July 7th

Israeli foreign minister: I'm not being sidelined
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch, Amy Teibel - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's ultranationalist foreign minister said Monday that he voluntarily removed himself from crucial talks with the United States because he lives in a West Bank settlement, denying speculation that he's being sidelined by an image-conscious government troubled by growing friction with the Obama administration. The talks are meant to bridge the gap between Washington, which demands a total West Bank settlement freeze, and Israel, which wants some construction to continue.

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In Palestinian town, business booms after Israel relaxes checkpoints
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Nablus, West Bank - The downtown streets in this Palestinian city bustle with pedestrians and echo with the bleating of taxis vying for road space. During the recent Palestinian uprising, activity in the second-largest city and commercial capital of the West Bank was choked off by Israeli security roadblocks and frequent gunfire from roaming militant gangs. But for the first time since 2000, the Israeli military has loosened movement restrictions around Nablus, opening up the city to Palestinians around the West Bank and to Arab citizens of Israel who come to shop.

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July 6th

Tensions continue over a proposed Israeli settlement freeze (1) (14). Israel pledges to compensate the UN for damage caused by shelling its facilities during the Gaza war (2). Israel’s Defense Minister approves the transfer of weapons to the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank (3). Israeli authorities plan to deport the activists who attempted to break the naval blockade of Gaza last week (4). Israeli President Shimon Peres is set to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo this week (5). Hamas and Fatah trade accusations of misconduct (7) (8). At a conference in Aspen this weekend, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says that Jews would be welcome as full citizens of a future Palestinian state (10).

Fatah Spokesman: Hamas Monitoring Mahmoud Abbas’s Movements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali Saleh - July 5, 2009 - 12:00am

Fatah spokesman Fahmi Zaarir revealed that Hamas detainees have confessed to monitoring the movements of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and gathering information on his security detail. Zaarir informed Asharq Al-Awsat that a group of arrested Hamas cadres confessed to monitoring senior official’s convoys, including that of President Mahmoud Abbas. Zaarir refused to go into detail, but stressed that this issue is related to the security apparatus.

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Israel to deport Gaza boat activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel on Monday deported a former U.S. congresswoman, a Nobel peace prize laureate and other activists who were arrested and jailed after trying to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli navy commandeered their boat last week as it tried to sail from Cyprus to Gaza. It was the latest in a series of trips by activists trying to bring attention to the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt on the territory after the Islamic militant Hamas seized power there two years ago.

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Palestinian forces to receive weapons
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's Defense Minister has approved the transfer of 1000 Kalashnikov rifles to the Palestinian Authority security services in the West Bank. The transfer of the weapons has been delayed until the Israeli army completes ballistic tests, a standard procedure conducted on all weapons transferred to the Palestinian Authority, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday. The tests will allow Israel to identify the weapons in the event they are used in terror attacks against Israeli targets, the paper said. The report said Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the deal several weeks ago.

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Peres to meet Mubarak in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The office of Israeli President Shimon Peres says he is to head to Egypt for a working meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. Peres' office says the one-on-one meeting will take place in Cairo on Tuesday. The two leaders will discuss the latest diplomatic developments in the region and ways to promote a regional peace agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations to have signed a peace agreement with Israel.

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Netanyahu changes tack on Palestinian peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 5, 2009 - 12:00am

For the first time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday referred to a "two-state solution" in reference to efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. "We have achieved a national agreement on the formula of two states for two peoples," said the prime minister during the weekly cabinet meeting of the Israeli government.

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Israel to compensate U.N. for Gaza property damage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Gabriela Baczynska - July 3, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel has pledged to pay compensation for material damage it caused by shelling U.N. property during its Gaza offensive more than six months ago, a U.N. official said Friday. A U.N. inquiry said in May that Israel's armed forces damaged U.N. property on seven occasions during the December-January offensive, including an incident involving a U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Jabalia. UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd said in Warsaw that Israel had indicated it would pay compensation for where U.N. buildings had been destroyed.

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Hamas accuses Fatah of spying for Israel in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
July 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The de-facto prime minister of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, alleged Monday that his security forces had unveiled a spy network in the Gaza Strip that served Israel through the Ramallah- based administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "In recent arrests, the security services were able to dismantle several security cells that chanelled dangerous but false information to Ramallah and then to the Israeli occupation," Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza.

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