June 19th

Seven killed on Israel's Egypt and Gaza borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Maayan Lubell - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Militants who crossed into Israel from Egypt's Sinai Desert fired on Israelis building a barrier on the border on Monday, killing one worker, before soldiers shot dead two of the attackers, Israel's military said. Israel later launched air strikes killing four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including two militants from the Islamic Jihad group on a motorcycle. Two other militants were killed while trying to fire a rocket, Israel said.

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Two Palestinians killed in Lebanon refugee camp
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

The Lebanese army shot dead two Palestinians in a refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli on Monday after confrontations broke out during the funeral of man killed in the camp on Friday, residents said. The army said in a statement the soldiers used tear gas and rubber bullets before opening fire on a crowd that attacked an army post inside the Nahr al-Bared camp. It said three soldiers had been wounded by stones and petrol bombs thrown at them. Medical sources said 20 other people had been injured in the clashes.

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Gazans welcome claim of Islamist victory in Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday welcomed the claim of a Muslim Brotherhood victory in Egypt's presidential election, distributing sweets, praising God and expressing hope for a new era of warm relations between Gaza and Egypt. Gaza, a small, densely populated territory, borders Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The strip's ruling militant Hamas group is a local offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and draws inspiration from the Egyptian organization.

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The minuses of unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am

The stalemate in negotiations with the Palestinians and the assumption that it's impossible at present to reach a final-status solution have revived the idea of evacuating part of the West Bank unilaterally. Supporters of this idea believe that current trends, especially the expansion of the settlement enterprise, must be stopped before taking a decision that will anchor the two-state solution. A unilateral evacuation, they believe, will create a two-state reality that will make it easier to implement a final-status agreement.

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Palestinian footballer to end strike, go free
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

A lawyer for an imprisoned Palestinian soccer player who has been on a hunger strike for more than three months says his client has agreed to resume eating and will be released July 10 in a deal with Israel. The attorney, Mohammed Jabareen, spoke Monday after the deal was struck at an Israeli prison clinic. Israeli prison officials could not be reached for comment. The soccer player, Mahmoud Sarsak, has been held by Israel for nearly three years without charges or trial. Israel claims he was active in the violent group Islamic Jihad. Sarsak denies the allegations.

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June 18th

NEWS: Israeli workers constructing a barrier along the Gaza border are attacked and one is killed, along with two of the assailants. Two Palestinians are killed in Israeli shelling of northern Gaza. Israeli officials accuse the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood of ordering a missile attack on southern Israel from Gaza. An Israeli truck driver kills two Palestinians and wounds another in what he says was an attempt to foil an armed robbery. Israel may fit drones with a new sensor. Pres. Abbas accuses Israel of not being committed to a two-state solution. Palestinian anti-corruption authorities say PA and PLO officials are under investigation. Extremist Israeli settlers issue a guide to "struggling against evictions" by the Israeli government. Israel begins expelling hundreds of African migrants. The Israeli government is trying to increase the employment rate of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Refugees processed in southern Lebanon after a Palestinian refugee is killed in a confrontation with the Lebanese army. EU diplomats visit a Palestinian town near Hebron ordered demolished by Israeli occupation authorities. COMMENTARY: Raja Shehadeh says classical music is gaining a foothold in Palestinian society. Adam Gonn says Deputy PM Mofaz may be trying to chart his own foreign policy course. Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff say Egypt is becoming a “hotbed of terrorism” and Israel is powerless to stop it. Akiva Eldar says recent remarks by Deputy PM Ya'alon reveal PM Netanyahu's real intentions. Naomi Chazan says Israel's best friends are human rights watchdog groups. Adel Safty says legalizing land theft is part of Israel's broader strategy. Emily Hauser explains why she still believes in a two-state solution. Noga Tarnopolsky says an unused waste treatment plant in the Israeli settlement of Ofra in the West Bank has come to symbolize the conflict.

A perfect metaphor for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Global Post
by Noga Tarnopolsky - (Analysis) June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

In a metaphor its opponents may relish, the Israeli settlement movement finds itself mired in a sewer. For 30 years, the settlement of Ofra, located about 40 minutes north of Jerusalem and about 15 minutes from Ramallah, has disposed of its raw sewage in the local valley, soiling pristine streams and damaging the nearby mountain aquifer.

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Why I'm Still a Two Stater
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Emily L. Hauser - (Opinion) June 15, 2012 - 12:00am

In recent years, it’s become all the rage to support —or accept, or give in to—the notion of a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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EU diplomats concerned by Hebron village demolition threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

European Union diplomats on Friday visited a village in the south Hebron hills under threat of demolition by Israeli authorities. The envoys toured Susiya to "show their concerns over the humanitarian impact and political implications of the recent demolition orders," an EU statement said.

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Legalising land theft
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Analysis) June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

One of the thorniest issues facing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiators is undoubtedly the question of Israeli colonies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israeli leaders have maintained that they were entitled to build colonies in the territories which they designate by their biblical name (Judea and Samaria), invoking a historic right over the land which they describe as disputed, not occupied.

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