June 1st

Palestinians condemn Israeli unilateral plan to withdraw from some parts of West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - June 1, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinians yesterday blasted a plan raised by the Israeli defence minister that called for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from parts of the West Bank if peace talks remain stalled. On Wednesday, Ehud Barak told a security conference in Tel Aviv that Israel "cannot afford to tread water" and has to "consider an interim arrangement or even unilateral steps". » Read more

Australia giving $90 million to Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) May 30, 2012 - 12:00am Australia is donating $90 million over five years to aid the health and education of Palestinian refugees. Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced the aid package earlier this week, saying he is "very proud" that since 2007 Australia has helped 470,000 Palestinian children attend school. » Read more

Australia giving $90 million to Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) May 30, 2012 - 12:00am Australia is donating $90 million over five years to aid the health and education of Palestinian refugees. Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced the aid package earlier this week, saying he is "very proud" that since 2007 Australia has helped 470,000 Palestinian children attend school. » Read more

Peres calls for stop to racism and incitement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Greer Fay Cashman - May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Racism has no place in Judaism, President Shimon Peres declared on Thursday at a swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court, and said that, as president and as a citizen of Israel, he was appalled by revelations of incitement and racism. » Read more

Clinton: There's no substitute for direct talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Only negotiations will bring about peace, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday, rejecting Defense Minister Ehud Barak's statements on a unilateral step in the West Bank. "The United States believes there is no substitute for direct talks between the parties," Clinton told a press conference in Denmark. "It is the only route to achieving what has long been not only a Palestinian goal and an American goal, but an Israeli goal, which are two states living side by side in peace and security." » Read more

PA ministry approves new Tawjihi exam system ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 27, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education has approved a new high school exam system, an official told Ma'an on Friday. Basri Salih, undersecretary for planning and development, said that a simplified system for "Tawjihi" exams has been developed after months of consultations and discussions. The new system was prepared by a commission headed by Salih and submitted to the PA education ministry on April 28. As part of the changes, tenth and eleventh graders will be tested on 12 subjects over a two year period. » Read more

Israeli officials propose moving outpost to confiscated lands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 1, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli defense officials are studying a proposal to move residents of a settler outpost to a nearby area confiscated by the Israeli military for an army base, Israeli media reported Friday. Israel's high court ruled in May that the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El settlement, near al-Bireh, must be evacuated by July 1, 2012, after the Israeli government sought an extension to an earlier May deadline. » Read more

Israeli war jets strike on southeast Gaza, 3 wounded ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 1, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli war jet struck on Friday on a group of militants who were riding on a three-wheel motorcycle east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, medics and eyewitnesses said. Adhamed Abu Silmeya, Gaza emergency spokesman, told reporters that three were wounded -- two of them in critical conditions, adding that the three were taken by an ambulance to the hospital. » Read more

Made in Israel? Not a simple question ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - May 31, 2012 - 12:00am For decades, Israel has marketed an array of cosmetics and food products manufactured in the occupied West Bank as "Made in Israel," blurring their true origins in Jewish settlements opposed by virtually the entire international community. Now that practice is being challenged with demands that products made in the settlements be labeled accordingly. » Read more

Clash kills Palestinian militant, Israeli soldier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - June 1, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian militant sneaked into Israel early Friday, opening fire on Israeli troops and killing one soldier, the military said. The troops fired back, killing the infiltrator in the incident that touched off fresh violence in the volatile border area, which had been mostly quiet since March. The exchange began after the militant cut through the fence separating the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and southern Israel. The militant started shooting, prompting Israeli troops to respond, said Col. Tal Hermoni. » Read more