June 21st

Israel: "all options" open after Iran talks fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 20 (Reuters) - Israel responded on Wednesday to a lack of progress in talks aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme by demanding that the West impose stiffer economic sanctions on Tehran and hinting anew that a military option was still on the table. Six world powers and Iran failed to secure a breakthrough at talks in Moscow this week, the third round under the latest diplomatic initiative, and set no date for more political negotiations.

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Israel eyes landfill site for Bedouin nomads
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jihan Abdalla - June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Bedouin tents and wandering goats dot the barren hills on the drive from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea, giving residents and visitors a glimpse of how the Holy Land must have looked in ancient times. With their corrals, water cisterns and tractors the camps look more like rudimentary homesteads. But the Bedouin tradition is slowly dying out as Israel clears the camps to make way for expanding Jewish urban settlements.

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They started it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) June 21, 2012 - 12:00am

This time there is no argument - they started it. This time one can say with certainty that Gaza Kindergarten started the brawl and Israel Kindergarten in the south continued. That's how it is with quarreling kindergarten children.

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Hamas signals ready for truce after Israel kills 2
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Gaza militants said on Wednesday they were ready to sign up to an Egyptian-brokered truce to end three days of cross-border fighting after Israeli air strikes killed a Palestinian militant and a 14-year-old boy. In a statement, the militant wing of the Islamist Hamas group in control of Gaza said: "Responding to the Egyptian efforts, we and the armed resistance announce our commitment to stop this round of confrontation as long as the occupation stops this aggression."

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Israeli President Shimon Peres discusses Syria and Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Lally Weymouth - (Interview) June 15, 2012 - 12:00am

President Obama presented the Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres at a dinner at the White House on Wednesday. The last surviving founder of the state of Israel, Peres went on to serve as prime minister and leader of the Labor Party, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in the Oslo Accords, the first Israeli agreement with the Palestinians. The morning after the White House dinner, Peres sat down with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth at Blair House to discuss Syria, Iran and U.S. presidents from Kennedy to Obama. Excerpts:

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Lally Weymouth’s interview with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Lally Weymouth - (Interview) June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak sat down this week with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth. Excerpts: Q. An Israeli was killed this week in the south by someone from the Sinai. How do you see the situation in the Sinai?

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Hamas Military Wing Accepts a Cease-Fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The military wing of Hamas, the Islamic group that governs Gaza, announced late Wednesday that it was committed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end three days of fighting with

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June 20th

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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