Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Israeli and Palestinian leaders may meet early next week. Gazans increasingly turn to the ancient technique of cupping therapy. Israeli academics oppose upgrading the status of a settler college in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel slams accusations by Iranian officials that “Jews are behind the global drug trade.” Israel's use of Caterpillar bulldozers in demolitions of Palestinian homes is a factor in getting the company dropped from a socially responsible investment index. Egypt says it will increase the flow of people through the Rafah border crossing. A new poll among Palestinians shows a drop in support for Pres. Abbas. A Hamas commander is convicted by Israel of killing 46 Israelis. FM Lieberman accuses a Palestinian MK of being “a terrorist.” Human rights groups say Israeli security forces threaten the families of detainees. Israel fears the UN might be about to establish a fact-finding mission on its settlement activities. British lawyers report that Israel is subjecting Palestinian children to “a spiral of injustice.” Anti-Israel billboards are taken down in Los Angeles. The National profiles two Palestinian officials key to law enforcement and, according to some, crushing dissent. Israel continues to prevent Palestinian students in Gaza from traveling to the West Bank to complete their education. Israeli officials say they're confident that Egypt will maintain the peace treaty. COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali poses a series of questions to one state advocates. Bradley Burston says no form of bigotry is “pro-Israel.” Zalman Shoval says Israel still doesn't have a peace partner in the Palestinian leadership. Ben Caspit says Israel will learn to live with the new Egyptian president.

---

---

---

Israeli, Palestinian leaders may meet next week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli and Palestinian officials say they expect Israel's new deputy prime minister to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas early next week in a bid to restart peace talks. Negotiations have been frozen for nearly four years. The Palestinians want Israel to halt settlement construction on occupied lands before talks can resume. Israel wants negotiations to start without any preconditions. » Read more

Traditional Gaza drawn to old alternative therapy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am RAFAH, Gaza Strip — In a Gaza shop, a group of men sit with glass jars attached to their legs, their backs, their faces, sucking at the skin as blood slowly seeps out. It's the latest craze in the isolated coastal strip — cupping therapy. Cupping is an ancient form of alternative medicine whose advocates believe it improves blood flow and helps relieve a range of ailments from headaches to arthritis. It is perhaps best known in the West as part of traditional Chinese medicine. » Read more

Israeli rectors oppose academic upgrade of West Bank college ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 27, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Senior Israeli academics are urging the government not to grant university status to an state college located in a city in the West Bank. The Academic Center in Ariel has been seeking to upgrade its ranking to a university for years. The center, established three decades ago, has 12,500 students, including Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. » Read more

Israel slams Iranian allegation of "Jews behind drug trade" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 27, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday slammed remarks by a senior Iranian official alleging that Jews control international drug trade. » Read more

Caterpillar pulled from social indexes over company’s use in Palestinian territories ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press June 27, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A U.S. investment firm has removed Caterpillar Inc. from three of its popular indexes that track socially responsible investments, citing concerns about the Israeli military’s use of company bulldozers in the Palestinian territories. » Read more

Official: Egypt to allow more Gaza passengers through Rafah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 27, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Egypt has agreed to increase the number of passengers passing through its Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip to 1,000 per day, the Palestinian crossings director said Wednesday. Maher Abu Sabha told Ma'an the terminal -- the only entry and exit point for travelers from Gaza -- currently has 500 registered passengers per day in July, but now has a quote for 500 more. Palestinians are required to register in advance with the Gaza Ministry of Interior before travel via Egypt. » Read more

Poll: Barghouti would defeat Abbas and Haniyeh in vote for Palestinian president ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' popularity has dropped significantly in the last three months, while support for Hamas has risen, according to a new poll released on Wednesday. The poll circulated by Khalil Shikaki's Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that if Abbas were to contend against Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for the Palestinian Presidency, he would win approximately 49 percent of the vote, while the latter would secure 44 percent. » Read more

Hamas commander found guilty of killing 46 Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am Senior Hamas military commander Ibrahim Hamed was found guilty on Wednesday by an Israeli military court for the deaths of 46 people in terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada. Hamed, 47, started as a Hamas operative in the 1980s. In 2001, he was released from a Palestinian Authority prison and masterminded a string of deadly attacks during the Second Intifada, including the Café Moment, Hebrew University, and Zion Square attacks in Jerusalem and the Rishon Letzion pool hall attack. » Read more

