July 20th

Ashton asked to send observers to Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Ramallah - Ma’an - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held a second meeting Monday with officials in Jerusalem, where dignitaries stressed the centrality of the holy city in Palestinian life and culture. Ashton was in Palestine as part of her second Middle East trip.

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Why Israel is leaning on Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to nudge peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 20, 2010 - 12:00am

With fresh reports about the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be feeling a greater sense of urgency to advance peace talks before possible regime change next door. Calling Egypt under Mr. Mubarak's leadership "a main factor in advancing peace and stability in the region," Mr. Netanyahu traveled to Cairo this weekend to meet the man who has been a staple of Middle East politics for more than 30 years. Mubarak also hosted Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and US envoy George Mitchell.

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Israeli group gives young Palestinians their first taste of the beach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - July 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Mohammed Shawasha has spent his life in a West Bank village just 37 miles from the sea, but he has never been there. So when the opportunity to spend a day on the Mediterranean coast arose for the 12-year-old Palestinian, he jumped at it. From hilltops across the landlocked West Bank, Palestinians can see the sea, but they can't get there because of Israeli restrictions. Entry permits to Israel are hard to come by, reserved primarily for older Palestinians wishing to pray in Jerusalem, married men with children who hold a job in Israel and those with humanitarian needs.

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July 19th

Hamas enforces a ban on water pipes in Gaza, especially for women. Egyptian Pres. Mubarak urges direct negotiations, and analysts say the parties are preparing for them, but Egyptian officials express pessimism. Israel destroys Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley. The EU and PA launch a program to rebuild the Gaza economy. A Gaza family struggles to survive in a tent. PM Netanyahu says African immigration is threatening Israel's Jewish character. Akiva Eldar says he wouldn't accept a loyalty oath. Alon Ben-Meir says PM Fayyad deserves all possible support. The PA is moving to end a telecommunications monopoly. The BBC profiles the house-by-house struggle over Jerusalem. A woman in Gaza is killed by Israeli shelling. A controversial nine-year-old video surfaces of PM Netanyahu speaking candidly, and The National says it shows that he is not held back by extremists but is one of them. Raghida Dergham says a regional war might serve Israeli and Iranian interests at Arab expense. Rami Khouri says direct talks are likely to fail. The Arab News says Israel must have defined borders. Hussein Ibish says any solution must reflect the basic interests of all parties.

'Basis for direct talks lacking'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli officials continued to express optimism on Sunday that direct talks with the Palestinians were imminent, even as Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that more needed to be done to bridge the gaps between the two sides. Aboul Gheit’s comments followed a meeting in Cairo between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Hosni Mubarak that were aimed at securing Arab League approval for moving from proximity to direct talks.

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Cheaper Internet: Next Stop, ‘Palestine’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Benjamin Joffe-Walt - July 18, 2010 - 12:00am

[Jerusalem] Internet is about to get cheaper for Palestinains. Within weeks, the Palestinian Authority will be taking action which is expected to end the virtual monopoly held by the Palestinian Telecommunication Group PalTel over Internet services in its territory. Palestinian Authority Minister of Telecom and Information Mashhour Abu Daka told The Media Line he will be issuing certificates shortly for telecommunications companies wishing to provide Internet services to the Palestinian market.

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I am not declaring loyalty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Why is the government requiring only those seeking citizenship to have to declare their loyalty to a Jewish and democratic state? I want to do it too! The time has come that all of us, irrespective of whether we are Jews or Muslims, ultra-Orthodox or secular, declare our loyalty to the only Jewish democracy in the world. On one condition: the declaration ceremony would take place in the courtyard of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, following a tour of the center of Hebron.

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Netanyahu: Illegal African immigrants - a threat to Israel's Jewish character
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the recent "flood of illegal workers infiltrating from Africa" into Israel was "a concrete threat to the Jewish and democratic character of the country."

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Palestinians, Israelis set to start secret direct talks: analysts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Al-Azrak, Wael Naguib - July 19, 2010 - 12:00am

The Middle East region on Sunday witnessed unprecedented meetings focused on promoting the direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held separate talks with Israeli, Palestinian leaders and U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell. Analysts believe that through these extensive meetings, the two sides will be set to start direct talks, maybe secretly, although the indirect negotiations have not been so fruitful.

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Mother of five killed by Israeli artillery fire close to Gaza buffer zone
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - July 16, 2010 - 12:00am

A mother of five was killed by Israeli artillery fire when she went to fetch her two-year-old son from outside her village home close to the "buffer zone" created by Israel along its border with Gaza. Three of her relatives were wounded in the shelling earlier this week, but Red Crescent ambulances were not permitted to reach the family for several hours.

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