July 20th, 2011

Special from Gaza: Building material smuggling triggers construction boom ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm by Abeer Ayyoub - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza - After marking its inaugural opening on Tuesday, the three-story mall in Gaza City now offers products running the gamut. The supermarket has nearly all possible commodities. Shoe stores with popular brand names, such as Nike, Adidas and Fox, sit next to clothing shops displaying window mannequins with hot miniskirts and vibrantly colored t-shirts. » Read more

AN ISRAELI VIEW Responsibility will rest with the Quartet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am The creation of the Quartet by US President George W. Bush was a unique and interesting attempt to develop an effective international mechanism that is not subject to the problematic rules of the game of the United Nations. The new forum was supposed to expand America's wingspan without the burden of the Security Council and the nearly-200 members of the General Assembly. » Read more

Elliott Abrams' Complaint ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Henry Siegman - (Editorial) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am Following President Barack Obama's May 19 speech on the Middle East at the Department of State, The New York Review of Books (NYRB) published a letter that had been presented to the president this past January by a number of prominent, former, senior, U.S. government officials. The signatories to the letter urged the president to present to the parties in the Israel-Palestine conflict clear parameters to frame negotiations for a two-state peace agreement, and it suggested six key components for such a framework. » Read more

Barghouti urges Palestinian march to back U.N. bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 20 (Reuters) - Jailed leader Marwan Barghouti has called on Palestinians to stage mass rallies in September in support of a diplomatic bid to gain U.N. membership for a state of Palestine. Barghouti, a figure widely respected among many Palestinians, said taking the statehood quest to the United Nations was part of a new strategy that would open the door to "peaceful, popular resistance". » Read more

It sure looks and smells like apartheid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) July 20, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli parliament’s vote last week making it a crime to support any boycott of Israel, including products from Israeli settlements in occupied Arab lands, has rightly generated considerable debate about what this means for Israel, Zionism and Israelis. » Read more

More evidence of Israeli racism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) July 20, 2011 - 12:00am No one should be surprised by the Israeli Knesset's decision to suspend Palestinian Member of Parliament Haneen Zoabi due to her participation in last year's bloody Gaza Flotilla. The Knesset Ethics Committee, which investigated her flotilla participation, is punishing Zoabi for exercising her legitimate right of political activism. Essentially, it is silencing an Arab member for representing her constituency. The bigger picture reveals that it is trying to wipe out any Arab presence in the Israeli government. » Read more

The Syrian-Israeli courtship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq al-Homayed - (Opinion) July 20, 2011 - 12:00am Confirming what was exclusively reported by Asharq al-Awsat last Friday, the Syrian regime announced the day before yesterday its formal recognition of the Palestinian state. It comes as one of the last Arab states to grant this recognition, and state number 118 internationally. So why has the Syrian regime recognized the Palestinian state now? » Read more

Fayyad: Hebron defies segregation and siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 20, 2011 - 12:00am HEBRON (Ma’an) – Palestinian Authority premier Salam Fayyad said Tuesday that Hebron's old city sets an "example for human civilization in all ages, and an ideal for steadfastness and defiance." Residents reject seggregation, 'judaisation,' and siege, and it "is time its people enjoy freedom and independence,” Fayyad said while inaugurating an international conference on historic cities. The conference is part of the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee. It is held in association with Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron. » Read more

Americans for Peace Now: We’ll boycott the anti-boycott law by boycotting settlement products ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ami Eden - (Blog) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am If the goal of the new Israeli law banning boycotts was actually to prevent boycotts... things aren't exactly going according to plan. The board of Americans for Peace Now has unanimously endorsed a boycott of products made in the settlements. Why? Well, it has nothing to do with the settlements. The group says it's boycotting settlement products in order to protest the anti-boycott law. Here's the statement from APN's president and CEO Debra DeLee: » Read more

Spain tells Abbas it backs efforts for Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 20, 2011 - 12:00am MADRID (AFP) -- Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez told visiting President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday that Madrid backs efforts to create an independent Palestinian state, the government said. Abbas met with Jimenez and Spain's King Juan Carlos at the start of a two-day visit to the country aimed at drumming up support for United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state. » Read more