we watched the inauguration ceremony of President Bill Clinton. A new president, a wave of hope: we asked ourselves how involved the new administration would become in the Middle East peace process. » Read more