Palestinian membership in the UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) April 24, 2011 - 12:00am The debate over the Palestinians’ quest for international recognition of their statehood got into high gear last week. The administration of US President Barack Obama offered the golden advice, saying it did not think that it was a “good idea” for the Palestinians to unilaterally seek recognition for independent statehood from the United Nations before reaching a peace agreement with Israel. » Read more

Egypt closes Rafah crossing for holiday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 25, 2011 - 12:00am Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing on Monday as the country marked Sinai Liberation Day and Sham Al-Nessim, officials announced. Crossing director Ayyoub Abu Sha’ar told Ma'an that the terminal would be closed for one day as citizens marked the national holiday denoting the beginning of spring. The holiday always falls the day after the Eastern Orthodox Christian Easter. On Tuesday, the crossing will resume its five-day-a-week schedule, Abu Sha'ar said.

Tech diplomacy: Israeli CEO hires Palestinian programmers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - April 22, 2011 - 12:00am The last time chief executive officer Eyal Waldman had been to the Israeli-occupied West Bank was as a soldier. But when he needed to outsource some work for his fast-growing Israeli technology company, he chose an unconventional solution: hiring Palestinian programmers from Ramallah. » Read more

Israel's wall cements psychological divide between Arab, Jew ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - April 22, 2011 - 12:00am shad Zeid, a Palestinian farmer who lives not far from the bustle of Tel Aviv, once sold his crops to Israeli acquaintances – chatting with them in Hebrew as they paid for cabbage or cauliflower. But now Mr. Zeid's world ends abruptly at a high wall of gray concrete erected by Israel to protect its citizens against Palestinian suicide bombers. Just beyond the wall bordering his fields lies Kfar Saba, a Tel Aviv suburb of 85,000 that was once part of his customer base. » Read more

Palestinian Police Kill Israeli Visiting West Bank Holy Site ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - April 24, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian police shot and killed one Israeli and wounded four others early Sunday after the Israelis surreptitiously visited a Jewish holy site inside a Palestinian-controlled area, officials on both sides said. The shooting occurred outside Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus after three carloads of religious Israeli Jews visited the site to pray, without coordinating their plans through the Israeli Army. Twice-monthly trips to the tomb have been organized with army escorts for the past four years without incident. » Read more