July 29th

Easing of siege - 'largely cosmetic and self-serving'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's easing of the siege and blockade of Gaza is largely cosmetic and self-serving. Israel has opened the gates to all food and clothing items but only 150 lorry loads enter Gaza when the crossings are open. Consequently, the volume of goods entering Gaza has only increased from 17 per cent of the amount before Israel began to impose its blockade in 2006 to 25 per cent at the present.

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Arab League backs Palestinians on restarting talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by SALAH NASRAWI - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian president is refusing to move to direct peace negotiations with Israel, as the Arab League meets Thursday to decide whether to add its weight to U.S. and Israeli pressure for face-to-face talks. Mahmoud Abbas is under strong U.S. and European pressure to restart direct talks that were frozen in 2008. But the Palestinian leader said he would only do so if Israel agrees to a complete halt in settlement construction and accepts a Palestinian state in territories seized in the 1967 Middle East war — the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

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Editorial: ‘A prison camp’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The new British Premier David Cameron appears unafraid to speak his mind. Visiting his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday, he described Gaza as “a prison camp” and urged the illegal Israeli blockade be lifted.

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Egypt: Abbas received American assurances
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas has received American assurances over the future of the peace process with Israel, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Thursday. Speaking to Egyptian TV Thursday morning, Abul Gheit said a series of letters from the American administration were "conveyed to the Palestinian side within the past few days." He said Arab officials were waiting for a Thursday afternoon meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas "to see what Abu Mazen [Abbas] will present."

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The Palestinian conundrum on direct negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The PLO is now facing one of the most difficult problems it's had to deal with in quite a while, as it comes under very heavy pressure from the Obama administration and, as Pres. Abbas said at the African Union summit in Kampala two days ago, the “entire world” as well, to return to direct negotiations with Israel. For most people, although on two different sides of the equation, this is a no-brainer.

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Mr. President, Don’t Pray for Anything You Really Don’t Want
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Barack Obama's administration has been lobbying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Arab governments hard to return to direct talks with Israel for the first time in several years. That decision could be made as early as Thursday, when the Arab League meets to discuss the matter. But Obama should very careful what he wishes for. One of the most enduring myths in the lore surrounding Arab-Israeli diplomacy is that direct negotiations provide the key to successful peacemaking. They don't.

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Why a young Israeli woman spies on Israeli settlements in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

If Palestinians ever achieve the viable state to which they aspire, they will have a determined young Israeli activist to thank for its territory not being entirely swallowed by Israeli settlements.

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Roadblocks continue to halt life in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The road to the Al-Hadidiya village in the northeastern West Bank district of Tubas is dotted with boulders etched with a warning in Hebrew, Arabic, and English: “Danger - Open Fire Area.” The boulders arrived in February, positioned at the entrance to Palestinian villages, indicating that chunks of the Jordan Valley have become a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army. They signal a further squeeze on the Bedouin communities in the area.

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Why a young Israeli woman spies on Israeli settlements in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

If Palestinians ever achieve the viable state to which they aspire, they will have a determined young Israeli activist to thank for its territory not being entirely swallowed by Israeli settlements.

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July 28th

A dispute erupts over who will pay the medical bills of an American student badly injured by Israeli forces at a West Bank protest. Commercial pilots complain about Israel's interception policies. Pressure mounts for direct talks. Israel destroys 45 homes in a Bedouin village. PM Netanyahu discusses peace with Jordan's King Abdallah. Fatah officials say the PA government will be reshuffled. Egypt seizes control of 10 Gaza smuggling tunnels. Six Palestinians are injured in clashes with settlers in occupied East Jerusalem. The PA warns it may face a financial crisis if pledged donations are withheld. Pres. Abbas is reportedly set to tell the Arab League that conditions are not sufficient for direct negotiations. Israel is planning to demolish the yeshiva of the settler rabbi recently arrested for incitement to kill non-Jews. Ha'aretz interviews former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk. Hamas may impose military conscription in Gaza. Ehud Yaari says the Obama administration has decided to cooperate with Israel. PM Cameron says Gaza cannot remain a “prison camp.” Jonathan Freedland says “one-state” proposals from the Israeli right don't offer much to the Palestinians. Ghassan Khatib says all negotiations must be about substance and not form. Yossi Alpher says continued proximity talks may be preferable to direct negotiations.

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