Uprooting Palestinian trees - and lives ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am The hummer and the jeep screeched to a halt on the path in the olive grove. The soldiers bravely climbed out of the vehicles, and proceeded toward the unknown. Armed and determined, they cleared their way through thorns, stones and rusty barrels; they headed toward the suspicious figures. Within a few minutes, the soldiers received reinforcements. Another hummer appeared on the scene, and its soldiers climbed out of it, armed and determined. Behind them the Swiss red rooftops of the Nachliel settlement jutted into the skyline. Standing before them was a group of thirty people. » Read more

Mutiny fear in Israeli army as religious Zionists gain influence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Opinion) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am In large study halls, ranks of young Jewish men are bent over religious books or debating in pairs the meaning of their texts. Many wear the large knitted kippa associated with the settler movement; a few have guns by their side. This scene is typical in settlements all over the West Bank, where the hesder yeshiva movement has gained strength in recent decades. The programme, backed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), allows religious Jews to combine intensive theological study with a shortened period of military service over five years. » Read more

Palestinian PM hails $100 million in Saudi aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 16, 2012 - 12:00am "Prime minister Salam Fayyad and the Palestinian people thank... King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz after he instructed the Saudi finance ministry to transfer $100 million to the Palestinian Authority treasury at the request of president Mahmoud Abbas," Fayyad's office said. The money, the office added, would "support the Palestinian Authority and assist them in overcoming the financial crisis they are suffering from". » Read more

Saudi Arabia donates $100 million to Palestinian Authority ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 16, 2012 - 12:00am President Abbas on Sunday welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to donate $100 million to the Palestinian Authority, official news agency Wafa reported. Ramallah prime minister Salam Fayyad applauded King Abdullah for arranging the contribution through Saudi's ministry of finance. » Read more

Where Obama failed on forging peace in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - (Opinion) July 14, 2012 - 12:00am It was their first meeting with the new president, and the dozen or so Jewish leaders picked to attend had made an agreement among themselves: No arguing — either with each other or their host. The pledge would be hard to keep. » Read more

Israel mulls sanctions on UN agency in West Bank due to staffers' illegal activity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - July 15, 2012 - 12:00am The Foreign Ministry and Israel Defense Forces are considering imposing sanctions against a UN agency in the West Bank and Gaza following allegations that agency employees have engaged in illegal activity such as illegal construction. As senior officials in Jerusalem put it, Israel wants to “reassess” the role in the West Bank of the agency, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. » Read more

Official: Palestinian figures responsible for Arafat's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 16, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian intelligence officer and member of an official investigation committee on Sunday accused Palestinian figures of killing late president Yasser Arafat. Fahmi Shabana made the comments during an interview with Israeli journalist Yoni Bin Manahim, which was published Sunday on Israel's Reshet Bet new-site. Shabana said that two Palestinian figures were involved in Arafat's death, a security figure from the Gaza Strip and a political figure who helped cover up the crime. » Read more

Abbas to ask Arabs to set date for new UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 15, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will announce to the Arab League (AL) his decision to seek Palestinian membership in the United Nations, a Palestinian official said Sunday. Abbas will ask the AL's Arab-Israeli relations committee to set a date for submitting the Palestinian request to the UN General Assembly, said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. The committee will meet next week in Doha, Qatar. The decision comes as Israeli officials failed to meet their Palestinian counterparts to revive the peace talks that have been stalled for two years. » Read more

Palestinian PM to meet Clinton in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 16, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday during her visit to Israel, a Palestinian official said. Ghassan al-Khatib, spokesman for the Palestinian government, said that Fayyad will head to Jerusalem to meet with Clinton, who arrived in Israel Sunday. Clinton will not visit the Palestinian territories as she did in her last tour in the Middle East two years ago. Al-Khatib said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is visiting Italy and that he coordinates with Fayyad over the meeting with Clinton. » Read more

Gazans visit relatives jailed in Israel after 5 years ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am Israel allowed 40 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to visit relatives held in Israeli jails on Monday, the first such visits in five years, implementing a deal reached in May that ended a prisoners' hunger strike, families and officials said. "Forty people - families of 24 prisoners - arrived a short while ago at the Ramon prison," a Prisons Service spokeswoman said, adding that visits from prisoners' relatives in Gaza would now be held on a weekly basis. » Read more