March 7th

Roger Waters voices support for Israel boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz March 6, 2011 - 1:00am Roger Waters, founding member, vocalist and bassist of the iconic rock band 'Pink Floyd' has voiced his support for a cultural boycott of Israel. The British musician performed in Israel in 2005, ignoring calls from Palestinian rights advocates to cancel. While in Israel, Waters visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. He was taken to the controversial separation fence in the West Bank, which he called "an appalling edifice to behold." » Read more

Palestinian with Jewish wife and IDF veteran son denied permanent visa ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yanir Yagna - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am A Palestinian man who is married to a Jewish woman and whose son served in the Israel Defense Forces was recently informed that he is ineligible for a permanent visa to live in Israel. "I can't buy a home here like a human being, I can't open a business for fear that they'll soon kick me out," said Adel Hussein, who has lived most of his life in the West Bank city of Tul Karm, but now wants to live near his son in Israel. "There is no explanation as to why they're not letting me be a permanent citizen. My son served in a combat unit - is that not total loyalty to the state?" » Read more

Barak: Mideast peace does not go against Israel's security interests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz March 7, 2011 - 1:00am A peace agreement with the Palestinians does not stand in contradiction with Israel's security needs, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio on Monday, saying that immediate action needed to be taken to advance peace efforts. Barak's comments came after sources in the Prime Minister's Office said last week that the PM was considering a plan to cooperate with the Palestinians on the establishment of a Palestinian state with temporary borders, as part of an interim peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority that would be implemented immediately. » Read more

Israel plans work at contested Jerusalem holy site ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 6, 2011 - 1:00am Israel has given preliminary approval for renovations at a contested holy site in East Jerusalem where rebuilding has triggered violence in the past, a city official said on Sunday. Municipal planners last week approved the project to repair an earthen ramp near the Mughrabi Gate connecting the Wailing Wall remnant of an ancient Jewish temple to a complex revered by Muslims and Jews, both of whom claim the area as their own. » Read more

Fair solution to Palestinian issue key to Mideast security: Jordan' s king ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 7, 2011 - 1:00am King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday said the key to stability, peace and security in the Middle East is to find a just solution for the Palestinian issue, the state- run Petra new agency reported. The solution, he said, should lead to the realization of the Palestinian hopes in establishing an independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories. The king made his remarks at a meeting with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Sunday, when the two sides looked into developments in the region and issues of mutual concern. » Read more

Palestinian worker killed in tunnel collapse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 7, 2011 - 1:00am An 18-year-old Palestinian worker was killed on Monday when a smuggling tunnel beneath Gaza's southern border with Egypt caved in, medical sources said. Hundreds of tunnels are located beneath the borderline, which were used for bringing in materials forbidden by Israel through the commercial crossing points with Gaza. Tunnel business flourished between 2007 and the middle of 2010, when an Israeli blockade against Gaza was in its highest level. Construction materials and petrol flow to Gaza mainly through the tunnels. » Read more

Palestinian PM-designate suggests forming unity gov't ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Fares Akram, Yang Yuanyuan - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian Prime Minister- designate Salam Fayyad said Sunday that after studying faults that led to the Palestinian division in 2007, he proposed to form a unity government which would include both Hamas and Fatah. The unity government that comprised the Islamic Hamas movement and the Fatah party of Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas collapsed in June 2007 "due to the absence of a clear security vision," Fayyad said during an interview with Xinhua. » Read more

Palestinian leader: No state with temporary border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - March 5, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian president said Saturday he would not accept an Israeli peace initiative if it called for temporary borders for a future Palestinian state. President Mahmoud Abbas' comments were the highest official response so far to news of a peace plan that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to publicly propose in the coming weeks. » Read more

Israeli PM: World conditioned to back Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 6, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's leader has accused the international community of automatically siding with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Palestinians are refusing to make peace overtures, "instead preferring to take advantage of the international community's Pavlovian reflex in their favor." Peace talks broke down in September. The Palestinians blame Israel for the stalemate, saying continued Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem is preventing the resumption of talks. » Read more

Israel denies top Anglican Bishop residency visa ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 6, 2011 - 1:00am The Anglican Church says Israeli officials are refusing to renew the residency visa of its top official in the Holy Land. Church spokesman Hussam Naoum said Sunday that Israel's Interior Ministry has refused to renew the visa of the Right Rev. Suheil Dawani since September. Naoum says the church kept the issue quiet while they tried to lobby officials, but decided to go public after receiving no response. Dawani, who is Palestinian, is remaining in Jerusalem illegally. » Read more