July 15th, 2008

Palestinian Court Sentences Collaborators To Death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Wael Al-ahmed, Mohammed Assadi - July 15, 2008 - 3:06pm A Palestinian military court on Tuesday sentenced two Palestinians to death by firing squad for collaborating with Israel, a court statement said. The three-judge military court in the northern West Bank city of Jenin ruled that Wael Said Saad and Mohammad Saad had "contacted the enemy". They were found guilty of "treason" and sentenced to death by firing squad. However, it is unlikely the men will be put to death because the sentence must be authorised by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has never before taken such a step. » Read more

Palestinians: Idf Arrests Three Hamas Officials In Nablus Raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press July 15, 2008 - 3:05pm Israel Defense Forces troops early Tuesday arrested three Hamas council members in a raid on the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Over the past year, Israel has arrested Nablus' Hamas mayor and six of the Hamas-controlled municipal council's 14 members in its efforts to crack down on the militant group's activities in the West Bank The IDF did not immediately comment on the raid, which occurred in the early hours of the morning. Witnesses and residents say a total of 24 Hamas members were arrested, including the municipal officials. » Read more

Hamas-israel Prisoner Swap Remains Elusive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Khaled Moussa Al-omrani, Adam Morrow - July 15, 2008 - 3:01pm Despite intensive mediation efforts by Egyptian officials, a delegation from Palestinian resistance faction Hamas departed Cairo Saturday (Jul. 12) without securing a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. According to local analysts, fresh swap proposals -- featuring the release of long-time Israeli captive Gilaad Shalit -- continue to run up against Israeli obduracy. "The respective positions of Israel and Hamas are still miles apart," Abdel-Halim Kandil, political analyst and editor-in-chief of independent weekly Sout al-Umma, told IPS. » Read more

Blair Cancels Gaza Visit After Threats ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Peter Walker - July 15, 2008 - 3:00pm Tony Blair today cancelled a planned visit to Gaza in his role as Middle East peace envoy after what his spokeswoman described as threats made against him. The planned trip would have been the highest-level diplomatic mission to the territory since the militant Hamas group seized control of it a year ago. Ruti Winterstein, Blair's spokeswoman, said the visit had been called off because of "specific threats" against the former prime minister, giving no further details. » Read more

In A Typical Week In Gaza, No News Is Good News ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Quds by Sami Abdel-shafi - (Opinion) July 25, 2008 - 8:00pm ?TAKE A PHOTO of me now, for tomorrow I may be dead,? young Gazans shout as they attend their friends? funerals. Death found the man buried today, for example, while he was at yesterday?s funeral for his friend. Such uncertainty about life, with everyone aware that for them tomorrow may not come, spawns a darkly tragic humor. If an Israeli sniper doesn?t hit his mark, perhaps a tank, F-16 or Hellfire missile will. And God help those who survive. Israel?s ongoing siege of Gaza leaves the hospitals nearly bare of life-saving medicines and bandages. » Read more

July 14th

Report: Israel Reneging On Shalit Agreements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - July 14, 2008 - 1:54pm Hamas' delegation to Cairo is under the impression that Israel has reneged on all of the understandings reached over the past few months regarding a prisoner exchange deal that will include the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, according to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. » Read more

Fayad Urges Hamas To Form Unity Government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 14, 2008 - 1:50pm Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad on Saturday called for the establishment of a unity government with Hamas, saying it was time to reunite the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Referring to the recent IDF crackdown on Hamas-affiliated institutions in the West Bank, Fayad said: "The response to the Israeli measures should be the immediate reunification of the two parts of the homeland [West Bank and Gaza Strip]. We must end the division and restore unity immediately." Fayad's remarks were published in the London-based Al-Hayat daily. » Read more

Palestinian Conflict Hits Cyberspace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 14, 2008 - 1:49pm RAMALLAH // What do the world’s most popular board game and most popular online social networking site have in common? Both have run into trouble over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Facebook, the ubiquitous networking site that has both users and employers scrambling to learn as much as possible about people’s personal lives, recently angered Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank when they found that Facebook located their settlements in “Palestine”. » Read more

Focus On Israeli Premier Olmert\'s Family In Corruption Case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur July 14, 2008 - 1:46pm JERUSALEM - Investigators in the corruption case against Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert\'s have turned their attention to his family amid allegations that they might have taken private trips abroad paid for with public funds, Israeli media reported on Sunday. Israeli police were considering summoning his four adult children and his wife Alisa over the allegations that Olmert financed their trips by receiving duplicate travel expenses from different public bodies. » Read more

Hamas Says "no Offers" On Palestinian National Reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna) July 14, 2008 - 1:45pm Palestinian Hamas movement denied on Monday receiving any offers concerning national Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas denied local news on an agreement among Palestinian factions on forming a technocrat government and allowing Arab forces to enter to supervise the reconstruction of the security bodies in Palestine. » Read more