May 11th

Israel's security measures? Don't make me laugh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Opinion) May 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Who says Jewish humor has disappeared from Israel? Who says that even the state's shadowiest organizations don't enjoy occasional moments of levity, in between carrying out assassinations and foiling conspiracies? Israel's ongoing fascistization, isolation, nationalism and militarism don't make for much comic relief. So listen to what Barak Ravid reported in Haaretz on Thursday.

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Israel to demolish West Bank construction freeze violations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - May 11, 2010 - 12:00am

The Civil Administration is planning to raze buildings in 46 locations in the northern West Bank where violations of the freeze on settlement construction were found to have occurred. According to a document obtained by Haaretz, the plan includes razing six foundations for buildings in the settlement of Yitzhar. A law enforcement source told Haaretz that efforts to raze structures erected in violation of the freeze will be expedited in the near future, due to Israel's desire to show that it is serious about the freeze now that proximity talks with the Palestinians are beginning.

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Special Place in Hell / If the secret police ran a Jewish state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

If a Jewish state were run by the secret police, Israelis could disappear without a trace. No contact with lawyers. Court-ordered muzzles on broadcast and print news media. If a Jewish state were run by the secret police, there were be gag orders forbidding journalists to write even of the existence of the gag orders. Thank God such a thing couldn't happen here.

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Israeli Settlers Step Up Attacks on Palestinian Mosques
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - May 11, 2010 - 12:00am

"Despite living under a brutal military occupation and being subjected to regular attacks by Israeli settlers for decades, normally places of worship were spared," Hussein, a spokesman from this Palestinian village, near Nablus, in the northern West Bank, told IPS. "People could forget about the economic hardship, the political oppression and their personal problems for a few hours a week as they retreated to pray in the mosque." All this changed dramatically for the agricultural village of 3,000 residents a few weeks ago.

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Fire at Israeli warehouse causes heavy losses to Gaza traders, importers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly - May 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian traders and importers said Monday they suffered heavy losses due to a massive fire that broke out several days ago in a warehouse in southern Israel, where their goods, supposed to be sent to the Gaza Strip soon, are stored. Gaza traders and merchants told Xinhua that the massive fire destroyed the entire warehouse in the area of Moshav Shuva in Negev in southern Israel, adding "the losses were estimated with a value of seven million U.S. dollars."

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2 Israeli Arabs suspected of spying for Hezbollah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Ian Deitch - May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel has arrested two Israeli Arabs suspected of spying for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, police and security services said Monday, partially lifting a gag order on the case. Websites flouted the gag order and made the arrest of political activist Amir Makhoul into a rallying cry for critics of Israel's treatment of its Arab minority. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the gag order was imposed to avoid harming the investigation.

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Israel detains Haifa man for alleged spying
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 11, 2010 - 12:00am

A Palestinian citizen of Israel was detained by Israeli forces on Thursday, two weeks after authorities handed down a travel ban imposed by Israel's Interior Ministry. Amir Makhoul, director of Ittijah and chairman of the Popular Committee for the Defense of the Political Freedoms, was arrested by Israeli forces on 6 May during a raid of his home, noting that police raided the offices of the organization, confiscating equipment and documents.

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May 10th

Proximity talks begin. PM Netanyahu appoints an Arabic-language spokesperson. Israel bombs two Gaza tunnels. Palestinian refugees say UN food aid is greatly reduced. Palestinians claim new settlement activity is the first violation of negotiation conditions. Kadima leader Livni hints at a possible coalition with Netanyahu. Israel is unanimously accepted into the OECD. Akiva Eldar says everyone should by Palestinian and not settlement products. Daoud Kuttab says Israeli maps obliterate Palestine. The US says Israel has agreed to delay the Ramat Shlomo project for at least two years. Israelis worry Americans support for their nuclear policy is eroding. Ha'aretz requests official documents on the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre. Asharq Al-Awsat interviews Pres. Abbas. The Jordan Times is skeptical about indirect initiations, but the Arab News says low expectations may be useful. Moshe Yaroni says Israeli democracy is threatened by the Kamm affair and the secret arrest of Palestinian-Israeli activist Ameer Makhoul, which Israeli media is banned from reporting.

Prescription for Survival
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Zeek
by Moshe Yaroni - (Opinion) May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

The time has come to ask the question: what is Israel turning into? For decades, those of us who fervently support Israel but oppose with equal passion certain Israeli policies could make some allowances for Israeli behavior because of its traumatic creation and long string of conflict. But now, the actions of the government are becoming so onerous, and the support for such actions are becoming so widespread among the Israeli populace that any supporter of Israel whose politics are anything other than far right has got to be asking what Israel is becoming.

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Proximity and peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

A POTENTIAL four months of indirect negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis began yesterday, mediated by US Middle East special envoy George Mitchell. Like the tumbler in a complex lock mechanism, success will rely on the progressive definition of a succession of key issues. It is by far from certain that the key to open direct talks between the two sides will work, and even then there is the second bigger lock of substantive face-to-face agreement to be opened.

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