The US, UN and others condemn Israel’s eviction of nine Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem. The Obama administration plans a public relations campaign in Israel and Arab countries to rally support for the peace process. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is facing indictment on bribery and fraud charges. As Israel eases restrictions on movement and trade in the West Bank, signs of economic growth in the area are beginning to emerge. Israeli human rights groups protest against pressure from the Netanyahu government. The Speaker of the Knesset acknowledges that the establishment of the Israeli state was “a real trauma for the Palestinians.”

Poll: 77% of 'Soviet' olim support Arab transfer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

The 2009 Democracy Index, published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Sunday, reveals marked differences between the immigrant population from the former Soviet Union and the general population in Israel. The IDI's 2009 Democracy Index was handed to President Shimon Peres Monday. The survey was carried out in March 2009 on a sample representative of the adult population in Israel of 1,191 respondents. The respondents were interviewed in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian. The sampling error is 2.8%.

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Netanyahu plans meeting with Mitchell
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold an important meeting with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell at the end of the month, sources said. Top sources in Jerusalem confirmed to Ynet that Netanyahu will meet with Mitchell in London, as part of the prime minister's European tour in which he will also meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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Palestinians seek end to trade dependence on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Erika Soloman - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

At Garden's grocery store in Ramallah, Dalia al-Khatib hands out fliers and showcases Palestinian goods for Intajuna ("Our Products"), one of many campaigns asking Palestinians to avoid Israeli products. But across town, an all-Palestinian crew of labourers heads home after a day of work on the nearby Jewish settlement of Adam, like some 30,000 other Palestinians who help build settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

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Rights groups: Gov't stifles free speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Dan Izenberg - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

Organizations who devote all or part of their efforts towards protecting Palestinian human and legal rights on Sunday delivered a strong protest to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu against "the aggressive efforts of the government of Israel to hurt Breaking the Silence." On July 15, Breaking the Silence, an organization comprising former IDF soldiers, published a report including testimonies by 30 soldiers who provided alleged examples of the army's illegal use of Palestinian civilians in combat situations, wanton destruction of homes and buildings and careless use of weapons.

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Knesset Speaker: Establishment of Israel caused Arabs real trauma
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) is calling for a fundamental change in relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel, urging the founding of a "true partnership" between the two sectors, based on mutual respect, absolute equality and the addressing of "the special needs and unique character of each of the sides."

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Lieberman affair / Human error sank Israel's most careful politician
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gidi Weitz - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

How did this happen to Avigdor Lieberman, perhaps the most careful man in the history of Israeli politics - to reach the point where the police are recommending that serious charges be brought against him? Human error is to blame. A group of documents that Lieberman forgot at a certain office reached the attorney general and eventually led to the unequivocal police recommendation.

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U.S. condemns eviction of Arab families from East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson, Barak Ravid - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

The United States and the United Nations sharply condemned the eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and their replacement with Jewish families on Sunday. Diplomats from the U.S. Embassy sent a protest letter to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, stressing the move went against the spirit of the road map. The diplomats said a high-level protest will be communicated to Israel later on Monday.

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How Lieberman under fire could impact on the diplomatic process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sat on a couch in the foyer just outside of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office mid-Sunday afternoon, apparently waiting for a meeting. The sight of the foreign minister waiting in the hall was uncharacteristic. People usually wait for Lieberman, not the other way around. It led one reporter, being ushered into another part of the building for a briefing on the morning's cabinet meeting, to guess: "It must be related to the indictment."

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'Bustling' Nabulus 'Returning to Normal' After Checkpoint Changes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Amit Cohen - July 31, 2009 - 12:00am

Learned Lesson From Gaza

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