June 25th

Regional order alarms Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

With growing insistence, some influential Israelis are beginning to press the Netanyahu government to seek to make peace with Syria — even if the price tag is the return of the entire Golan to Syrian sovereignty. The latest example of this campaign is an interview which Major-General (retired) Uri Saguy, 66, gave on June 11 to the Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot, in which he declared that, "I believe that a political agreement between Syria and Israel is a military national interest of the highest order".

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Rights group criticizes Hamas treatment of Israeli
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Matti Friedman - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Human Rights Watch charged Friday that Hamas militants are violating the rules of war by prohibiting a captive Israeli soldier from having contact with his family and the Red Cross. The treatment of the 23-year-old soldier, captured exactly four years ago by Hamas, is "cruel and inhuman" and matches a U.N. definition of torture because he is denied any outside contact, the U.S.-based rights group said in a statement.

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Israel offers to let Europe diplomats visit Gaza-official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ari Rabinovitch - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has invited his Italian counterpart to lead a delegation of European foreign ministers to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said on Thursday. Israel has largely refused to let foreign diplomats pass through its checkpoints into Gaza since it tightened its blockade on the territory after Hamas Islamists seized it in 2007.

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Israel warplanes target 4 sites across Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli aircraft bombed four targets in the Gaza Strip before sunrise Friday. No injuries were reported in the attack that came a day after a Palestinian faction launched seven mortar shells into Israeli territory. Two airstrikes in the north and another two in the south caused severe structural damage to buildings in Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun, while two smuggling tunnels were destroyed near Rafah, security officials in Gaza said. F16 jet fighters hit twice in the north, outside residential areas in an industrial zone.

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An historic moment for Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Rami Khouri - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli decision to ease the three-year-old siege of Gaza is being mildly welcomed in many quarters, and deep scepticism in others. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has pleaded with the world via the Quartet to pressure Israel to fully lift its siege, while Lebanese and Iranian groups are planning to send more humanitarian aid ships to Gaza to challenge and break the Israeli blockade.

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Israeli President Shimon Peres: U.S. and other powers must engage Hamas on peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's president and elder statesman, Shimon Peres, urged the United States and other world powers this week to engage with Hamas in order to persuade the Islamist group to renounce violence and prepare for peace with Israel.

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Israeli Official Assails Plans for Demolition of Arab Homes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Dina Kraft - June 25, 2010 - 12:00am

A top Israeli official scolded local officials on Tuesday for giving preliminary approval to a plan calling for the demolition of 22 Palestinian homes, in an echo of past stumbles over Jewish development in East Jerusalem. The official, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, was on a visit to Washington, where tensions have run high over Jewish housing in East Jerusalem. A member of the Labor Party, the only centrist element in a right-leaning government, Mr. Barak seemed annoyed by the move, which threatened to upset the indirect, American-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

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June 24th

Israeli occupation authorities authorize the demolition of 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. Pres. Abbas says such measures threaten peace. The UN calls the plan illegal and urges Israel to reconsider. The body of a Palestinian shot by Israeli soldiers is being exhumed for an autopsy. Israel will reopen the investigation into the shooting of an American protester. Abbas condemns Israeli plans to expel 4 Hamas politicians from Jerusalem. Fear of being expelled to Gaza keeps West Bank Palestinians in their homes. Hamas TV will no longer be shown in France. European MPs call for the complete lifting of the Gaza blockade. Malaysia is pressing for a wider international investigation into the flotilla attack. FM Lieberman outlines his vision of “peace,” which includes stripping citizenship from some Arabs. Israel launches a major new spy satellite. Ahmed Moor looks at how Palestinians in Lebanon are treated as second-class citizens. Michael Jansen warns there may be another Middle East war.

'Pause before going to war, once again'?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - June 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli liberal daily Haaretz carried a very illuminating article this week, written by Ari Shavit, who argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak are regarded by many Israelis as "twins", dependent on one another. Shavit reveals that while the atmosphere between Netanyahu and the White House is frosty, Vice President Joe Biden gets along just fine with Barak. For this reason and others, Netanyahu treats Barak with "respect".

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Why Palestinians are second-class citizens in Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ahmed Moor - (Opinion) June 24, 2010 - 12:00am

I moved to Beirut from New York nine months ago and began looking for an apartment. After 10 continuous years in America, I wanted to return to the Arab world – and returning to my family's roots in Palestine wasn't an option. I knew that in Beirut, I likely wasn't going to be renting from a faceless, impersonal property company; real people mostly own the real estate here – and often, they are interested in knowing their tenants personally. That's how I learned, to my dismay, that being a Palestinian in Beirut is mostly a liability; anti-Palestinian racism is a fact of life here.

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