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.

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Israel, the masses are coming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

There were days when we mocked the “Hatzatzit,” the stone-throwing vehicle developed by the IDF to respond to the first Intifada’s mass demonstrations. How could it be, we wondered, that the great, wise IDF goes back to the Stone Age and confronts civilians so primitively?

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Aggressive, again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel’s killing on Sunday of scores of Syrian demonstrators approaching the armistice line on occupied Golan Heights is proof, again, of Tel Aviv’s thirst for Arab blood. Hundreds of unarmed Syrian protesters held a peaceful demonstration to express their rejection of the more than four-decades-long Israeli occupation of Syrian territory. Trying to cross the ceasefire line through the barbed wire, to enter the Golan Heights, in a repeat of last month’s demonstrations in observance of the Nakbeh, the protesters were met with fire from the Israeli troops.

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Non-violence activist addresses Israeli military court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Non-violence activist Bassem Tamimi's address to Israel's Ofer military court during his trial for organizing protests in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. A military judge refused to allow Tamimi to read his full statement in court. Your Honor, I hold this speech out of belief in peace, justice, freedom, the right to live in dignity, and out of respect for free thought in the absence of Just Laws.

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Readiness and blindness in the Golan Heights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The IDF proved this week that it does a good job preparing for the previous war. It may only be an isolated incident, whose character was more civilian police-oriented than military, but anyone who found flaws in the intelligence and military systems on Nakba Day (May 15 ) must admit the lessons were learned, the forces were deployed and the mission was accomplished. On Sunday, Naksa Day, the Israel Defense Forces succeeded in blocking hundreds of demonstrators who, surrounded by cameras, stormed the border fences in the Golan Heights, carrying flags, posters and loudspeakers.

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September Knocks on Israeli Gates
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Pierre Klochendler - (Opinion) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

"September 2011 is knocking on our gates," says an Israeli army officer who, under strict operation procedures, would not reveal his name. He was alluding to the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting expected to resoundingly endorse the Palestinian drive for recognition of statehood.

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Settlers set fire to mosque near Ramallah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

A Ramallah-area mosque was torched overnight and its remains graffitied with racist anti-Arab slogans; witnesses said Israeli settlers were seen setting the fire at 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Al-Mughayyir's village council said the building was badly damaged, and its contents incinerated, drawing condemnation of the third mosque torching in three years. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that a group of Israeli settlers arrived in the village before dawn, and shortly after they saw flames rising into the sky.

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Readiness and blindness in the Golan Heights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The IDF proved this week that it does a good job preparing for the previous war. It may only be an isolated incident, whose character was more civilian police-oriented than military, but anyone who found flaws in the intelligence and military systems on Nakba Day (May 15 ) must admit the lessons were learned, the forces were deployed and the mission was accomplished. On Sunday, Naksa Day, the Israel Defense Forces succeeded in blocking hundreds of demonstrators who, surrounded by cameras, stormed the border fences in the Golan Heights, carrying flags, posters and loudspeakers.

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Netanyahu condemns West Bank mosque attack as 'criminal act'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson, Barak Ravid - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned the suspected 'price tag' attack by settlers of a mosque in Maghayer village near Ramallah, calling it a "criminal act". An initial investigation has shown that in the early morning hours of Tuesday the settlers rolled burning tires into the mosque, which caused some rugs to catch fire. The mosque was also sprayed with graffiti. "I hope the arsonists will be located as soon as possible and will be punished accordingly," Netanyahu said, adding "this is a criminal act that is meant to provoke."

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A radicalizing factor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The recent developments in Egypt that led to changes in the Egyptian regime, together with the reconciliation of Fateh and Hamas, have once again brought to the surface the Israeli blockade of Gaza and possible ways of lifting it. The most recent illustration of this was Egypt's decision to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza to travelers, which seemed to be an incentive for Gaza's rulers, Hamas, to proceed with the reconciliation pact.

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