June 2nd

A Year Later, Hamas Rule Deepens In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 2, 2008 - 4:00pm

A year into Hamas' rule in the Gaza Strip, courts are meting out justice, police are arresting thieves, motorists are paying for licenses and authorities are blocking Internet porn sites. Palestinians march towards an IDF guard tower at a demonstration organized by Hamas against Israel's blockade of Gaza near the Sufa Crossing on the border of the Gaza Strip and Israel, Friday. Photo: AP

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Britain Considers Israeli Settlements Illegal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
June 2, 2008 - 3:56pm

Britain said Monday it considers that Israeli settlement building anywhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal under international law. In a brief statement, the Foreign Office in London said "This includes settlements in both East Jerusalem and the West Bank". "The Roadmap was clear that Israel should freeze all settlement activity, including the so-called natural growth of existing settlements, and dismantle all outposts erected since March 2001", the statement pointed out.

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Israel To Build Hundreds Of More Houses In East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Charly Wegman - June 2, 2008 - 3:54pm

Israel will build 884 more houses in east Jerusalem, the housing ministry said on Sunday, in a move that enraged the Palestinians who have demanded the area as the capital of their promised state. "We will invite tenders for the construction of 121 housing units in Har Homa and 763 others in Pisgat Zeev," ministry spokesman Eran Sidis told AFP, referring to two neighbourhoods in Arab east Jerusalem.

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State Dept. Reinstates Gaza Fulbright Grants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - June 2, 2008 - 3:51pm

The American State Department has reinstated seven Fulbright grants offered to Palestinians in Gaza for advanced study in the United States, reversing a decision to withdraw the scholarships because of Israel’s ban on Palestinians’ leaving Gaza for study abroad.

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June 1st

The State Department reverses its decision to revoke Fulbright Grants for students in Gaza on the assurance that Israel will allow them to travel (1). The Israeli Housing Ministry announces plans to increase settlement activity in east Jerusalem (2). Britain’s Foreign Office releases a statement condemning Israeli settlements as illegal (3). Israel releases a prisoner convicted of spying for Hezbollah in exchange for the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the 2006 war (6) (9). The case against Israeli PM Ehud Olmert continues to gather strength (7).

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