May 21st

Peacemaking without mediators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Nicola Nasser - (Opinion) May 19, 2012 - 12:00am A Surplus of mediators have been around all the time, including the heavy weight Quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia, as well as heaps of terms of reference of UNSC resolutions, bilateral signed accords and “road maps,” in addition to marathon bilateral talks that have left no stone unearthed, international as well as regional conferences were never on demand to facilitate the “peace process,” which has been lavishly financed to keep moving. » Read more

My Word: Hunger-striking prisoners’ dilemma ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Liat Collins - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am The movie Midnight Express has a lot to answer for. The title became a synonym for hellhole jails with sadistic guards, brutal cellmates and mental torture. It’s probably still the image that springs to mind when talking about prisons anywhere in the Middle East. Israeli penitentiaries are certainly no picnic, but neither are they a Midnight Express-like nightmare. » Read more

Jerusalem as the eternal capital ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ilan Bloch - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am As we mark the 45th anniversary of the Israeli conquest of east Jerusalem on the third day of the Six Day War, it is timely that we explore the concept of Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. » Read more

Ex-PM: Give up on trying to unify Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM -- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged Israeli leaders Sunday to relinquish the idea of a unified Jerusalem if they truly want peace, contending in interviews that years of government neglect have kept the Jewish and Arab sectors irreparably divided. » Read more

Lieberman is 'unbearable', says Austrian minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 21, 2012 - 12:00am VIENNA // Austria's defence minister has called Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, "unbearable" because of his insistence on hawkish policies regarding the Middle East peace process and Iran. Sunday newspaper Die Presse quoted Norbert Darabos as saying that Israel's government is using "external enemies" to divert attention from domestic social problems. The centre-left politician is also quoted as saying that Mr Lieberman "is unbearable as a member of the Israeli government." » Read more

Family seeks to block Hamas film ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 21, 2012 - 12:00am The family of a slain Hamas agent is seeking to block the release of a film being made in Israel about his assassination in a Dubai hotel in 2010. The killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was widely blamed on Israel's Mossad spy agency. Emmanuel Nakash, the French-Israeli director of Kidon, or Spear, has said his film is not meant to be factual. In a plot twist, a gang of criminals murder Mabhouh to frame the Mossad. One scene shows Mabhouh, a senior figure in an Islamic fundamentalist group, flirting in a hotel bar. » Read more

Netanyahu: Israel could be overrun by African infiltrators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Talia Nesher - May 21, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the "phenomenon of illegal infiltrators from Africa is extremely serious and threatens Israel's social fabric and national security. He made the comments at a cabinet meeting, adding that "if we don't stop the problem, 60,000 infiltrators are liable to become 600,000, and cause the negation of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state." » Read more

Faculty demands return of Arabic to University of Haifa's logo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Revital Hovel - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am The University of Haifa has removed the Arabic script from its new logo, which appears as part of special design issued in honor of the 40th anniversary of the university's founding. The University of Haifa has removed the Arabic script from its new logo, which appears as part of special design issued in honor of the 40th anniversary of the university's founding. The logo now appears with the words "University of Haifa" in Hebrew and English only, whereas the previous university logo included the words in Arabic as well. » Read more

Court to announce Rachel Corrie verdict on Aug. 28 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 21, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- An Israeli court on August 28 will announce the verdict of a civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for the killing of Rachel Corrie, a foundation in her name said this week. The 23-year-old peace activist was killed on March 16, 2003 while nonviolently protesting the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. » Read more

New Israeli unity government faces test on settlement issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn, Yang Zhiwang - (Analysis) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Time is ticking down for the Israeli government to decide how it will deal with two court orders demanding that an outpost and a settlement neighborhood be demolished. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Migron outpost is to be cleared by Aug. 1 and that the Ulpana neighborhood of the Beit-El settlement is to be evacuated, since both were deemed illegal by the court. » Read more