FM to MK El-Sana: Terrorist, I'll take care of you first ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ilana Curiel - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman engaged on Wednesday in a shouting match with Knesset Member Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) while visiting the Bedouin village of Al Zarnog in the Negev. » Read more

Does Shin Bet exploit family to pressure detainees? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - June 26, 2012 - 12:00am A group advocating for the rights of torture victims claimed on Tuesday that the Shin Bet continues to exploit suspects' family members to pressure detainees to confess. » Read more

Israel fears UN about to announce settlement panel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am Israel fears the United Nations is on the cusp of announcing the membership of its fact-finding mission on West Bank settlements, a move it claims could harm efforts to rekindle the frozen peace process. Already on June 14, UN Human Rights Council president Laura Dupuy Lasserre responded to a query on the matter at a meeting with NGO representatives in Geneva. She said there should be recommendations for members of the fact-finding mission by the end of the 20th session on July 6. » Read more

Israel subjecting Palestinian children to 'spiral of injustice' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am A belief that every Palestinian child is a potential terrorist may be leading to a "spiral of injustice" and breaches of international law in Israel's treatment of child detainees in military custody, a delegation of eminent British lawyers has concluded in an independent report backed by the Foreign Office. » Read more

Anti-Israel aid billboards are taken down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) June 26, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A subsidiary of the CBS Corp. removed 23 billboards in the Los Angeles area calling for a stop to U.S. foreign assistance to Israel. » Read more

Palestinians' enforcers work together 'to crush dissent' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH // One is a longtime friend of the Palestinian president and stalwart of the powerful Fatah political faction. The other is a high-profile lawyer who once was officially rebuked for corruption. Together, Rafiq Alnatsheh and Ahmad Al Mughani are the face of Palestinian Authority (PA) justice. » Read more

Israeli Guns Hold University Degrees Away ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Jun 26 2012 (IPS) - After more than 25 years spent fighting for women’s rights in the Gaza Strip, Andaleeb Shehadeh is now struggling for the right to complete her university education. “This kind of studies is very important for the women who are active in women’s rights in the Gaza Strip,” the 46-year-old mother of four told IPS. “It’s not offered in Gaza or in the rest of the Middle East.” » Read more

Israeli official: Egypt likely to preserve peace treaty with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am Newly elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is not likely to disavow the peace treaty between the two countries, a senior Israeli defense official said on Tuesday. » Read more

Questions For One-Staters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) June 26, 2012 - 12:00am Supporters of the two-state solution are often told that this vision is unrealistic and has become unachievable. Young, idealistic seekers of justice and equality are increasingly offering what they claim is a more "realistic" solution: a single state for all Israelis and Palestinians, including refugees. Here are ten questions that might help these single-staters think through the feasibility of the project they have in mind: » Read more

No hatred is pro-Jewish. No bigotry is pro-Israel. Case in point: Pamela Geller. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) June 27, 2012 - 12:00am From a marketing standpoint, it may be a smart idea for the Zionist Organization of America to promote bigotry. It makes for headlines. On the most primal, most limbic of planes, it makes for tribal heat and for useful rage and for exploitable fights, and, one supposes, for donations. It made a certain organizational sense, therefore, for the ZOA to sponsor a Los Angeles appearance this week by media personality and commentator Pamela Geller, one of America's most extraordinarily successful purveyors of unvarnished prejudice and unapologetic hatred. » Read more

Still no peace partner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Zalman Shoval - (Opinion) June 26, 2012 - 12:00am  As expected, another attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations a few weeks ago came to naught. The Palestinians again refused to budge from their usual pre-conditions, i.e. » Read more

Morsi Is Israel's Nightmare, But The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) June 25, 2012 - 12:00am We have reached the moment feared by generations of Israeli Intelligence and GSS chiefs. The ultimate nightmare scenario is playing out in front of our very eyes —the same narrative that played a major role in the terror scenarios that starred in the secret war games of the IDF and the Israeli defense system for an entire generation. The moment when Egypt fell — into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. » Read more

---

---