August 1st

The Arab Revolutions: Victims of Obstructionism at the Security Council ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) July 29, 2011 - 12:00am The international community is gearing up for a political battle that will take place in September at the United Nations, over the issue of the promised Palestinian statehood, while anticipating possible surprises in August, coming from either Syria, Libya or Yemen, where the revolutions are yet to be settled, either in favor of the people demanding change, or in favor of the regimes clinging to power. Nonetheless, the Security Council will most probably remain shackled with the start of India’s presidency of the UNSC that will last throughout August. » Read more

Netanyahu should go to Ramallah to bring peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Adam R. Bronfman, Edgar M. Bronfman - (Opinion) July 31, 2011 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- For the Arab Spring, Israel represents the hope that in the Middle East, a nation can be both a national homeland and a free society. Israel is a modern, thriving democracy amid a region dominated by despotic regimes that brutally oppress their people and rape their land’s resources. Freedom enables Israel’s advancing economy, robust educational system, unique culture, prolific media and independent judiciary to thrive. » Read more

Palestinians' low salaries also linked to Israeli social struggle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Interview) August 1, 2011 - 12:00am "A financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority" - that is a convenient description of the situation where, on the eve of Ramadan, the Ramallah government is (again ) unable to pay the full salaries of its 150,000 public sector employees. This is a short, but very inaccurate description, however. The crisis, says economist Raja Khalidi, is in the status quo that Israel has enjoyed since the Oslo Accords: Israel is in control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - and Palestinian society and the donor countries finance the cost of this domination. » Read more

A U.N. vote will be risky for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) August 1, 2011 - 12:00am A potentially dangerous confrontation looms in September over the question of Palestinian statehood, one that threatens significant negative consequences for all parties. It is in the interests of all constructive actors to find a compromise that avoids such a confrontation. » Read more

Palestinians in Lebanon voice growing support for Syrian protesters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Brooke Anderson - July 31, 2011 - 12:00am BEIRUT: When Suleiman Ghanem went home to Daraa to get married last March, his friends in Sabra joked that he was going there to die, so they snapped a picture of him. That same picture now hangs over the main street of the Sabra market, a tribute to a young martyr of the Syrian uprising. » Read more

Abbas ‘feels he’s above the law,’ charges Dahlan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 31, 2011 - 12:00am Ousted Fatah official Muhammad Dahlan over the weekend launched a scathing attack on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, accusing him of dictatorship and financial corruption. He said that more than $1 billion have gone missing from a fund that was handed over to Abbas after he was elected president in 2005. Dahlan’s attack on Abbas came after PA security forces raided the former Fatah commander’s home in Ramallah on Thursday, arresting his bodyguards and confiscating weapons and armored vehicles. » Read more

Palestinians Prepare for Massive Uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - July 29, 2011 - 12:00am "We plan to take to the streets en masse," Musa Abu Maria, a leading member of the Popular Committee in Beit Ummar, a town 11 km north of Hebron in the southern West Bank told IPS. "We will block entire highways leading to and from Israel’s illegal settlements. We will march on settlements. But these will be non-violent and the protestors will be peaceful. » Read more

Report: Israel plans to build separation wall in Golan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 1, 2011 - 12:00am GOLAN, Syria (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities plan to build a wall in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported Friday. The wall will separate the town of Majdal Shams in Israeli-occupied territory from the suburb of Al-Oude and Ain Al-Tinah in Syria, SANA reported. SANA said the cement wall would be four kilometers long and eight meters high. Earlier this year, Israeli forces killed at least 27 people in the area during demonstrations against the Israeli occupation. » Read more

PM: Abbas set on bringing Palestinian state to UN vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Lahav Harkov - August 1, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is determined to bring Palestinian statehood to a UN vote in September. "Abbas made a strategic decision to go to the UN, because the price for him will be low," Netanyahu said. "For us, recognition of a state will only pass through the security council." He added: "We are working to ensure a US veto in the UN Security Council, but that will not prevent a majority in the General Assembly." » Read more

Lebanese, Israeli soldiers exchange fire over border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 1, 2011 - 12:00am BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Army opened fire at a group of Israeli soldiers that crossed the border Blue Line into Lebanon in the Wazzani area early Monday, a security source told Xinhua. The source said the six Israeli soldiers, who had crossed into Lebanon, fired at the Lebanese army post in response. No casualties were reported. The Lebanese military sent reinforcement to the Wazzani area soon after the incident and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) circulated extensive patrols, said the source. » Read more