Wall still potent symbol of division in Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Kevin Flower - July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

A top U.N. official on Thursday urged Israel to "dismantle" its barrier separating the West Bank from the Jewish state and "make reparation for all damage suffered by all persons affected by the wall's construction" on Palestinian land. The call by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay came on the 5th anniversary of the International Court of Justice's non-binding ruling that Israel was breaking international law by continuing to build the barrier.

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Still Illegal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Today marks five years since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its advisory ruling on the legality of Israel’s separation barrier. While only an advisory ruling, the opinion of the court was clear and straightforward: in all places (a majority of its route), the wall dips into occupied territory and is in clear violation of both international law and international humanitarian law.

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'Law must thwart' Israeli barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
July 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The campaign marks five years since an International Court of Justice advisory opinion found its construction was illegal and it should be dismantled. Since then, Oxfam says, the view of the "most distinguished international legal body has been met by inaction". Israel says the barrier for security; Palestinians view it as a land grab. In the report, entitled Five Years of Illegality, Oxfam details the situations of 13 Palestinian communities affected by the barrier and its associated security system of gates, buffer zones and passes.

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Ex-Pink Floyd Rocker Wants Israeli Wall Down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

The legendary rocker and co-founder of Pink Floyd says he would give a concert in a flash if Israel's West Bank wall is torn down. Roger Waters made the promise Tuesday during a visit to a Palestinian refugee camp that is hemmed in by the separation barrier's tall slabs of cement. The 65-year-old co-wrote Pink Floyd's iconic "The Wall" album and performed music from it in 1990 at the site where the Berlin Wall once stood. Waters had harsh words for the West Bank barrier, which Israel says was built as a defense against Palestinian militants.

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Israel: 'No need to finish' W Bank barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

The head of Israel's security service has said there is no security reason for continuing construction of Israel's barrier through the West Bank. Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin told a parliamentary committee that Israel had enough capabilities to prevent attacks from the Palestinian territory. Since building began years ago, Israel has maintained that it is a security measure to keep out attackers. Palestinians reject this, seeing it as a land grab.

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Ethnically cleansing the land where Christianity was born
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am

During his high profile visit to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict XVI preached reconciliation between Christians/Muslims and Jews. But he failed to bridge the gulf between the Vatican and Jews because he did not speak of past issues dividing Catholics and Jews. These include long-standing persecution of Jews by the church, culminating in the murder of six million by the Nazis during World War II, and the refusal of Pope Pius XII to intervene in the Nazi extermination of the Jews.

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Pope: West Bank fence is a symbol of 'stalemate'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday branded the West Bank separation fence as a symbol of "stalemate" between Israel and the Palestinians, urging both sides to break a "spiral of violence". "Towering over us, as we gather here this afternoon, is a stark reminder of the stalemate that relations between Israelis and Palestinians seem to have reached - the wall," he said standing by the fence at a refugee camp in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. "How we earnestly pray for an end to the hostilities that have caused this wall to be built."

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Life in Nu'man land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory McCarthy - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The Palestinian villagers of Nu'man have lived on their hilltop for generations, looking out across sweeping views of the terraced olive-tree slopes of the West Bank. But their view is changing dramatically and they fear there will be little place for Nu'man in the new landscape.

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UN says Israel gnawing at Bethlehem sovereignty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Only 13% of the Bethlehem area is under the control of the Palestinian Authority – a new report released by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Thursday said. The report was issued less than a week ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Middle East. The pontiff is scheduled to travel to Bethlehem during his time in the West Bank.

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Israeli Palestinian Spat Over Photos of Pope Beside the Wall
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
May 5, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel has been accused of issuing orders to demolish a stage built to welcome the Pope to a Palestinian refugee camp next week so as to avoid images of the pontiff in front of the controversial Israeli barrier surrounding Bethlehem, The Media Line has learned. The dispute over where, exactly, the pope should be received when he visits the ‘Aida Palestinian refugee camp next week centers around whether or not the refugee camp's reception for the pope should be held at a spot at which a walled section of Israel's separation barrier, including a military control tower, are easily visible.

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