Seven Lean Years of Peacemaking ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) September 11, 2012 - 12:00am SEVEN years ago today, the Israeli flag was lowered over the Gaza Strip after approximately 7,500 Israeli settlers left or were forcibly removed. » Read more

US seeks to head off Palestinian UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 12, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is trying to dissuade Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas from seeking non-member status at the United Nations at top UN meetings later this month, an official said.“We continue to make clear that we believe that the only realistic path for the Palestinians to achieve statehood is through direct negotiations,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.Abbas said on Saturday he will make a bid on September 27 to upgrade the Palestinians to non-member status before the annual UN General Assembly. » Read more

Palestinians who fled Syria protest conditions at south Lebanon camp ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mohammed Zaatari - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am SIDON, Lebanon: Palestinian refugees who fled the violence in Syria protested at Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon Wednesday, accusing UNRWA of ignoring them. » Read more

Gaza court sentences man to death for collaboration ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 12, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A 45-year-old man in Gaza was sentenced to death on Wednesday on charges of collaborating with Israel, Ma'an's reporter said. A Gaza court also sentenced the man's 40-year-old wife to 10 years in prison for her part in the alleged collaboration charges. » Read more

OECD: Israel is second-most educated country ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Tomer Velmer - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am Israel is the second-most educated country after Canada, a recent report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said. According to the “Education at a Glance 2012” report, Israel came in second place, in terms of the percentage of 25 to 64 year-olds that have reached higher education.   » Read more

Jerusalem teens charged with attacking Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Oz Rosenberg - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am Six Jewish teenagers from Jerusalem have been charged in Jerusalem District Juvenile Court with attacking an East Jerusalem Palestinian and causing him serious injury, including a broken ankle.  Four of the suspects have admitted to assaulting Ibrahim Abu Ta'a, 28, saying they thought he was “taking advantage” of an intoxicated Jewish woman he was accompanying. Abu Ta'a, from East Jerusalem's Ras al-Amud neighborhood, and his co-workers at Jerusalem's Mamilla Hotel were at a club in the Talpiot neighborhood on the night of September 5-6. » Read more

Hamas PM to visit Egypt Thursday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 12, 2012 - 12:00am AZA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ismail Haneya, prime minister of the Hamas ruler in the Gaza Strip, will travel to Egypt Thursday to discuss security issues and the closure of the Gaza Strip, a Hamas spokesman said Tuesday. Haneya will hold talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, said Taher Al-Nounou in a brief statement. » Read more

Israeli PM orders transfer of tax revenues to cash-strapped PNA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 12, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Tuesday night the transfer of 250 million NIS ( around 63 million U.S. dollars) of Palestinian tax revenues to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which is facing a severe financial crisis. » Read more

White House plays down reports of Netanyahu snub ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - September 11, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — The White House struggled Tuesday to dispel reports that it had snubbed a request for a meeting this month from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as friction between the two allies again burst into the open. » Read more

US rejects Netanyahu meeting request -Israel official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - September 11, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The White House has rejected a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet President Barak Obama in the United States this month, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, after a row erupted between the allies over Iran's nuclear programme. » Read more