July 22nd

One-State or Two-State: If Israel Doesn’t Decide, the UN Will
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

It is conceivable within the course of realpolitik that despite obfuscation; political filibustering; dancing the diplomatic two-step (direct, indirect); wading through a plethora of plans, initiatives, think-tank reports, white papers and expert opinions (from Madrid to Oslo to Allon to Arab to Faya’d); it appears increasingly likely that all might boil down to a single resolution enacted by the United Nations Security Council.

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High on success, pro-Palestinian group that organized Gaza flotilla attracts more volunteers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Diaa Hadid - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

The stream of ships heading to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade reflects the success of a pro-Palestinian group that's been creatively confronting Israel for years. High on victory, they are flush with new volunteers. Activists of the International Solidarity Movement first sailed to Gaza in summer 2008 to challenge Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. Most recently in May, it organized a Gaza-bound flotilla that led to a botched Israeli raid that killed nine activists, sparked an international outcry and forced Israel to ease its 3-year-old blockade.

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Palestinian PM to reshuffle government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will reshuffle the government in the West Bank soon, an official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party said Wednesday. "President Abbas has started discussions to do the reshuffle that may take place within the coming 10 days," said Amin Maqboul, a member of the Fatah Central Committee. Maqboul added that Fayyad would continue leading the government and he would carry out the reshuffle "because he is not a subject of big controversy" for Fatah.

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Israeli shelling kills 2 Gaza militants, wounds 6
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian militants and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them. A security source said the troops fired a tank shell. Officials with a militant group active in Gaza said the dead men, one of whom was pronounced dead soon after the incident and the other of whom died later, were both among their members.

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Discussions, not war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Following Israel's 1948 war of establishment, the Truman administration warned the leaders of the new state that the US would not send in the cavalry for protection, but provide military hardware so it could defend itself. President Harry Truman argued that US voters would support Israel as long as the blood of US soldiers was not being shed to preserve it.

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Dispute Over Killing in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli forces shot to death a Palestinian man early on Thursday at the edge of a Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military and Palestinian officials said. The Palestinian Authority government condemned the killing and said the dead man was not armed. The Israeli military said soldiers spotted two Palestinians approaching the settlement of Barkan before dawn, suspected that one of them was armed and opened fire. One was killed, and the other man fled.

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Abbas signals will resist U.S. pressure for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has indicated he will resist U.S. pressure for face-to-face peace talks with Israel for now, saying indirect negotiations must make progress first. Abbas has said he wants the indirect negotiations to produce results on the issues of the security and borders of a future Palestinian state to be founded alongside Israel on land it occupied in 1967.

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U.S. official: Final status issues to be discussed only in direct Mideast peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Final status issues, including the borders of a future Palestinian state, can only be addressed during direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a top U.S. official said Wednesday. The comment by State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley came after reports surfaced earlier Wednesday, according to which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to resist U.S. pressure to open direct peace talks with Israel, unless he receives less "vague" guarantees on the issues of Israeli settlement construction and the borders of a future Palestinian state.

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The missing link in the peace process: Trust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

About the only thing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have in common these days is a conviction that the other is bluffing when he says he is ready to make peace. But so far neither has shown the courage to call the other’s bluff.

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July 21st

The new Israeli anti-rocket system is not considered foolproof. The PA urges Israel to release seized oxygen machines. Israel will seek to limit civilian deaths in future wars. Pres. Abbas says he needs more assurances from the US on borders, but PLO officials deny he sent a secret letter to Pres. Obama. Some Gaza factories are reviving due to the easing of the blockade. Palestinian warn against Israel seizing more property in Jerusalem. Israel declares a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley a “military zone” and destroys it. PM Netanyahu says he is willing to take risks for peace, and Ha'aretz looks at what kind of agreement he may have reached with Obama. More than 70% of Israelis favor peace talks. Israel's outgoing ambassador to the UN fears delegitimization. Israel allows a major inflow of cash to Gaza banks. A Palestinian man is convicted in an Israeli court of “rape by deception” for telling a woman he is Jewish. The Jordan Times says Obama has nothing to show for his peace efforts. Lebanese officials say Palestinians may be allowed work permits while retaining their refugee status. Ori Nir describes an event featuring young Israeli and Palestinian peace activists including the joint APN/ATFP summer interns.

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