June 25th

Israel marks fourth anniversary Gilad Shalit capture ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News June 25, 2010 - 12:00am Gilad Shalit, 23, has been held in Gaza by Hamas militants who are demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his release. Thousands are expected to rally outside the military headquarters in Tel Aviv calling for his release. His parents plan to stage an 11-day cross-country march starting on Sunday. Frustrated with failed attempts to free their son, Sgt Shalit's parents are beginning the long walk from their home in northern Israel to the prime minister's home in Jerusalem. The say they will remain camped there until they see their son again. » Read more

IDF will boost trucks to Gaza by 200% ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am The IDF plans to increase the number of truckloads into Gaza by over 200 percent; a move which will bring it close to pre-blockade levels, according to the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories. Israeli and Palestinian activists have warned that evaluating Israel’s closure policy simply by counting the number of truckloads is misleading. What is significant is the type of goods and their route of passage; an issue, which makes the difference between a meaningful and meaningless increase, they have said. » Read more

The debate within the Jewish state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Antony Lerman - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am Israel may show all the signs of being a typical westernised, post-ideological society. But in response to growing international pressure over recent years and with the country's centre of political gravity drifting to the far right, Zionist ideology appears to be playing an increasingly important role in decision-making and in determining the face that Israel presents to the world. But does this represent an irreversible trend? » Read more

Palestinians stealing water in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shmulik Grossman - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am The Israel Defense Forces recently thwarted an attempt made by Palestinians to illegally connect to the Mekorot Israel National Water infrastructure in order to siphon off water from it. Soldiers took note o four people trying to connect to the pipes south of Hebron. When the four noticed they had been discovered, they fled the scene and the soldiers followed after them. The soldiers managed to apprehend two of the four men, while the others got away. » Read more

The public is dumb and therefore the public pays ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) June 25, 2010 - 12:00am At least one Israeli - other than Shalom Hanoch whose signature is affixed to the title of this article (taken from his song "Waiting for the Messiah" ) - has reached the conclusion that Israeli public opinion is dumb. That person is the prime minister, and he is correct. » Read more

Hamas is making ground again ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist June 25, 2010 - 12:00am AFTER three years of campaigning for Israel to lift the siege of Gaza, some of the Islamists ruling the territory are having second thoughts. This week the agriculture minister for Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza, was putting the finishing touches to a ten-year plan to wean it off dependence on Israel and make it self-sufficient in food. Israel’s ban on fertilisers had helped his plan to replace fertiliser with compost made from sewage that otherwise spills into the sea, and turn Gaza into a big organic farm. » Read more

Yes, Kahane lives ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) June 25, 2010 - 12:00am On July 29, 1986, extreme right-wing MK Meir Kahane submitted another no-confidence proposal: "The government's refusal to discuss the disintegration of Zionist ideology, which endangers the existence of the Jewish state." According to Kahane: "Since the beginning of political Zionism, the movement's thinkers have ignored and avoided the terrible and frightening truth of the basic contradiction between Zionism and enlightened Western democracy, to which all the Zionist leaders were indentured servants. » Read more

The four stages of Israeli policy: crisis, pressure, cave-in and agreement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) June 25, 2010 - 12:00am When the security cabinet decided to ease the civilian blockade on the Gaza Strip this week, the process followed the precise modus operandi Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken with regard to leading Israel's foreign and defense policy this term. Each such incident has had four stages: crisis, pressure, cave-in and agreement. » Read more

Israelis Keep the Trigger Tight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am "My life only began when I met him. I will never meet such a wonderful man again," Yasmin's mother Moira Julani tells IPS. While it is just another statistic for the Israelis, another Palestinian family has been torn apart. U.S. citizens, 17-year-old Hannah, 15-year-old Mirage and seven-year-old Yasmin are now fatherless. Former Texan Moira, nee Reynolds, who left the U.S. 17 years ago to start a new life with her husband in Jerusalem, has lost her soul mate. » Read more

U.S. Says Sea-Bound Aid to Gaza Is Irresponsible ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward June 25, 2010 - 12:00am Washington — The Obama administration said sea-bound aid to Gaza is “irresponsible.” “Mechanisms exist for the transfer of humanitarian assistance to Gaza by member states and groups that want to do so,” a U.S. State Department release said Wednesday, in response to a reporter’s question about Lebanese plans to ship aid to the Gaza Strip. “Direct delivery by sea is neither appropriate nor responsible, and certainly not effective, under the circumstances.” » Read more