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).

May 30th

Anything Goes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - May 30, 2008 - 5:57pm

The Ehud Olmert corruption story does not particularly grab me. I read about it in the Israeli press and yawn. I have yet to get through an entire news item on the subject without skipping to the next story. It is not that I am indifferent to corruption. I’m not. In the U.S. context, I would not support or vote for anyone who is found to have done the things Olmert is alleged to have done. (Note: “alleged”).

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Beleaguered Olmert's Party Eyes Succession
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Patrick Moser - May 30, 2008 - 5:26pm

With Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert up against the ropes, members of his Kadima party are already jockeying for position in anticipation of his downfall and possible early elections. "The Kadima party primary began yesterday, even if nobody declared this officially. Even the prime minister realises that he cannot prevent it from taking place soon," the top-selling Yediot Aharonot wrote in an editorial. Olmert suffered a stinging one-two blow when his deputy challenged his leadership right after a key ally demanded he quit over a corruption scandal.

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Gaza Woman Dies Of Wounds After Israeli Fire: Medics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
May 30, 2008 - 5:24pm

A 60-year-old Palestinian woman died on Friday of wounds she sustained when gunshots were fired from an Israeli military position near her home in the Gaza Strip, medics and relatives said. Yusra Qdeih was seriously wounded on Thursday night by gunfire that came from an Israeli position, her family said, adding that she had beenin her home in Khuzaa village, near the barrier that separates Gaza from Israel. She died on Friday after being hit in the chest, according to the head of Gaza's emergency services, Muawiya Hassanin.

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6 Palestinians Injured By Idf Fire In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 30, 2008 - 5:18pm

Palestinian sources reported Friday afternoon that six Palestinians were injured by IDF fire near the Sufa crossing in the Gaza Strip. The incident took place as thousands of Hamas supporters took part in a demonstration organized by the movement in protest of the siege Israel imposed on Gaza. The protestors approached the crossing and reported of gunshots heard in the area, apparently by IDF troops trying to prevent them from nearing the crossing.

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Israeli Forces Attack Several Governorates In West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
May 30, 2008 - 5:14pm

An Israeli offensive was surged on the city of Nablus, West Bank, searching homes for people wanted by the Israeli authorities. Security sources in the city said that further forces poured into the city, in protection of Jewish settlers who intended to perform prayers in Joseph's Tomb, East of Nablus. Sources added that Israeli forces and Jewish settlers withdrew from the area without making any arrests of Palestinians or causing any violence.

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