Israeli army shelling on eastern Gaza kills Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 29, 2010 - 12:00am One Palestinian was killed and three wounded on Monday afternoon when Israeli army tanks fired a shell at an area near the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics and witnesses said. The witnesses said that a group of militants fired a homemade rocket from the area at the southern Israel, adding that an Israeli army tank stationed at the area hit them with a shell. Medics at al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza Strip said that Bassam Badwan, 32, was killed and three others were injured, two of them seriously. » Read more

Security, borders, settlements freeze "keys" to direct talks: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 29, 2010 - 12:00am Moving to direct talks with Israel requires reaching an agreement on the issues of security, borders and full freeze of settlement activities, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday. "These are our demands," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio. "Even U.S. President Barack Obama is aware of this." He also denied reports that the United States is pressing for jumping to final-status negotiations and holding a three-way summit comprising Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington next month. » Read more

Palestinians seek new partner: American Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - June 29, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinians have long feared the Jewish lobby in Washington. Now, they are embracing it. » Read more

10 Jordan Valley families given 24 hours to leave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 29, 2010 - 12:00am Ten families in the Jordan Valley were handed home demolition orders on Sunday and given 24 hours to evacuate their lands. Most of the homes to be demolished belong to the Daraghmah and Al-Makahmreh families, who say they have documents proving their ownership of the land filed with Israel's Land Registry. The families said they had been issued demolition orders before, however this was the first time they had been given a 24-hour notice. » Read more

Israel army court sentences Bethlehem man to life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 29, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli military court has sentenced a Bethlehem residents to life in jail, a prisoners group said Tuesday. Nayef Obeiyat was detained in 2006 and was sentenced to life by Israel's Ofer military court, the Detainees Center reported.

Hamas is a threat to the Palestinian cause ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) June 29, 2010 - 12:00am It's a pity that Israel, while substantially loosening its grip on Gaza, will continue to enforce a blockade when, with just a little imagination, it could insist on a deal with the activists once again steaming its way: You can proceed to Gaza if, once you get there, you demand that Hamas cease the persecution of women, institute freedom of religion, halt the continuing rocketing of Israel, release an Israeli hostage, ban torture and rescind an official charter that could have made soothing bedtime reading for Adolf Hitler. This may take some time. » Read more

Barred from Jerusalem for crime of being Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - June 29, 2010 - 12:00am To say that Palestinian Murad Al-Khalaf's roots are in Jerusalem is a serious understatement. His family lived in the Baka district of West Jerusalem until they were forced to leave in the war of 1948. They have since lived – and live – in the inner East Jerusalem district of Ras al-Amud. His family doctor father's clinic in East Jerusalem's main street of Salahadin is opposite three shops owned by each of his uncles. One of his brothers, also a doctor, works at one of Jerusalem's two main (Israeli) hospitals, the Shaare Zedek Medical Centre. The city is, in short, his home. » Read more

Palestinian boycott of Israeli settlement goods starts to bite ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - June 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli factories based in settlements on the West Bank have been forced to cut back production as a growing Palestinian boycott movement begins to take effect. The boycott, endorsed by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was given further momentum this week when a campaign to clear supermarket shelves of produce originating in settlements was rolled out in Ramallah. » Read more