July 8th

ANALYSIS-In Gaza, Hamas may have weathered worst of storm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - (Analysis) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am The worst could be over for Hamas whose rule in Gaza has survived three years of economic blockade and a full-scale Israeli military onslaught. The Islamist group is starting to see cracks in Israeli and Western policies that have made governing Gaza no easy task. Hamas still faces Israeli hostility and international sanctions, and is hated by its Palestinian opponents, foremost among them the Fatah movement which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. For Hamas, the feeling is mutual. » Read more

Netanyahu to US Jews: Direct talks with PA soon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he thinks direct talks with the Palestinians will begin very soon and he predicted they will be "very, very tough." Before flying to Washington for a meeting with President Barack Obama, Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that the "time has come" for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to get ready to meet directly with the Israelis "because there is no other way to advance peace." » Read more

Israel's list of banned goods into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Below is the official statement issued by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories on 6 July 2010 and a list of goods barred from entry into Gaza. Israel and the PA established joint-teams, as a part of the expansion of the land crossings' operation, and immediate steps were carried out in order to improve the efficiency of their operation. These include modifications of the infrastructure on both sides of the crossing, extending the operating hours of the crossings and augmenting the manpower. » Read more

Political theatre masks US-Israel tensions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jeremy Bowen - July 8, 2010 - 12:00am After their meeting at the White House, President Barack Obama walked his guest, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to his limousine. The solicitous host waited, slightly awkwardly, as Mr Netanyahu settled himself into the back seat. Immaculately uniformed servicemen stood rigidly to attention on either side of the vehicle. And then the video ended, before you could see whether Mr Obama waved until his new pal was out of sight. Actually he was only staying a few minutes walk away, at the official guest quarters, Blair House. » Read more

Economy minister wants standards for local products ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 8, 2010 - 12:00am National Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh asked the government to work harder on Tuesday, in developing national consumer standards, to protect Palestinians and improve the marketability of products globally. Speaking in Nablus at the first conference for Palestinian consumer protection, Abu Libdeh accused the interior ministry and his own ministry of impeding a new project aimed at improving the labeling on Palestinian produce. » Read more

President Obama's new Middle East course has promise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am FOR MUCH of the past 15 months, President Obama sought to advance his goal of a Middle East peace settlement through public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The results were mixed. Mr. Netanyahu made significant concessions to the White House, including announcing for the first time his acceptance of Palestinian statehood and imposing a 10-month freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements. But Mr. » Read more

ATFP President on MSNBC ATFP World Press Roundup Article from MSNBC (Interview) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Dr. Ziad Asali appears on MSNBC to comment on President Obama's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. » Read more

In Israel, the Noble vs. The Ugly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Nicholas D. Kristof - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Israel goes out of its way to display its ugliest side to the world by tearing down Palestinian homes or allowing rapacious settlers to steal Palestinian land. Yet there’s also another Israel as well, one that I mightily admire. This is the democracy that tolerates a far greater range of opinions than America. It’s a citadel of civil society. And, crazily, it’s the place where some of the most courageous and effective voices on behalf of oppressed Palestinians belong to Israeli rabbis — like Arik Ascherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights. » Read more

Netanyahu hints at flexibility on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Uriel Heilman - July 8, 2010 - 12:00am It was an otherwise wholly unremarkable stump speech before a friendly audience in New York. On Wednesday evening at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, the Israeli prime minister addressed a roomful of about 200 Jews on the subjects of Iran, his government’s eagerness for direct peace talks with the Palestinians and the swell meeting he had just had with President Obama at the White House. » Read more

The Israeli-Palestinian Confluence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Is the two-state solution passé? Serious people, with democratic instincts, are asking this now, but it is hard to think of a more frivolous question. » Read more