'Navy prepared to board flotilla ships if they don't stop' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am The Israel Navy is prepared to intercept and take control of the ships participating in the new flotilla to the Gaza Strip, a senior Navy officer said Tuesday on the anniversary of the IDF operation to stop the Mavi Marmara that ended in the death of nine Turkish nationals. "We will order the ship to stop, but if they don't, we are prepared to intercept and board the ship," a senior officer told reporters. » Read more

Jerusalem neighborhoods to get Hebrew names ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews May 30, 2011 - 12:00am The next time you visit Jerusalem you might not be able to walk around Mamilla, Talbiya or Holyland – but rather in the Hagoshrim, Komemiyut or Eretz HaTzvi. A new bill is aiming to refer to neighborhoods in the capital by Hebrew names only. MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) initiated the bill, which has been endorsed by many other Knesset members from both the coalition and opposition. "The purpose is to strengthen the bond to Jerusalem by enforcing the use of Hebrew names for the capital's neighborhoods where Jews reside," said Hotovely. » Read more

Jerusalem neighborhoods to get Hebrew names ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews May 30, 2011 - 12:00am The next time you visit Jerusalem you might not be able to walk around Mamilla, Talbiya or Holyland – but rather in the Hagoshrim, Komemiyut or Eretz HaTzvi. A new bill is aiming to refer to neighborhoods in the capital by Hebrew names only. MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) initiated the bill, which has been endorsed by many other Knesset members from both the coalition and opposition. "The purpose is to strengthen the bond to Jerusalem by enforcing the use of Hebrew names for the capital's neighborhoods where Jews reside," said Hotovely. » Read more

Report: Tension rises between Arabs, J'lem police ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yair Altman - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am The friction between the police and Jerusalem's Arab population has escalated considerably over the past 18 months, a report released Tuesday by the Association for Civil Rights indicates. According to the report, roughly 1,200 children were questioned on suspicion of pelting stones and 759 were arrested for suspected violations of a nationalistic nature. Charges were pressed in 226 of the cases. East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan and Issawiya were listed in the report as the most prominent sites of contention. » Read more

Draft charges: Lieberman made millions in illegal business deals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gidi Weitz - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman set up a company in the Virgin Islands in 2001, while he was serving as infrastructure minister, according to new details of the draft indictment against him that have been obtained by Haaretz. The draft accuses Lieberman of continuing to run a worldwide business enterprise that brought in millions, including from people with business interests in Israel, while he was serving as a minister and Knesset member. He also allegedly concealed this enterprise from the relevant authorities, first and foremost the state comptroller. » Read more

Jerusalem is already divided ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) May 31, 2011 - 12:00am "Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's festive cabinet meeting, held at the Tower of David, in the Old City, in honor of Jerusalem Day. In the conciliatory spirit that has recently taken hold of him, Netanyahu added: "This creates a difficulty for the Palestinians, but with creativity and good will, a solution is possible." » Read more

Palestinians plan to approach UN Security Council about statehood in July ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority plans to approach the United Nations Security Council in July to begin the process of getting Palestine recognized as a full member of the United Nations and to assure a vote on the matter by the General Assembly in September, Haaretz has learned. » Read more

Beneath Jerusalem, an underground city takes shape ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Matti Friedman - May 30, 2011 - 12:00am Underneath the crowded alleys and holy sites of old Jerusalem, hundreds of people are snaking at any given moment through tunnels, vaulted medieval chambers and Roman sewers in a rapidly expanding subterranean city invisible from the streets above. At street level, the walled Old City is an energetic and fractious enclave with a physical landscape that is predominantly Islamic and a population that is mainly Arab. » Read more

Hamas founder remembered in new museum ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ibrahim Barzak - May 30, 2011 - 12:00am The Hamas militant group has turned the modest home of its founder into a museum — seven years after the wheelchair-bound Palestinian cleric was killed in an Israeli airstrike as he was wheeled out of a mosque. The Sheik Ahmed Yassin museum, located in an alleyway in the rundown Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, has become a popular destination since it opened last month. Dozens of schoolchildren and well-wishers visit each day. » Read more

Israel Navy commandos undergo special training ahead of next Gaza flotilla ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 31, 2011 - 12:00am Members of the Israel Navy commando unit are currently engaged in special training meant to prepare them for a possibility that they would be called to block an international flotilla from reaching the Gaza shore in late June, the Ma'ariv daily reported on Monday. Several teams of the unit raided the Mavi Marmara, one of a six- vessel flotilla that attempted to breach the maritime blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip on May 31 last year. Nine pro- Palestinian activists were killed in the incident. » Read more