October 23rd

Israeli Land Grab Is Depicted In a Disturbing Documentary ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Yigal Sarna - (Film Review) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am In this pre-election period, I found myself wondering, in a dark little theater in Tel Aviv, about the accuracy of a statement I recently read by a Polish [sic] monk named Thomas Merton. Merton wrote than when a “myth becomes a daydream, it is judged. … To cling to it when it has lost its creative function is to condemn oneself to mental illness.” I watched the new documentary film “5 Broken Cameras,” and I felt disturbed, like a father watching a recording of police interrogating his son, who harmed a young girl. » Read more

Salafis determined to establish Islamic Emirate in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Kifah Zaboun - (Editorial) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat - A prominent Salafi jihadist based in the Gaza Strip has stressed that his group’s efforts of establishing an Islamic Emirate in the Gaza Strip continues despite the severe blows handed to them at the hands of Israel and the Hamas Movement. "We always are planning to establish God's Sharia on earth. This is the duty of every Muslim. Our project, God willing, exists, and the day will come when the mujahidin will fulfil their project." Abu Abdul-Muhajir told Asharq Al-Awsat. » Read more

Israel's cranes reprove Barack Obama's failure to pursue two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Opinion) October 21, 2012 - 12:00am At the eastern tip of the Israeli settlement of Ariel, cranes and earth-movers are at work on the college campus, which stretches across a hill overlooking the villages and valleys of the West Bank. Eleven miles from the internationally recognised Green Line separating Israel from the Palestinian Territories, construction is under way of buildings to accommodate a projected growth from 13,000 to 20,000 students over the next 10 years. » Read more

Israel's Binyamin Netanyahu bets on Mitt Romney winning US presidency ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am The third presidential debate tonight focusing on America's foreign policy will probably not have much impact on the race, two weeks before election day – and with an electorate much more concerned about economic prospects close to home than when exactly did Barack Obama acknowledge that the Benghazi 9/11 attack was an act of terror rather than a spontaneous reaction to the anti-Islam video. » Read more

How Israel dug its own grave in Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Editorial) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am A former high-ranking intelligence officer in Beirut has written a book documenting four decades of bloody misdeeds and shameful acts perpetrated by the Israel Defense Forces. Among them, he accuses the Defense Ministry of abandoning members of the South Lebanon Army who came to live in Israel following the withdrawal from Lebanon. » Read more

Apartheid without shame or guilt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am As elections draw near, the season of public opinion surveys is upon us. But here is a survey that is more disturbing and significant in its revelations than those informing us whether Yair Lapid is taking off or Ehud Barak is crashing in the polls. This one lays bare an image of Israeli society, and the picture is a very, very sick one. Now it is not just critics at home and abroad, but Israelis themselves who are openly, shamelessly, and guiltlessly defining themselves as nationalistic racists. » Read more

Qatari emir comes to Gaza bearing gifts – maybe with some strings attached ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Whitney Eulich - October 22, 2012 - 12:00am The emir of Qatar traveled to Gaza today, becoming the first head of state from any nation to visit the territory since the Islamist group Hamas took power five years ago. The emir is bringing significant offers of aid, furthering the small oil-rich nation's efforts to gain influence around the region. » Read more

Israel denies West Bank permits for students on US-funded scholarships ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - October 23, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV // Ghadir Abu Rokba has become one of the latest victims of Israel's years-long bid to separate the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The 18-year-old from Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp last spring applied for a US-sponsored scholarship to study mathematics at Birzeit University in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. » Read more

Israel Bans Even Marriage Ties Between West Bank and Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat by Mohammad Younes - October 22, 2012 - 12:00am Ali Batha — from the West Bank — met Rihab Abu Hashish — from the Gaza Strip — while studying at Birzeit University in the West Bank in 2000, and lived a love story that led them to marriage. However, at the time, this young couple didn't know that Israeli policy is aimed at completely separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, and prevents any contact between the two sides, including even marriage. » Read more

Palestinian reporter Asmaa al-Ghoul aims to keep thorn in Hamas’ side ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Sales - October 22, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV (JTA) -- She can't stay out of trouble there, but Asmaa al-Ghoul always comes back to Gaza. A secular, feminist Palestinian journalist, al-Ghoul, 30, has been harassed by Hamas. She's also been beaten and arrested by Hamas police for protesting its Islamist policies and suppression of human rights. » Read more