May 15th

Israel shows off its homeland security technologies to international visitors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Mati Wagner - May 14, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel’s security technologies were on display as the country hosted two separate international contingents. An Interpol European Regional Conference brought 110 senior law enforcement officers from 49 countries to Tel Aviv, while a homeland security conference drew 37 mayors from two dozen worldwide cities to sites throughout Israel last week. » Read more

Israel putting any two-state peace deal at risk, says EU ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - May 14, 2012 - 12:00am The European Union has warned that the prospect of a peaceful and viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, involving two states side by side, is in jeopardy because of Israeli actions. » Read more

Ulpana developer lied and told residents that outpost was built on WZO, not Palestinian land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - May 15, 2012 - 12:00am A housing developer allegedly lied to an Israeli couple who had purchased a home in the Ulpana Hill West Bank outpost, Haaretz learned on Tuesday, after telling them that the land on which their unit was built was owned by the World Zionist Organization, despite the fact that it was actually private Palestinian land. » Read more

Israel allows Gaza to export clothes after 5-year ban ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters May 15, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- Israel allowed on Monday the export of Palestinian-made clothes from the Gaza Strip for the first time in at least five years, a Palestinian official said. Raed Fattouh, who coordinates supplies into Gaza, said a truck carrying 2,000 pieces of mainly woolen garments were exported through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing towards an Israeli seaport en route to Britain. » Read more

Iran Executes Accused Israeli Spy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Alan Cowell - May 15, 2012 - 12:00am LONDON — Iran said on Tuesday that it had executed a man accused of being an Israeli intelligence agent responsible for the assassination of one of its nuclear scientists, Iranian state media reported. » Read more

Tibi: Israel must show empathy on 'Nakba Day' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Lahav Harkov - May 15, 2012 - 12:00am MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta'al) spoke out against criticism of "Nakba Day" demonstrations on Tuesday, calling for Jewish Israelis to show empathy. "Recognition and empathy of the others' suffering is a lofty, humane value and a step towards peace between nations," Tibi said at a demonstration near Umm el-Fahm. » Read more

Medics: 80 injured in Nakba protests near Ramallah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 15, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Over 80 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli forces near Ramallah on Tuesday, medics said, as protesters commemorated the Nakba, or catastrophe, of their exile in 1948. After a mass rally in Ramallah's clock square, protesters headed to Israel's Ofer detention center and the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem to commemorate the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the founding of the state of Israel. » Read more

Palestinians march in annual mourning ritual ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - May 15, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians on Tuesday marked their mass displacement that followed Israel's creation with a blend of sadness and hope, stopping in their tracks for a mournful siren but also flashing victory signs and carrying banners proclaiming their right of return. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced from their villages during the war that established the Jewish state in 1948, an event they commemorate every year as their "Nakba," or catastrophe. » Read more

Hamas official urges militants to abduct Israeli soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 15, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip called on Tuesday for Palestinian factions to abduct Israeli soldiers in order to swap them for Palestinians jailed by Israel. Khan Younis district spokesman Hammad al-Ruqab called on militant groups, and in particular Hamas' military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades, to seize forces "whatever the cost", which he lauded as the most successful route to freeing prisoners. » Read more

Palestinians in Jails End Hunger Strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - May 14, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails ended a hunger strike on Monday that had lasted for weeks, signing an agreement with the Israeli authorities that promised improved conditions, according to officials. The end of the strike calmed fears of widespread unrest in the event of a prisoner’s death. “There is an agreement — the strike is over,” Sivan Weizman, a spokeswoman for the Israel Prison Service, said by telephone on Monday evening. » Read more