June 29th

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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June 28th

The family of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit campaigns for his release. The New York Times interviews Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni. Israeli Amb. Oren says that he did speak of a tectonic shift in US Israel relations, but not a “rift.” Palestinian feminists say women's rights are being eroded by Hamas rule in Gaza, and human rights agencies warn of a generalized assault on civil liberties. Pres. Abbas says Palestinians are waiting for diplomatic answers. Gaza banks are closing following another daylight raid by Hamas gunmen. Palestinian extremists again attack a UN summer camp in Gaza. Israel's official inquiry into the flotilla attack begins, but The Arab News says it has something to hide. Palestinian women in the West Bank take up motor racing. Turkey closes its airspace to Israel. An Israeli committee is considering major settlement expansion in Arab areas of occupied East Jerusalem, and construction has reportedly begun in Sheikh Jarrah. Akiva Eldar says Israel refuses to recognize the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative. The UN says squabbling between Hamas and the PA led to the shutdown of Gaza's only power plant. Seth Freeman looks at the difficulties of Palestinians traveling in Israel. Palestinian refugees rally for their rights in Lebanon. The National says Israel must recognize peace requires actual compromises. Diana Mukkaled says the politics of the flotillas are often not what they appear.

The danger of an Islamized Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
June 28, 2010 - 12:00am

The slim owner of Gaza City's Gallery cafe has sharp eyes and a sharp tongue. It's easy to imagine him conversing with artists and actors — he is also a theater director — far into the night. But he crossed a line. He allowed female patrons at his cafe to smoke hookah pipes and to talk with men. He ignored demands by plainclothes police to rein in "immoral" behavior. In early May, police interrogated and accused him of having extramarital affairs.

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Israeli inquiry into Gaza flotilla raid opens
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr - June 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's prime minister and defence chief will be called to testify in an investigation into a deadly raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, the leader of an Israeli commission of inquiry said in an opening statement on Monday. An international observer on the commission said everyone involved was determined it would be rigorous. Turkey, angered by the killing by Israeli commandos of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists in a melee on a Gaza blockade-running vessel intercepted on May 31, has said the Israeli probe would be biased.

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