July 10th, 2008

Wanted Palestinian Shot To Death By Troops Near Jenin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Erfat Weiss - July 10, 2008 - 3:17pm Israeli troops continue to operate in West Bank: A wanted Palestinian man was shot to death Wednesday by IDF and Border Guard forces operating in the Jenin area. According to security forces, the man was shot after attempting to evade arrest.  Reports on A'abad's organizational affiliation were contradictory. According to intelligence information gathered in Jenin, he belonged to the Fatah's Abu-Amar Brigades, but other sources claimed he was a Hamas member. » Read more

Leftists, Border Guard Officer Hurt During Anti-fence Rally In Naalin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - July 10, 2008 - 3:15pm At least 10 demonstrators, including five Israelis, were injured Thursday afternoon during a rally held in the town of Naalin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, in protest of the construction of the West Bank security fence in the area.   According to the organizers, security forces used excessive force and tear gas to disperse the 400 Israeli left-wing activists, Palestinians and foreign nationals who arrived at the Palestinian village, located north of Ramallah. » Read more

2 Qassams Land In Western Negev ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shumlik Hadad - July 10, 2008 - 3:12pm Two Qassam rockets were fired from northern Gaza towards Israel on Thursday afternoon, one of them landed near a kibbutz in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. No injuries were reported and no damage was caused. » Read more

Israel Is At The Receiving End ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George Hishmeh - July 10, 2008 - 3:10pm Norway, in the hope of reaching a final settlement. None of these magnanimous gestures have brought the Israelis around that. Rather Israel has resorted to occupation as a key instrument in determining the final borders. In other words, grab as much as you can and then negotiate a partial withdrawal. At no point has it thought of reaching out to the Palestinians although the outlines of a settlement are crystal clear - a pull-back to the 1967 borders which would leave the Palestinians only one-fifth of their homeland. » Read more

Israeli Pm’s Party Views September Leadership Vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Ron Bousso - July 10, 2008 - 3:08pm JERUSALEM (AFP) Israel's ruling party was expected on Thursday to set a mid-September date for a leadership election under a deal reached to quell a crisis over the latest graft scandal to embroil Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The embattled premier was also facing a third police questioning on Friday over suspicions he had unlawfully accepted large sums of cash stuffed in envelopes from a US businessman before becoming premier in 2006. » Read more

Officials Meet Fulbright Scholars At Gaza Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Karin Laub - July 10, 2008 - 3:07pm EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip—U.S. officials traveled to the Gaza border Thursday, going to unusual lengths to process the visa applications of three Palestinians who nearly lost their Fulbright scholarships because they couldn\'t leave the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israel Sees Mediterranean Union As Way To Boost Arab Ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Marius Schattner - July 10, 2008 - 3:06pm JERUSALEM (AFP) Israel hopes the new Mediterranean Union will help improve relations with the Arab world, but Arabs warn against any attempt to bring normalisation in through the back door. "Israel has always considered that it is in the interest of all the peoples of the Mediterranean to reinforce their cooperation, which is why we are happy to participate in the Mediterranean Union," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said of the entity that will be launched at a Paris summit on Sunday. » Read more

Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian On Gaza Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-mughrabi - July 10, 2008 - 3:04pm GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas arrested three Palestinians who fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a militant faction said, in the first such detentions since the Islamist group and Israel agreed a truce last month. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to President Mahmoud Abbas\'s Fatah group, said Hamas men pursued its members after the attack and "abducted them" in Jabalya refugee camp. No one was hurt in the strike with two rockets on southern Israel. "We demand their immediate release," said Abu Qusai, a brigades spokesman. » Read more

The Grim Logic Of Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Bernard Avishai - July 10, 2008 - 3:02pm The little supermarket in the German colony of Jerusalem has a famously good meat counter; the man who has run it for the last 10 years or so is named Abed. He is a Jerusalem-born Arab, a Muslim, about 40 years old, the father of three (or is it now four?) children, whose pictures hang behind the counter. The store is a place residents of the neighborhood wander into several times a week, looking for blueberries or chestnuts. I almost always wound up speaking to Abed about this or that and eventually started coming in to talk, even if I needed nothing. » Read more

July 9th

Israel Approves New Homes In East Jerusalem Settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 9, 2008 - 5:00pm An Israeli commission has approved the building of 920 new homes in occupied east Jerusalem, the municipality said on Wednesday, in a new blow to shaky peace talks with the Palestinians. "The district commission has approved for construction 920 housing units in Har Homa," a statement said, referring to a neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, known in Arabic as Jabel Abu Ghneim, that has more than 10,000 residents. » Read more