July 7th

New System To Intercept Rockets Tested In Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News July 7, 2008 - 4:35pm Occupied Jerusalem: Israel has successfully tested a new defence system designed to intercept rockets fired from southern Lebanon and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, public radio reported on Sunday. The "Iron Dome" system is expected to be fully operational within a year and will be able to intercept the military-grade Katyusha rockets used by Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters and the cruder Qassam rockets favoured by Hamas. Citing Israeli security officials, public radio said the system would also be effective against mortar fire.

Hamas Tries To Play Keeper Of The Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Star-telegram by Dion Nissenbaum - July 7, 2008 - 4:33pm Like a Gettysburg battlefield tour guide, Ali Kafarna pointed out the scars of war as he walked through the fields between his home and the Israeli border. "Here’s where the tanks used to stop," said Ali, 14, as he passed a dirt berm dug into dry grass littered with shrapnel and animal bones. "Here’s where they used to fire rockets," Ali said of the charred square of earth that Palestinians used as a launching pad to attack Israel. » Read more

Israel Targets Hamas' West Bank Activities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) July 7, 2008 - 4:32pm Israeli military forces say they are shutting down Hamas-affiliated institutions in the West Bank, including schools, health centers and charities. Israeli officials say Hamas, the more militant of the two main Palestinian Arab factions, is spreading its control from Gaza to the West Bank, where popular support for it over the more moderate Fatah faction is enabling Hamas to take over not just Islamic institutions but civilian infrastructure as well, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Monday. » Read more

Palestinian Residents Defy Curfew ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 7, 2008 - 4:30pm Shots sounded from a Palestinian town on Sunday as local people marched in defiance of a daylight curfew imposed by Israeli troops who have sealed off Ni’lin, in the occupied West Bank, since Friday. One resident said up to 50 people were hurt by tear gas and rubber bullets. The Israeli army said a soldier was wounded and declined to comment on any casualties among civilians on a third day of clashes and a clampdown that has kept journalists out. » Read more

Israel Right Demands Wall To Keep Palestinians Out Of Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Sheera Frenkel - July 7, 2008 - 4:23pm Israel’s vision of Jerusalem as its “indivisible capital” came under attack yesterday as leaders reacted to Wednesday’s carnage by calling for a wall across the city’s ethnic divide. The Government says that the barrier between itself and Palestinian communities in the West Bank has thwarted many terrorist attacks. However, two recent acts of terrorism perpetuated by Arabs living in east Jerusalem has left some asking whether Israel should abandon the dream of a united Jerusalem and isolate itself further from Arab communities. » Read more

Israel To Destroy Attacker's Home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News July 7, 2008 - 4:19pm Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has ordered the army to prepare to demolish the home of the Palestinian who killed three Israelis in Jerusalem. The order follows advice by Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz that the proposed demolition could create legal difficulties, but would not be illegal. An Israeli rights group has said such a move would be collective punishment. B'tselem says it has written to Mr Mazuz demanding that he prevent the attacker's home from being demolished. » Read more

Gaza Ceasefire Breaking Down As Violations By Hamas And Israel Continue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Sheera Frenkel - July 7, 2008 - 4:16pm The ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip was on its last legs yesterday, according to Egyptian officials who spent months mediating the complex accord. Hamas said that it was suspending negotiations with Israel over a prisoner swap deal, citing Israeli violations of a declared truce in Gaza. “There is no way for those talks to begin before the obligations of calm are implemented \,” Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman, said. » Read more

Deadly Attacks Further Divide East And West Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Ashraf Khalil - July 7, 2008 - 4:08pm The residents of East and West Jerusalem have lived side by side, if not together, for 40 years, ever since Israel seized the Arab side of the city from Jordan during the 1967 Middle East War. The union has rarely been a happy one. But recent incidents have residents on both sides viewing each other with renewed suspicion and anxiety. » Read more

Does The Conflict Between Palestinians, Israelis Still Matter? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun by Shibley Telhami - (Opinion) July 7, 2008 - 4:05pm That's the question University of Maryland scholar and Brookings Institution fellow Shibley Telhami set out to answer through an analysis of Arab public opinion surveys he conducted in six countries with Zogby International. The countries were Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. How important is the issue of Palestine in your priorities? Eighty-six percent of non-Palestinians rated it the most important or within their top three priorities, compared with 73 percent in 2006. » Read more

July 3rd

Arab Artists Boycott Jordan Festival Over Jewish Producer's Reported Involvement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Smadar Peri - July 3, 2008 - 4:27pm Most of the artists who were invited to perform in Jordan at one of the major festivals in the Arab world decided to pull out of the event, following a report saying the head of the company producing it is Jewish, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday. » Read more