August 20th

PLO defends Abbas statements on Jewish rights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

The PLO responded Wednesday to a letter to Mahmoud Abbas authored and endorsed by Palestinian academics and intellectuals questioning the Ramallah-based government's ability to lead. The 22 July letter, signed by dozens of scholars, activists, and civil society leaders, specifically expressed concerns that Abbas had denied Palestinians their basic rights and accepted an "exclusive Jewish claim to Palestine" in remarks during a conversation with American Jews in the US capital.

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Dozens faint during prayers under Ramadan sun
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Tens of thousands of Palestinians lined up at West Bank checkpoints early on Friday morning, waiting to be granted access to the holy city of Jerusalem for prayer on the second Friday of Ramadan. Officials at the Islamic Waqf office estimated 150,000 worshipers gathered in the Old City mosque for prayer, while Israeli estimates put the number at 95,000.

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Arab states cut aid to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab states have cut financial aid to the Palestinian Authority so far this year and the United Nations has warned of a looming Palestinian cash crisis. "The Arabs are not paying. We urge them to meet their financial pledges," said Saleh Rafat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee and one of the few Palestinian officials willing to speak out on the matter. Arab government officials declined to comment on the issue.

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Israeli-Palestinian peace talks expected to resume in September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Douglas Hamilton - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Israelis and Palestinians will be invited Friday to begin direct peace talks in two weeks in Washington, a diplomatic source said Thursday night. Both sides were expected to attend the talks, which would begin Sept. 2, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Envoys from the so-called Quartet of powers -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- agreed to the details Thursday, the source said, adding that President Obama would be present at the talks. The White House declined to comment Thursday.

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Anshel Pfeffer / It's all too easy for Israeli rights groups to call the IDF's bluff
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

This week I published in Haaretz the story of a small group of reserve soldiers who last month, while on active duty in the Jordan Valley, decided to make a small modification to their routine: They replaced the standard collection of curt phrases in basic Arabic - used by generations of IDF soldiers to order Palestinian civilians to stop, open their car door, present documents and identify themselves - with the more pleasant greetings and respectful, traditional blessings of which Arabic is so full.

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Report Criticizes Gaza Restrictions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Kamal Sweleim’s family has owned a farm in this northern part of Gaza for six decades. For most of that time, it was a mix of citrus orchards and plump cows, and the family made a handsome living selling its products to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. But 10 years ago, when the second Palestinian uprising broke out, spreading violence in Israeli streets, Israeli tanks started repeatedly tearing through the family’s fields, chasing militants. Last year, during the Israeli war in Gaza, the Sweleims were ordered to move out, and their trees and wells were bulldozed.

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Israelis and Palestinians to Resume Talks, Officials Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to announce Friday that Israel and the Palestinians will return to direct negotiations for the first time in 20 months, delivering the Obama administration a small victory in its protracted effort to revive the Middle East peace process, two officials briefed on the situation said Thursday evening. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, have agreed to place a one-year time limit on the talks, these officials said.

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August 19th

A former Palestinian intelligence chief passes away. George Will calls the search for peace “obscene.” Palestinian students learn about the Holocaust. The UN welcomes Lebanon's easing of restrictions on Palestinian refugees, but the Arab News says it's not enough. The UN publishes Israeli and PA responses to the Goldstone report. Another settler rabbi is arrested suspicion of incitement and a rally is held in support of rabbis authorizing the killing of non-Jews. Israeli soldiers are accused of looting from the Gaza flotilla. A senior UN official calls on Israel to extend the settlement moratorium. Settlers and Palestinians recall the 2005 Gaza redeployment. Israeli groups launch Wikipedia editing seminars. After criticism from the right, the New Israel Fund considers guidelines for grantees. The Forward profiles Israeli Amb. Michael Oren. JJ Goldberg looks at the legality of the flotilla raid. Rami Khouri says Israeli leaders promote a culture of victimhood. Neil Berry profiles Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh. Hussein Ibish looks at the new PA initiative on education.

You'll Never Guess What the Laws of War Say About Attacking a Neutral Vessel on the High Seas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am

I don’t know about you, but I find on occasion that there’s nothing more relaxing than to curl up with some good reading material. Well, the other day I was getting cozy with my favorite Geneva Conventions on the laws of war, and to my surprise I came across an annex to the conventions detailing the ins and outs of what’s legal and what’s not legal in the conduct of warfare at sea. How about that? The document is fetchingly titled The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, 12 June 1994.

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Wikipedia editing courses launched by Zionist groups
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rachel Shabi - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Since the earliest days of the worldwide web, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has seen its rhetorical counterpart fought out on the talkboards and chatrooms of the internet. Now two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online debate have launched a course in "Zionist editing" for Wikipedia, the online reference site.

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