NEWS: Palestinian officials are rethinking their UN plans. Six Palestinians are injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza. Palestinians plan municipal elections in October. UNRWA says it is facing severe shortages due to the blockade of Gaza. Former US UN Amb. John Bolton says Palestinian efforts at the UN “mean nothing.” The PLO objects to UNESCO listing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Palestinians in Nablus say another intifada is unlikely. A new poll shows Palestinians disenchanted with Hamas, Iran and the peace process. US officials say Arab support for a Palestinian UN initiative won’t help it succeed. The UN says settler violence against Palestinians is increasing. COMMENTARY: Roger Cohen says all parties have squandered the past year, especially Israel’s refusal to recognize the achievements of PM Fayyad. Ha’aretz says it’s appropriate that Israelis and Palestinians march together for peace. An international “Friends of Israel Initiative” warns Palestinians against seeking statehood at the UN. Patrick Seale says PM Netanyahu does not seek peace. Jeffrey Goldberg says it may be time for Jewish Americans to boycott Netanyahu. Ami Brand says the boycott law may boomerang. Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff say both Israelis and Palestinians are worried about a return to violence. Dan Ephron says Palestinian divisions could impede a statehood bid. The Forward slams the new Israeli anti-boycott law and suggests boycotting settlement goods “can be a legitimate use of nonviolent protest to achieve a worthy goal.”

We Can’t Say This
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

We could get in trouble for this. Not in New York City, where this editorial is being written, because legitimate comment is protected under the First Amendment. But our editorials, along with many other stories and columns in the Forward, also appear every Sunday in the English edition of the Haaretz newspaper in Israel. And now, with a new anti-boycott law approved by the Knesset and due to take effect in less than 90 days, the boundaries of free speech and legitimate expression have grown unpredictably and suffocatingly tight.

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Palestine’s Split Over Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Dan Ephron - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians have been talking for months about petitioning the United Nations in September for a vote that would push them closer to statehood. Now, as the deadline for a decision nears, the top policy-makers in Ramallah are divided over precisely what course to take, according to Palestinian and western officials familiar with internal discussions on the matter.

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Regards from Khaled Meshal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The baklava almost got stuck in the officers’ throats. A week ago, Munib al-Masri, the world’s richest Palestinian, hosted a group of Israeli officers from the West Bank coordination unit at his Nablus home. At one point he mentioned that he had received the pastry from Damascus, from his friend Khaled Meshal, head of the Hamas politburo. “Khaled sends regards,” he said.

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Boycott boomerang?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Globes
by Ami Brand - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The Boycott Law, which it seems will have to overcome the hurdle of the High Court of Justice, has had one unexpected result. After a dormant decade, the moderate Israeli left is suddenly showing signs of revival. On the evening of the vote, following calls on Twitter and Facebook for a protest against the infringement of the right of free speech, several hundred demonstrators gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Compared with the average attendance at similar events, this was an impressive achievement.

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Maybe It's Time for American Jews to Boycott Netanyahu (UPDATED)
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

This is what the prime minister of the "Middle East's only democracy," Benjamin Netanyahu, said about the free-speech suppression bill that passed in the Knesset earlier this week: He said, unbelievably, that the new law doesn't taint Israeli democracy. "What stains (Israel's) image are those savage and irresponsible attacks on a democracy's attempt to draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not." Yikes.

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Netanyahu does not seek peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Yigal Amir has good reason for quiet satisfaction. Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin knows that the three shots he fired on the night of November 4, 1995, slammed shut the door on peace and changed the course of Israeli history.

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How not to have a Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Members of the Friends of Israel Initiative - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and its international recognition, would be a huge mistake. A peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is essential, but can be achieved only through honest negotiations – not by one party imposing a unilateral decision.

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The other Jerusalem march
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

On Jerusalem Day last month, tens of thousands of youngsters active in the religious Zionist movement marched from the city's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to the Western Wall Plaza in what is known as the Flag Parade. Some turned the march into a frightening demonstration of nationalism, racism and violence. Today, this route will be followed in reverse by another march that is the opposite of the rightists' march. Instead of calling for death (to the Arabs ), it will raise a joint cry for life - for an end to the occupation and recognition of Palestinian independence.

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A Year of Waste
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — Almost a year ago, President Obama declared to the United Nations General Assembly: “When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations — an independent sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel.”

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