June 9th, 2011

The Republicans Heart Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Eric Alterman - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am When a group of student radicals took over the Columbia University administration building in 1968, they issued a series of demands having to do with university policies. The administration wisely ignored these demands, however, because it understood that, in actuality, they were not terribly relevant to the problem it had on its hands. As radical student leader Mark Rudd had explained even then, these were mere excuses for the group’s violent power grab. » Read more

Ex-Mossad chief: Purity of arms eroded ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews June 9, 2011 - 12:00am Zvi Zamir, Israel's Mossad chief in the years 1968-1974 is criticizing the government over its way of handling the 'Naksa Day' events which saw 23 Syrian protestors killed. In an interview with Israel Army Radio, Zamir attacked the decision to open fire at the Syrian protestors who tried to breach the border fence and said: "I'm concerned by the fact that soldiers, my grandchildren, are firing at unarmed people." » Read more

Israel’s ‘Mr. Security’ Goes Rogue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am Official Jerusalem has been thrown into a world-class tizzy this spring by what some top figures are calling a serious security breach, committed by one of the highest-ranking Israeli officials ever accused of endangering the Jewish state. There have been cabinet-level calls for his indictment. The Knesset is considering draconian new legislation to outlaw the sort of leak he perpetrated. It looks like serious stuff. » Read more

Palestinian leadership divided over plan to seek UN recognition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian leadership is sharply divided over the unilateral move to seek recognition from the United Nations General Assembly in September. While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is determined to go through with the move, a group of senior Palestinians have said in closed conversations that they oppose it because they believe seeking recognition from the United Nations could do more harm than good to their cause. » Read more

Palestinians believe Fayyad is the man for the job ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am A majority of Palestinians wants a government of independent figures and believes that Salam Fayyad is the most appropriate figure to head the government, according to a public opinion poll published on Wednesday. Two-thirds of the respondents are optimistic regarding the support from world countries to the Palestinians in September, when the Palestinian Authority plans to ask for recognition of a state along the pre-1967 lines, the poll by the Jerusalem Media & Communications Center showed. » Read more

IDF must not shoot unarmed people ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am Here’s a tip on how to deal with these unarmed Palestinians in Syria (or elsewhere) racing fearlessly in broad daylight at our well-defended borders: We should stop killing them. We should stop shooting them, even in the legs, because people can and do die from such wounds, and some almost certainly did near the Syrian border on “Naksa Day” at the start of the week. » Read more

Palestinian youth long for freedom and unity in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Tim Whewell - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am In the front room of a house in the tightly-packed concrete slum that is Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, they are learning to dance. A group of young teenage girls are stepping high in the air, hands on hips, as they practice the debka. Traditionally, it was performed by boys and girls together. But since the Islamist movement Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, mixed dancing has been stopped. » Read more

The French connection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas has a penchant for climbing out on limbs and expecting others to get him down. The first time wasn’t all his fault. When newly minted President Barack Obama demanded Israel freeze settlements as a path to the peace table, Abbas, who had never set such conditions previously, could not agree to less. Trouble is, Israel rejected it and Obama soon walked away, leaving Abbas hanging. » Read more

Hamas, Fatah to meet next week in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 8, 2011 - 12:00am Delegates from rival Palestinian factions will meet in Cairo next week for more talks after they have agreed to reconcile, an official said Wednesday. The representatives of Hamas and Fatah will talk next Tuesday about the formation of a technocratic government in accordance with the Egypt-brokered agreement that was signed early last month, said Azzam Al-Ahmad, an official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. "The meeting will look into starting steps to implement the agreement," Al-Ahmad told Xinhua. » Read more

AP Exclusive: Hamas considers hands-off approach ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am After four years of turbulent rule in the Gaza Strip, the Islamic militant group Hamas is weighing a new strategy of not directly participating in future governments even if it wins elections — an approach aimed at avoiding isolation by the world community and allowing for continued economic aid. » Read more