Israel to grant settlement subsidy, despite pledge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am The Israeli government has quietly agreed to grant subsidies to build more than 500 new homes in the West Bank, backtracking from a promise earlier this year to deny these incentives to the settlements, The Associated Press has learned. The planned construction, at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to shore up support among settlers, has enraged the Palestinians and could cloud a visit starting Sunday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she tries to re-energize moribund Mideast peace efforts. » Read more

Special investigator dies in Palestinian custody ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am A senior Palestinian official suspected of embezzling public funds fell to his death from the third-floor kitchen window of a West Bank security compound where he was being interrogated, officials said Monday. The official investigating the incident said Osama Mansour jumped and that there is security camera footage to prove it. Mansour's family and a leading human rights activist called for an autopsy in the presence of an independent doctor. » Read more

Hamas seeks new Gaza policy from Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - July 16, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's new president holds the key to blockaded Gaza, but he is signaling that he won't rush to help the territory's Hamas rulers by striking a border deal with them, even though they are fellow members of the region's Muslim Brotherhood. A bilateral border agreement between Egypt and Hamas could hurt chances of setting up a single Palestinian state, made up of the West Bank and Gaza, alongside Israel. "I don't think they (the Egyptians) are ready for that," said Palestinian economist and business leader Samir Hulileh. » Read more