NEWS: Israel is considering its next move in an exchange of violence with Hamas, as another Palestinian is killed. A toddler in Gaza is killed when militants apparently misfire a rocket. Three Lebanese soldiers and ten Palestinian refugees are wounded in clashes in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Israeli settlers are expanding an outpost near Nablus. A new poll suggests that a large majority of Palestinians have no confidence in reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Political tensions in Egypt are fueling unrest in Sinai. Recent Palestinian corruption convictions raise the question of political prosecutions. A small group of Israeli settlers prepare to evacuate an "unauthorized" outpost. Former Mossad chief Dagan says "Israel is in a unique place to make peace with Arabs." Japanese investment in a business park near Jericho aims to help Palestinian society towards economic sustainability. American novelist Alice Walker refuses to authorize a Hebrew translation of “The Color Purple” in protest against Israeli policies. COMMENTARY: Crispian Balmer looks at Israeli anxieties about the Egyptian presidential election. Pres. Peres says the Middle East badly needs a two-state solution. Barak Ravid asks if PM Netanyahu's speech 3 years ago endorsing a two-state solution was sincere. Carlo Strenger says "national-religious messianism" is endangering Israel. Norman Ornstein profiles the late Economist Jerusalem Bureau chief Peter David. Osama Al Sharif looks at the possibility of a war in the Middle East this summer. John Daly says Israel's growing relations with China are compromised by disputes over Iran and energy. Colum Lynch looks at the Palestinian bid to have the Church of the Nativity listed as a World Heritage Site in Palestine.

Palestine nominates birthplace of Jesus in controversial UNESCO World Heritage bid
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Foreign Policy - June 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestine, recognized last October as the 195th member state by the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recently launched its first initiative as a full-fledged government in the Paris-based agency, nominating the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and a traditional pilgrimage route to be listed as an endangered site on the World Heritage List.

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Palestine nominates birthplace of Jesus in controversial UNESCO World Heritage bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Colum Lynch - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestine, recognized last October as the 195th member state by the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recently launched its first initiative as a full-fledged government in the Paris-based agency, nominating the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and a traditional pilgrimage route to be listed as an endangered site on the World Heritage List.

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In Protest, Walker Won’t Allow Hebrew Translation of ‘The Color Purple’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Dave Itzkoff - June 19, 2012 - 12:00am

The author Alice Walker has told an Israeli publisher that she will not permit it to release a Hebrew-language translation of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Color Purple,” as a protest of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

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A Marriage Made in Heaven, Except for Energy Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Oilprice.com
by John Daly - (Opinion) June 17, 2012 - 12:00am

China and Israel are the most pragmatic of partners. For China, Israel’s prime attraction is as a source of cutting-edge high technology, for Israel, its gaining a foothold in the world’s largest market. China’s interest in Israel’s technology combined with China’s go it alone attitudes on energy issues represent a mixed blessing for Tel Aviv.

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Jericho business park aims to inch Palestine towards sustainability
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Liz Ford - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

On a slab of dusty land near the city of Jericho, rows of solar panels are being installed and tested. Eventually, there will be 2,600 of them in the 11.5 hectare (28 acre) area, providing around 300kW a day to help power the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park (Jaip), a public-private enterprise designed to boost the economic fortunes of the Palestinian territories.

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The next Middle East war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Will there be a war in the Middle East this summer? It is a question that is frequently asked by pundits and laymen alike this time of the year, every year.

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'Israel in a unique place to make peace with Arabs'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan asserted that the Arab Spring and changes taking place in the region could have a positive effect on Israel's chances to improve its relations with Arab states, speaking on a panel at the Presidential Concerence in Jerusalem Wednesday. "The radicals in the Arab League are no longer there and a range of mutual interests that require regional cooperation provide an incredible opportunity for fostering peaceful relations," Dagan said.

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Peter David, Journalist and Middle East Thinker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Norman Ornstein - (Opinion) June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

I last saw Peter David a couple of months before he died, when we had lunch at Vidalia, a downtown Washington restaurant on a holiday Monday. Because it was a holiday, we did not have to shout over the lunchtime crowds or rush to get through and move on to the next appointment. Instead, it was a perfect opportunity to have an extended and great conversation with one of the most informed, deep, witty and experienced people I have ever known. We talked about British politics, American politics, both societies, the global economy, and even a little about the Middle East.

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National-religious messianism is endangering Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) June 13, 2012 - 12:00am

Every month I drive to Bar-Ilan University to tape four or five discussions with national-Religious Rabbi Uri Sherki  that are posted under the title “The Rabbi and the Professor” (unfortunately there are no English subtitles so far). I do this because I believe that there is desperate need for dialogue between Israel’s liberals and the national-religious. We have come to the point where we live in universes so different that it is becoming questionable how these groups can ever cooperate fruitfully for a common future.

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