Semites unite! You’ve nothing to lose but your pain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Roi Ben-Yehuda - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

On July 15 a small bit of history was made in Jerusalem. Around 3,000 Jews and Arabs marched from the Jaffa Gate in the Old City to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem calling for Palestinian independence, freedom and dignity. The demonstration was organized by the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement and leaders of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood committees. We, an Israeli from Tel Aviv and a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem, were among those who joined and made our voices heard.

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Palestinians Strike to Seek Historic Agreement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours - August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Nestled between rolling hills just outside of Jerusalem, a dozen Palestinian workers have escaped the scorching summer heat in the shade of a makeshift tent, where they anxiously wait to sign what would be the first collective bargaining agreement between Palestinian workers and an Israeli employer.

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Turkey plans diplomatic assault on Israel after its refusal to apologize for Gaza flotilla raid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Turkey plans to launch a diplomatic and legal assault on Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused on Wednesday to issue an apology to Turkey for the raid on the Gaza aid flotilla last year in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed. Sources in the Foreign Ministry said Turkey now intends to implement "Plan B", which will include an anti-Israel campaign in UN institutions, with an emphasis on the International Court of Justice. Turkey also plans to encourage the families of the raid's victims to file suits against senior Israeli figures in European courts.

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Cairo talks between Israel, Hamas deadlock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

A senior Egyptian source said Thursday that the third round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, meant to facilitate a prisoner exchange deal which would secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, have deadlocked. The source, quoted by the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat, said both sides were "digging in their heels," and that as of Thursday, no date has been set to renew the talks. "Each party is interested in getting the best deal they can. We are still far from the point of saying that the talks have matured into a deal," the source said.

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As Mubarak falls, terror rises in Sinai
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

The series of terror attacks that took place early Thursday afternoon on the road leading from the Israeli-Egyptian border to Eilat did not come as a surprise to Israel's senior security officials. They had expected it would occur at some stage or another.

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Al-Assad: More dangerous than Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Among the notable events in the historical records of the Syrian army is the fact that one of its elements, Hosni al-Za'eim, was the orchestrator of the first military coup in the Middle East in 1949. By doing that, he opened the gates of hell in the region in general, and in Syria in particular, for the rise of despotic, hateful and corrupt faces who knew nothing but the language of oppression, autocracy and injustice. Those faces were obsessed with illusions of grandeur and supreme arrogance.

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Israelis blame 'terrorist' border attacks on Gaza militants, poor security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Militants carried out a series of attacks on Israeli buses and cars on a highway near the border with Egypt midday Thursday, highlighting the deteriorating stability along the open frontier between the two neighbors. The coordinated attacks on at least three separate targets north of the city of Eilat that left at least seven Israelis dead, including one soldier, and dozens injured were highly unusual for the quiet border region. Surprised by the scope of the attacks, Israel security forces killed some seven militants.

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Hamas disperses anti-Assad protest in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Protest was meant to show solidarity with Palestinian refugees who have fled their homes due to Syrian government's violent crackdown on demonstrators. Hamas police forces in the Gaza Strip dispersed a protest on Tuesday night against the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on protesters. The protest was meant to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian refugees who have fled the city of Latakia, which has been under attack by Syrian military forces in recent days.

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Understanding is key to a two-state future for Israelis and Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Lorna Fitzsimons - (Opinion) August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Many have become disillusioned with the idea of a negotiated two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. They think that a deal is unachievable and the two peoples are incapable of the necessary compromises. They are calling for an abandonment of the two-state paradigm, or for the international community to impose a solution at the UN. Some even think the conflict can be resolved by boycotting Israel in order to bully it into accepting all of the demands of the Palestinians.

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Divided We Execute
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - (Opinion) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The execution of a Palestinian father and son by Hamas security forces in Gaza throws up a sharp difference over the death penalty between Gaza and the West Bank. In the West Bank a temporary moratorium is in place. The executions were carried out despite pressure from Palestinian and international human rights organisations for the death penalty in the occupied Palestinian territories to be rescinded.

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