October 1st

Restricted: Visas Good for West Bank Only ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - October 10, 2009 - 12:00am Omar Rahman was on his way from America to a friend’s wedding in Jerusalem. The 25-year-old journalist, born and raised in Washington to parents of Palestinian descent, had visited the West Bank and Israel many times before, and although he was used to the four-hour wait at the border crossing, he had never encountered any problems. But last July, when Rahman went through the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-controlled West Bank, the Israeli officer put a new stamp on Rahman’s American passport, restricting his visit to only the West Bank. » Read more

First Palestinian prisoner released ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - October 1, 2009 - 12:00am The videotape deal between Israel and Hamas is already underway, with the first Palestinian prisoner, 15-year-old Bara'ah Malki, released from prison Wednesday night. Malki was convicted of attempted murder and carrying a knife with intent to harm, and was slated to be released in November 2009. According to the deal, announced by the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, 20 female Palestinian prisoners are slated to be released in exchange for a recent video of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. » Read more

For Palestinian Refugees, Dream of Returning Home Remains ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America by Sonja Pace - September 30, 2009 - 12:00am Two states side by side, two homelands for two peoples - those are the broadly accepted tenets for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a cornerstone for peace in the Middle East. Many hurdles lie ahead, not least of which is the claim to land. For Palestinians, that means the right of return for more than four million people - those who fled or were driven from their homes at Israel's founding in 1948 and their descendants. » Read more

Israel: Airstike on Gaza tunnels following Strip projectile launch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 1, 2009 - 12:00am Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli warplanes blasted two areas in the southern Gaza Strip Thursday morning, reportedly following the launch of a projectile from the northern Strip hours earlier. Israeli news sources said the pilots hit two smuggling tunnels at Rafah. One tunnel worker was killed by an electrical shock in a nearby tunnel shortly following the strikes. » Read more

Kidnapped Israeli Soldier Shown Alive in Traded Videotape ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - September 30, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept. 30 -- Kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is alive, according to a newly recorded videotape that will be provided to Israel by the Islamist Hamas movement in return for Israel's release of 20 Palestinian women prisoners, government officials said. The videotape already has been turned over to German mediators and will be given to Israel on Friday, when the prisoners are due to be set free, according to government officials and a statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office. » Read more

Israel to Free 20 Palestinians in Return for Proof Soldier Is Alive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - September 30, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel said Wednesday that it would release 20 Palestinian women from its jails in exchange for a videotape of a captured Israeli soldier that would prove that he was alive. The soldier, Gilad Shalit, was seized by the Islamic group Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in 2006 in a cross-border raid and taken into Gaza. The prisoner release offer, announced Wednesday by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was the first significant sign of progress in negotiations about him since Mr. Netanyahu took office in March. » Read more

Everything is personal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) October 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israel should thank Judge Richard Goldstone and his commission's important report. After subjecting him to useless, automatic mudslinging, Israel suddenly realized that it should finally investigate the events of Operation Cast Lead. Why? What happened? The ground has started to tremble under the feet of a number of Israeli statesmen and officers. » Read more