July 27th

The right's strategy of phases ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) July 27, 2010 - 12:00am Most of the Jewish public perceives the refusal by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to accede to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand to recognize Israel as the Jewish state prior to negotiations and a final agreement as evidence of a hidden agenda. For them, this agenda is based on a "strategy of phases" and the aspiration to destroy Israel as a Zionist state. » Read more

Israel needs a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) July 27, 2010 - 12:00am Israel’s national security and self-preservation as a democracy, if not its very existence, depend on its ability and willingness to come to terms with the reality of coexistence with the Palestinians on the basis of a two-state solution. Unfortunately, instead of seeking to promote the creation of a Palestinian state, the current government has sought to impede it. » Read more

Q&A with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - (Interview) July 27, 2010 - 12:00am Edited excerpts of interview by Washington Post's Janine Zacharia, with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Friday, July 23, 2010 WP: You arrive in Washington on Monday. What is the primary objective of your trip? » Read more

Q&A with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - (Interview) July 27, 2010 - 12:00am Edited excerpts of interview by Washington Post's Janine Zacharia, with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Friday, July 23, 2010 WP: You arrive in Washington on Monday. What is the primary objective of your trip? » Read more

Gaza kids struggle to leave their world of silence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Osama Radi - July 27, 2010 - 12:00am The four-year-old Gaza boy Noor stuttered when he tried to utter the word "baba". A deaf specialist, sitting next to him, was teaching him to say the easy word, hoping to help the boy leave the world of silence. Noor and another eight hearing-impaired children were in one room with their specialist mentor who produced several musical sounds and slowly moved her tongue and lips to teach them the correct pronunciation of the early childhood expressions. » Read more

Settlers block West Bank roads to protest construction freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 27, 2010 - 12:00am In protest of Monday's home demolition carried out by Israeli security forces at the Givat Ronen outpost, settlers blockaded 11 intersections across the West Bank on Monday evening. The demonstrations were organized by the Samaria and Benjamin regional councils. From early Monday morning, council activists telephoned citizens to encourage them to come out to the evening protests. The Neveh Tsuf, Kochav Hashachar, Tzomet Shiloh, Tzomet Hadoar, Tzomet Hawara and Tzomet Shavei Shomron intersections were among those that were blocked. » Read more

US presses Abbas to resume direct peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am A senior U.S. envoy warned the Palestinian president that he must move quickly to direct talks with Israel if he wants President Barack Obama's help in setting up a Palestinian state, according to an internal Palestinian document obtained by The Associated Press on Monday. The 36-page memo, sent to senior Palestinian officials, advised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resist growing U.S. pressure, warning that rescinding his conditions for face-to-face negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be "political suicide." » Read more

Police release rabbi arrested for inciting to kill non-Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 27, 2010 - 12:00am Police released the head rabbi of a prominent yeshiva yesterday hours after arresting him for encouraging to kill non-Jews. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, head of the Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva and author of "The King's Torah," was arrested early yesterday morning at his home in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. His book describes how it is possible to kill non-Jews according to halakha (Jewish religious law ). » Read more

Gazans want "Marshall Plan", Israel policy falls short ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - July 27, 2010 - 12:00am Wael El Wadiah's Gaza snack food factories once employed 250 people. Today, denied access to the West Bank market by Israel, he employs a few dozen workers in what is left of a business built up over 25 years. "I am right back to square one," he said. Jamal Basala once employed 20 people on his fishing trawler. Today, his access to the sea restricted by Israel, he employs four. He used to earn $5,000 a month. Today, he accepts assistance from aid agencies and can't afford his son's university fees. "I suffer depression," he said. » Read more

Abbas to ask for extension to proximity talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 27, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas will request an extension to US-mediated indirect talks with Israel from the Arab Peace Initiative Committee when in Cairo on Thursday, a PLO official said Monday. Executive Committee member Hannah Amireh told Ma'an radio that Abbas would ask for talks to continue until 8 September, one month over the 4-month deadline sanctioned by the Arab League. Abbas will also discuss the possibility of re-entering into direct negotiations with Israel, Amireh said. » Read more