June 17th

Another sham inquiry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to appoint an internal commission of inquiry into Israel's commando raid on the Freedom Flotilla that left nine people dead because he is scared stiff of another independent commission of inquiry. Israel is still reeling from the Goldstone report that said it should be investigated for possible war crimes for its 2008-09 onslaught on Gaza.

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While No One's Looking, the Palestinians Are Building a State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Hussein Ibish - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

In the world of Palestinian politics, the recent weeks have been a study in contrasts. The international media has trained its focus off the shores of Gaza, where the flotilla fiasco has generated dramatic images of dead civilians and battered Israeli soldiers. The politics of this incident reflect the traditional sturm und drang of the Palestinian national movement: full of grand gestures and transformative ambitions that might result in bloodshed and embarrassment for Israel, but make no substantive contribution to Palestinian liberation.

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While No One's Looking, the Palestinians Are Building a State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Hussein Ibish - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

In the world of Palestinian politics, the recent weeks have been a study in contrasts. The international media has trained its focus off the shores of Gaza, where the flotilla fiasco has generated dramatic images of dead civilians and battered Israeli soldiers. The politics of this incident reflect the traditional sturm und drang of the Palestinian national movement: full of grand gestures and transformative ambitions that might result in bloodshed and embarrassment for Israel, but make no substantive contribution to Palestinian liberation.

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While No One's Looking, the Palestinians Are Building a State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Hussein Ibish - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

In the world of Palestinian politics, the recent weeks have been a study in contrasts. The international media has trained its focus off the shores of Gaza, where the flotilla fiasco has generated dramatic images of dead civilians and battered Israeli soldiers. The politics of this incident reflect the traditional sturm und drang of the Palestinian national movement: full of grand gestures and transformative ambitions that might result in bloodshed and embarrassment for Israel, but make no substantive contribution to Palestinian liberation.

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June 16th

The UN will distribute aid from the Gaza flotilla. The family of a Palestinian driver killed by Israeli police demands an investigation. Israeli troops kill an alleged drug smuggler on the Gaza border. Amnesty International says Israel's investigation into the flotilla attack is flawed. Hamas and the UN compete for the attention of Gaza children. The new Iranian flotilla is about to set sail for Gaza. Israeli authorities are preparing to charge soldiers in the killings of two Palestinian women during the Gaza war. Egypt reiterates its concern that Israel is trying to “dump Gaza” onto it. Avirama Golan says Israel's airports are a hub of “ethnocentric panic.” A planning committee ratifies controversial new settlement construction in Ramat Shlomo in occupied East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Economy Minister urges settlement businesses to relocate Israel. The Guardian interviews Palestinian filmmaker Elia Sulieman. The JTA says serious disagreements are looming in the US-Israel relationship. Shlomo Avineri says Palestinians may unilaterally declare independence.

At last, the Palestinians opt for auto-emancipation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Although the crisis over Israel’s naval interventions to defend its blockade of Gaza is gaining all the headlines around the world, something of far more historic importance is taking place in the Middle East. The Palestinian Authority is preparing to issue a unilateral declaration of independence, and it is taking concrete steps on the ground to make any such declaration viable.

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U.S. and Israel agree on key issues—for now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

The relationship between the Obama administration, the Netanyahu government and the pro-Israel community is ensconced on all fronts in “agree, for now” mode. On isolating Iran, everyone agrees -- and is pleased -- that the new set of U.N. sanctions will make it easier for the United States to enhance its own unilateral sanctions. Differences are looming, however, on whether the U.S. sanctions should carve out exemptions for countries that helped push through the U.N. sanctions.

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Ramat Shlomo building plan receives ‘technical’ nod
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ron Friedman, Abe Selig - June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

The Interior Ministry’s Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee on Tuesday ratified an existing plan to build 1,600 housing units in the city’s northeastern Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. When the plans were disclosed in March during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, they sparked a major row with the US regarding building rights in sections of the capital that are located over the Green Line. They were also seen as destabilizing the proximity talks now taking place between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

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'Mother shouted, then they shot her too'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Youssef Abu Hajaj will never forget the day he lost his mother and sister. In the early hours of January 4, 2009, his family's home near Gaza City was shelled. "My 13-year-old niece was injured so we rushed through the trees and bushes to the Safadi family's home. We were looking for a hiding place a little further from the tanks," he told Ynet. Then came the incident over which an Israel Defense Forces soldier is slated to stand trial for Operation Cast Lead's most severe violation, and is likely to face charges of manslaughter.

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In a side room at the airport
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avirama Golan - (Opinion) June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Here is a story known to only some of the citizens of Israel. A few weeks ago a 43-year-old lecturer in sociology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who serves as a member of the prestigious academic journal Sociology, packed a suitcase and went to Ben-Gurion International Airport. From there he was supposed to take off for the journal's annual editorial board meeting in London. He stood in line, showed his passport and his ticket and was immediately directed to a separate line.

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