June 14th

Unofficial Nakba study kit a hit with teachers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Asaf Shtull-Trauring - June 14, 2011 - 12:00am When Shira (not her real name ), a history teacher at a junior high school in the center of the country, mentioned "nakba" in a class three years ago, none of her students had any idea what it referred to. Today, she says, the word just surfaces naturally among the students. They know about it and talk about it. According to her, the reason is clear - Amendment 40 to the Budget Foundations Law, more commonly known as the "Nakba Law." » Read more

Gaza unemployment levels 'among worst in world' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - June 14, 2011 - 12:00am Gaza's unemployment rate was among the world's highest, at 45.2% in late 2010, the UN has found, as Israel's blockade of the territory enters its fifth year. Real wages meanwhile fell by more than a third, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said. Its report says that private businesses have been hardest hit by the continuing ban on virtually all exports. Israel tightened sanctions on Gaza in 2006 after militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. » Read more

UN marks 5 years of Gaza siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 14, 2011 - 12:00am "If the aim of the blockade policy was to weaken the Hamas administration, the public employment numbers suggest this has failed," a UNRWA spokesman said Tuesday as the UN marks Gaza's fifth year under intense Israeli siege. Commenting on a report released by the UN agency charged with providing care and services for the one million refugees living in the Gaza Strip, on the fifth anniversary of the siege, spokesman Chris Gunness added "it has certainly been highly successful in punishing some of the poorest of the poor in the Middle East region." » Read more

Choose wisely, Mr. Prime Minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Colette Avital - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Israelis were glued to their televisions last month, listening to a torrent of eloquent speeches from Washington, DC. With his rich language, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won over both houses of Congress – which couldn’t seem to cheer loudly enough – as well as his hard-Right base at home. Most Israelis, however, were left cold. When you’ve lived with an unresolved, violent conflict for this long, the cheers of Congress do not help. What matters is that we find a way to get past rhetoric and take our country’s future back into our own hands. » Read more

EU: Palestinian state vote could be ‘dangerous’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Las Vegas Sun June 14, 2011 - 12:00am The president of the EU parliament says a unilateral Palestinian move toward statehood could be "dangerous." Frustrated by a long-standing impasse in peace talks with Israel, the Palestinians have mounted a campaign for international recognition at the U.N. General Assembly in September. European support would be critical, but EU parliament chief Jerzy Buzek sounded cool to the idea on Tuesday. Speaking in Ramallah, Buzek said he "understood" the Palestinian position but added it could complicate peace efforts. » Read more

What you see is what you get ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am In June 2011, almost 100,000 people show up for the gay pride festivities in Tel Aviv – an amazing achievement after years of struggle. Six thousand showed up for a peace demonstration a few nights before. In the West Bank, more than 20,000 Palestinians work in Israeli settlements, and only a few hundred participate in the Friday demonstrations against the occupation. » Read more

Palestinians suffer as key post remains vacant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mohammed Zaatari - June 14, 2011 - 12:00am Since the retirement of the head of Political Affairs and Refugees at the Interior Ministry, the directorate has stopped all issuing of personal status documents for Palestinian refugees, making it impossible for them to enrol in university or request economic assistance. Although the former director general, Brig. Nicolas Habr, would assign a ministry official to sign documents in his name during his tenure, Habr’s retirement has created a “vacuum.” » Read more

Feeling winds of Arab Spring, Israel douses sparks of Palestinian uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - June 10, 2011 - 12:00am As a Palestinian statehood push gains traction across the globe, Israel is facing the prospect of a broader Palestinian civil disobedience movement that could put the Jewish state on the defensive. Until now, homegrown demonstrations in the West Bank have gained little traction. A weekly protest in the village of Nabi Saleh today, for example, drew only a few dozen protesters and was quickly shut down by soldiers firing tear-gas canisters. » Read more

Palestinians are still limited, even if they get a state of their own ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) June 14, 2011 - 12:00am The mood among the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah prior to the anticipated United Nations vote in September is reminiscent of a small child who has received an adult bicycle for his birthday. The child doesn't know whether to rejoice or to cry. He's so happy with the wonderful gift, but his heart is full of fear that he'll fall flat, injure his knee and scratch the shiny bicycle. » Read more

Palestinian Unity Effort Shows Cracks as Factions Disagree Over Choosing Leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Fatah and Hamas so far disagree on who should lead a unity government, a possible sign of discord before talks scheduled to start in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting Palestinian officials and analysts to question the durability of the recent reconciliation agreement. The Egyptian-brokered pact was reached unexpectedly and signed formally at a ceremony in Cairo on May 4. It was meant to end four years of schism between the mainstream Fatah, the dominant party in the West Bank, and the Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, and the subsequent division between the two territories. » Read more