Once fertile valley dries up as Jerichoans face drought and demolition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Irish Times
by Michael Jansen - July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

THE PALM trees of Jericho stand tall on the broad brown floor of the Jordan valley, their thick green fronds fluttering in the stiff breeze.

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NEWS: Israel drops leaflets warning Gazans not to approach the “buffer zone.” Israel’s Navy boards a French boat bound for Gaza, without incident. Pres. Abbas says he is ready to circumvent US opposition at the UN, but Deputy FM Ayalon says Palestinians are being defeated. Syria says it recognizes a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel plans hundreds of more settler housing units in the occupied territories. Settlers are increasingly lobbying in the United States. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat is making a political comeback. Palestinians in Jericho face drought and home demolitions. A new House bill could limit US aid to several countries and the PA. COMMENTARY: Ha’aretz says Israel’s equality under the law doesn’t apply to Palestinians. Shlomo Gazit says he is determined to fight what he he says amounts to “apartheid” in Israel. Reuven Pedatzur says the PA has proven itself a worthy partner in peace. Gershon Baskin says face-to-face encounters are a key to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Asharq al-Awsat interviews Michael Weiss. Musa Keilani says Jordan needs a Palestinian state. Jeffrey Goldberg says support from Michele Bachmann and other right wing evangelicals is dangerous for Israel. Saliba Sarsar and Hussein Ibish say the international community must make an irreversible commitment to a Palestinian state. Hussein Ibish says antidemocratic tendencies are growing in Israel.

Michele Bachmann’s Hazardous Love for Israel: Jeffrey Goldberg
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman and Republican candidate for president, is making a muscular showing in the polls. She is telegenic. She is clever. Some of her Republican opponents worry she may be unstoppable. But never fear, oh Republican opponents of Michele Bachmann: I’ve devised a fail-safe way to bring her to a state of cognitive paralysis. This method will require some travel on her part. Bachmann’s destination: the Tel Aviv gay-pride parade.

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The Long Overdue State of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Hussein Ibish and Saliba Sarsar - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

With the independence of the new Republic of South Sudan, the world is again reminded that states are created on the basis of local, regional and international necessity. At least two decades of international action, as well as a long, bitter and bloody conflict produced the independence of the south, a state that has been already welcomed by the international community, the African Union, the United Nations, and has been invited to join the Arab League.

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Israeli minister says Palestinians losing UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Daniel Estrin - July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — International support for a planned Palestinian declaration of independence at the U.N. in September is waning, in large part because of intense Israeli lobbying against the initiative, a senior Israeli diplomat claimed Monday.

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Israel’s anti-democratic impulses grow
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

A recently-passed anti-boycott law in Israel allows anyone advocating a boycott of the country or “areas under its control”—in other words the settlements—to be sued by private citizens and denied government benefits and contracts. This egregious attack on freedom of speech and conscience is a symptom of several deep-seated problems that are having a profoundly negative effect on Israel’s international standing and on prospects for peace with the Palestinians.

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Dr Musa A Keilani: Decision in the doldrums
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The international Quartet has proved itself to be ineffective in its mandate to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Quartet, made up of the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia, could not get out of its own trap when the group met in Washington this month.

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Ministry: Syria recognizes Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Agence France Press (AFP) - July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The Syrian foreign ministry said Monday that Damascus recognizes a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital within the borders in effect prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. "Syria recognizes a Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 borders and east Jerusalem as its capital, and on the basis of the preservation of Palestinian legitimate rights," a statement said. Syria "will treat the Damascus office of the PLO as an embassy upon the publication of this statement," the ministry added.

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Asharq Al-Awsat talks to Just Journalism director Michael Weiss
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Mohammed Al Shafey - (Interview) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

London, Asharq al-Awsat- Michael Weiss is an American journalist, and contributing editor of Tablet magazine. Having received a BA in History from Dartmouth College in 2002, Weiss has gone on to write extensively on the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israel-Palestine conflict and human rights issues. His work has been featured in many prestigious publications in both the United States and Britain, including The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, where he currently contributes a regular blog on Middle Eastern issues.

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Israel plans hundreds more Jewish settler homes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel announced plans on Monday to build another 294 homes in two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and the Palestinians said the move hardened their resolve to seek statehood recognition from the United Nations. Israel's Housing Ministry linked the new construction to a nationwide plan to lower housing prices, which have skyrocketed in recent years, and appease protesters demanding affordable living space.

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