September 5th

Israel, Palestinians may lose chance for two-state solution, Norway FM says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The international community must consider how to relate to the import of goods that are produced in the settlements, "which we consider illegal according to international law," the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Store told Haaretz on the eve of his visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah. Store, head of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee - a donor support group to the Palestinian Authority - said that Norway would "consider various options to demonstrate its policy in regard to the expansion of the settlements." » Read more

Is Israel Preparing for Attack on Iran? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - (Opinion) September 5, 2012 - 12:00am In the past few weeks, the question has morphed from “Should Israel attack Iran to try to stop its nuclear program?” to “When will Israel attack Iran to try to stop its nuclear program?”   Israel seems to be increasing its preparations for that attack. Gas mask distribution has been ramped up, and newspapers are filled with bellicose statements, some of which are directed at Israel’s closest ally, the United States.   » Read more

Israel paying hundreds of thousands of shekels to move West Bank settlers’ mobile homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The Israeli government is footing the bill, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, for moving caravans in the now-evacuated West Bank outpost of Migron. The caravans are owned and rented out by an organization called “Amana,” which supports settlements in the West Bank and other areas of Israel. The mobile structures at Migron are not owned by the former Migron residents, but rather by Amana, an organization responsible for illegal settlement construction in numerous other areas, has a yearly budget of tens of millions of shekels. » Read more

Investor Kevin Bermeister has big plans for Jerusalem, West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - August 31, 2012 - 12:00am Australian technology investor Kevin Bermeister has had some hits and misses in his career. He founded the popular file-sharing network Kazaa, built Australia's largest video game distributor and was an early investor in Skype. Less successful ventures included the now-defunct Sega World theme park in Sydney and an offshoot of troubled PC-maker Packard Bell. » Read more

Free Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The time has come to free the Gaza Strip, to lift the closure against it and to maintain a "normal" relationship both with its Hamas leadership and its population. The time has come to allow European nations and the United States to make direct investments in the Strip and allow the Gaza economy to develop, like its counterpart on the West Bank. The time has come to stop bluffing and pretending that the Gaza blockade punishes Hamas, impedes missile fire and serves Israel's security needs. » Read more

PA asks economic committee to study price crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday said it asked a special economic committee to study a government memo about the rising cost of living in the occupied territories. The committee will respond to the memo, prepared by the ministry of national economy, within two days. The report focuses on possible ways to cope with the situation amid growing protests. The assignment was made during the PA cabinet’s weekly meeting in Ramallah where prime minister Salam Fayyad and his ministers discussed the financial situation as they prepared a budget for 2013. » Read more

Fayyad to face youth leader in televised debate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 5, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad will participate Wednesday in a debate with Muhannad al-Rabi, director of the Free Palestinian Youth Coalition, broadcast live on Palestinian TV. Al-Rabi said the coalition would deliver a message from the Palestinian youth, mainly on social and economic issues. He hoped the debate would result in solutions for the youth sector. The youth leader thanked Fayyad for agreeing to the debate, which is being held in cooperation with Al-Najah University in Nablus and will be shown on various Palestinian TV networks. » Read more

A Ray of Hope ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The Arab community is clearly a victim of discrimination by the government. Israeli Arabs have never received what has been due to them, as far as budgets or positions. The mirror image of reduced rights is reduced duties, in practice if not in theory. A close look at Arab towns and villages reveals a troublesome picture of citizens ignoring state laws and the regulations of local councils. Israeli Arabs have told their government: if we don't get the honey, we don't want the sting either. » Read more

Israel releases Hamas legislator in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 5, 2012 - 12:00am Israel on Wednesday released a Hamas member of parliament from jail, a Palestinian rights sources said. The legislator Mohammed Abu Teir was released after being held in administrative detention for a year in the Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abu Teir is originally from Jerusalem, but Israel deprived him from his Israeli identity because he joined the Palestinian parliamentary elections and ran as a candidate representing Hamas, the Islamic movement that doesn't recognize the Jewish state. » Read more

Israel urged to facilitate entry of French prosecutors investigating Arafat's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Wednesday asked Israel to allow a French delegation to visit the West Bank for investigations related to the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in 2004, a Palestinian official said. The Palestinian Minister of Justice Ali Muhanna said that a formal request had been submitted to the Israeli authorities to facilitate the entry of the French criminal investigation delegation to Ramallah. » Read more