July 29th

Israel speeds up West Bank barrier construction following court injunction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am The Defense Ministry picked up the pace of work on the separation fence near the Palestinian village of Walajeh, south of Jerusalem this week, village residents and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel say. The residents had petitioned the High Court of Justice, asking it to order the state to find an alternative route for the fence. The current route would surround the village on three sides and separate it from large tracts of its land. » Read more

Pandering is no substitute for leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am With less than 100 days until the congressional elections, Republican dreams of taking control of both the House and Senate are giving nightmares not only to Democrats but also to those who want to see the Israelis and Palestinians make peace. As the GOP tries to out-Israel the Democrats by taking an increasingly hard line, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida lawmaker who could become the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) if Republicans win in November, is leading the charge by essentially proposing shutting down the peace process. » Read more

'Israeli Arabs have no choice but to build illegally' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Fadi Eyadat - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's Arabs are forced to build illegal housing due to the government's refusal to recognize many of their communities as official towns or to grant them permits for legal construction, according to a study released by the Dirasat - Arab Center for Law and Policy. The dozens of structures Israel razed earlier this week in the Bedouin town of Arkaib are among the 45,000 illegal constructions in unrecognized villages in the Negev. According to Knesset figures, some 1,500 structures like these are built annually in unrecognized villages. » Read more

Netanyahu: Israel's government will fall if settlement freeze continues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Continuing the construction freeze in West Bank settlements after it expires on September 26 would be impossible politically and would bring down the coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Moratinos told Netanyahu that the European Union's position was that Israel should continue the freeze. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has conditioned direct talks with Israel on a continued construction freeze. » Read more

Hamas bans lingerie displays in Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Scantily-clad mannequins and pictures of underwear models are to disappear from clothes shops in the Gaza Strip after officials announced new rules. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, said that the new rules were to protect "public morality". The ruling comes two weeks after the organisation banned women from smoking water pipes. Hamas has repeatedly denied it intends to impose Islamic Sharia law in Gaza. It has so far taken only limited steps to enforce modesty and prevent the sexes from mixing in public. » Read more

Going to direct talks with Israel is Palestinian decision: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 29, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian official said on Wednesday it is the Palestinians who decide to go to direct talks with Israel or not. "This is a sheer Palestinian decision," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio. "It's the Palestinian leadership who decides on peace-related issues." Erekat's comments came a day before the 13-member Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee meets in Cairo to discuss the United States' calls to start direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. » Read more

After four years, Gaza remains home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Mahmoud Habboush - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am f my first visit home to Gaza after more than four years was a drama, seeing my mother would have been its climax. It would have been the inevitable conclusion that every thread in the story leads to. And it was. For days I had been thinking about when I would see her. There is something about mothers, something heavenly that makes them the centre of the universe. There is something about home that makes me feel the same way. » Read more

Arab League to reject direct Palestinian-Israeli talks: analyst ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am When foreign ministers of Arab League (AL) member states meet on Thursday, they will consider whether to approve a Palestinian move towards direct talks with Israel. Ahead of that session, Israel, the United States and France have been trying to persuade regional players that face-to-face negotiations are the only sensible way to make progress. However, regional experts told Xinhua on Wednesday they think the representative body of the Arab world will reject direct negotiations at this stage. » Read more

Will someone please pay attention to the suffering? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Once again the summer heat is upon us. And once again, people's anguish, and appeals at the overcrowded King Hussein Bridge are melting as quickly as an ice cream cone in the Jordan Valley's high temperatures. » Read more

Gaza, W. Bank must be reunified before any deal with Israel: Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said here on Wednesday that reunification of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be carried on simultaneously with the Palestinian- Israeli peace process, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported. In a meeting with editors-in-chief of Egyptian newspapers in Cairo, Abbas reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, especially those concerning the peace process and efforts aiming to resume direct negotiations and achieve Palestinian reconciliation. » Read more