July 10th

Palestinians call local elections for October 20 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Nasser Abu Bakr - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian government in the West Bank on Tuesday said it would hold local elections in October across the Palestinian territories, sparking anger from Gaza's Hamas rulers. "The Palestinian cabinet approved during its meeting today, chaired by prime minister Salam Fayyad, conducting local elections on October 20, 2012 in all local councils in the homeland," a statement said after the meeting. » Read more

Boosting Arab employment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Kenneth Bandler - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am How to improve the economic conditions of minority populations is a challenge for any democracy, all the more so for one as young as Israel. The country’s non-governmental organizations devoted to advancing Jewish-Arab relations have long advocated concrete steps to integrate citizens into the nation’s workforce. In recent years some government officials have for measures to increase the numbers of qualified Arab workers. » Read more

Walls Of Palestinian Homes Come Tumbling Down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR) by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has dramatically increased its demolitions of unauthorized Palestinian homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a recent United Nations report. Last year, 1,100 Palestinians — more than half of them children — were displaced, an 80 percent increase from the previous year. And demolitions this year continue at a high rate. For Sami Idriss, the Israeli bulldozers came while the 26-year-old Palestinian was at work. » Read more

Thank you, Mr. Sherman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am I would like to thank Martin Sherman for his scathing attack against me in his article "The honorable thing to do" (Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2012). Although I agree with Sherman’s criticism of President Shimon Peres’s last speech, that it is wrong not to learn from the failures of the Oslo process, it is a great honor to be attacked together with our president and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. » Read more

Young Jews More Interested in Israel: Poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Simi Lampert - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Young Jews are now more attached to Israel than the previous generation, almost reaching the level of interest of their elders, a new poll reveals. While Jews 45 and older were rated as having a 40-44 level of attachment to Israel, those between 35 and 45 only scored a 24. Those under 35 got a 39 out of 100, according to the poll carried out by the Workmen’s Circle. » Read more

Settling truths ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am After nearly six months of investigations, three legal experts known colloquially as “the outpost committee” – a government-appointed advisory body – submitted some clear-cut conclusions. » Read more

Does Israel walk a thin line with West Bank oil drill? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Alex Rowell - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am While the search for oil beneath Israel has been going on for years, the most recently drilled well in the Meged oil field, on the edge of the West Bank, is raising concern that it might draw from untapped Palestinian reserves. After a 10-minute uphill hike through the rocky fields of the West Bank village of Rantis, we reach a summit where we rest, panting in the 40-degree heat. A hundred metres (330ft) in front of us lie the wired fence and gravel track of the Green Line - the perimeter of the West Bank and Israel. » Read more

Palestinian businessmen searching for new markets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Abdullah Omar - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am From furniture to cosmetics to food, dozens of Palestinian companies are seeking new markets in Jordan. Fifty seven Palestinian companies, including seven from Gaza, were in Amman this week for the first-ever exhibition in Jordan to find local partners and boost investment in the Palestinian territories. » Read more

If there are no Palestinians, there's no Israeli occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eyal Gross - (Analysis) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits occupying powers from settling their own populations in occupied lands. But that's not a problem for Israel, according to the committee set up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to examine construction in the West Bank, because Israel is not a "military occupier" in the territories. » Read more

Gaza govt begins demolition of homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 8, 2012 - 12:00am The Gaza government on Sunday began the demolition of several homes in Gaza City, saying they are built on government land. Abu Al-Abed Abu Omra, whose house is threatened with demolition, told Ma'an that police officers arrived late Saturday night and told residents to evacuate their homes in order to facilitate the demolition. He said that there are more than 120 families living in the 15-dunams area under threat, near Gaza's Al-Azhar University, and they have been there since 1948. » Read more