Abbas: We refuse observer status at the UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 19, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian leadership rejected upgrading Palestine to observer status at the UN and would demand full membership, the official news agency Wafa reported. Palestine refuses to be like the Vatican, which is not a member of the world body but has observer status, Abbas said. Speaking in Beirut, Abbas said 122 countries supported an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders, adding that the number could increase. Palestine also had the support of nine of the 15 UN Security Council members, the president said. » Read more

Israeli light rail finally rolls in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman August 19, 2011 - 12:00am The Jerusalem municipality says a long-awaited light rail system is beginning operation after years of delays, inconvenient archaeological finds and political haggling. The train took its first passengers early Friday. The project has been a decade and an estimated $1.4 billion in the making. The unique complexities of Jerusalem repeatedly delayed the project. The discovery of graves drew pressure from Orthodox Jews and forced route adjustments. Archaeologists preparing the ground uncovered ancient bathhouses and a 6th-century monastery. » Read more

US urges Egypt to control Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm August 19, 2011 - 12:00am The United States pressed Egypt Thursday to follow through on promises to ensure security in the Sinai following a string of attacks in southern Israel said to have been staged from the desert region. The White House denounced the attacks, which left seven Israelis dead and thirty injured, and expressed hope those responsible "will be brought to justice swiftly." "We condemn the brutal terrorist attacks in southern Israel today in the strongest terms," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. » Read more

Bloody Attack Along Egyptian Border Reveals Weakening Control ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am In a series of coordinated attacks along Israel’s border with Egypt on Thursday, terrorists killed at least seven Israelis and wounded dozens more, including civilians and soldiers. The Israeli army said they had “targeted” seven of the gunmen in the attack, which will likely raise Israeli concerns in the stability of Egypt to retain control over an increasingly lawless Sinai. » Read more

Who is the Palestinian group blamed for the attacks? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 19, 2011 - 12:00am Israel has blamed a Palestinian faction, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), of launching attacks along its border with Egypt that killed seven Israelis on Thursday. Within hours of the assault, the IAF struck back at the PRC, which is based in Gaza, killing five of its members, including the leader and his lieutenant. Following are some details on the organization, which denied involvement in the attack in southern Israel: » Read more

Israel strikes central Gaza refugee camp ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 19, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli warplanes struck An-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Friday morning in an ongoing assault which has killed at least seven Palestinians in the coastal enclave since Thursday. One Palestinian was lightly injured as Israeli fighter jets bombed a generator near the camp, causing a power outage across the area, said Gaza medical official Adham Abu Salmiya. Missiles also hit a training camp of the armed wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, witnesses said. » Read more

Israelis blame 'terrorist' border attacks on Gaza militants, poor security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am Militants carried out a series of attacks on Israeli buses and cars on a highway near the border with Egypt midday Thursday, highlighting the deteriorating stability along the open frontier between the two neighbors. The coordinated attacks on at least three separate targets north of the city of Eilat that left at least seven Israelis dead, including one soldier, and dozens injured were highly unusual for the quiet border region. Surprised by the scope of the attacks, Israel security forces killed some seven militants. » Read more

Gaza-Israel violence escalates after deadly attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Globe and Mail August 19, 2011 - 12:00am Gaza militants launched barrages of rockets deep into Israel early Friday and Israeli aircraft struck targets in the Palestinian territory in the aftermath of the deadliest attack against Israelis in three years. Gunmen who appear to have originated in Gaza and crossed into southern Israel through the Egyptian desert ambushed civilian vehicles traveling on a remote road, killing eight people. Six were civilians, and two were members of Israeli security forces responding to the incursion. » Read more

Israelis Hit Gaza and Militants Fire Rockets After Deadly Attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, David Kirkpatrick - August 19, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli warplanes launched air strikes on Gaza and militants fired more than 10 rockets into Israel, the Israeli authorities said early Friday, a day after armed attackers, described by the authorities as Gazans who had crossed into Israel from Egypt, carried out multiple deadly attacks near the popular Red Sea resort of Eilat. » Read more