June 8th

UK, France, Germany condemn Israeli settlement plans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The UK on Friday condemned Israel's decision to authorize 851 new housing units in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel on Wednesday announced the new homes after upholding a High Court ruling to evacuate five families from the illegal Ulpana outpost. "The decision to move settlers from an illegal outpost by creating housing units in settlements elsewhere across the Green Line sets a dangerous precedent," UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.

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Israel court clears deporting South Sudan migrants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Omri Efraim - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

The Administrative Court in Jerusalem rejected on Thursday an appeal filed by human rights groups against Interior Minister Eli Yishai's decision to lift the "collective protection" previously afforded to asylum seekers from South Sudan.

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Israel offers cash to African migrants to leave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — African migrants who entered Israel illegally will be given cash incentives if they leave on their own soon, or they will face expulsion, the Interior Ministry said Friday. A tent city is being built to hold other migrants, the vast majority, who can stay for now, the ministry said. About 60,000 Africans have trekked through Egypt and other Muslim countries to reach Israel over the past few years. Many are looking for work, while others are seeking political asylum.

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Israel police probe hate graffiti in peace village
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israeli police are investigating hate graffiti and vandalism in an Israeli community built especially for Jews and Arabs to coexist peacefully. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Friday that "death to Arabs" was sprayed on buildings, and car tires were slashed in Neve Shalom near Jerusalem. The village was founded in the 1970s to show that Jews and Arabs can live together in peace.

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June 7th

Israeli PM stronger after parliament rejects settlement legalization bill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Dave Bender, Adam Gonn - (Analysis) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new unity government on Wednesday successfully navigated the first major test of its stability, since its inauguration last month. The country's Knesset members killed a bill that would have legalized disputed Jewish construction in a West Bank settlement that the Supreme Court recently ruled as illegal. The court said five three-story apartment buildings in the Ulpana neighborhood of Bet El near Ramallah were build on private Palestinian land, and ordered the government to remove them by July 1.

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NEWS: Current and former US officials are reportedly assuring Israel that the United States is prepared to use force against Iran if necessary. Israel announces 850 more new settler housing units in the occupied West Bank, and plans to "legalize" 13 outposts it says were not built on privately-owned Palestinian land. The US says the new settlement plans "undermine peace efforts.” Fatah and Hamas officials reportedly agree on the makeup of the new Palestinian government. Palestinian officials say the White House has denied press reports that Pres. Obama expressed doubts about Palestinian intentions regarding peace. Doctors say a hunger striking Palestinian prisoner is near death, as Israel releases another hunger striker. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis attack an elderly Palestinian in Jerusalem. Palestinian Monetary Authority Chairman Al-Wazir warns about an escalation in the PA financial crisis. Denmark joins South Africa in banning the label “made in Israel” on settlement products. A Palestinian court has sentenced a former aide to the late Pres. Arafat to 15 years in prison on corruption charges. COMMENTARY: Adam Gonn and Dave Bender say PM Netanyahu is stronger than ever after the defeat of a bill on settlement outposts. Ghassan Olayan asks if the world has room for the threatened village of Battir in the occupied West Bank. Ha'aretz says, in spite of his settlement bill victory, Netanyahu is still basically "bowing and scraping" to settlers through a raft of other measures. Muhammad Shtayyeh says Israel and the Palestinians are facing a last-chance moment to prevent "an apartheid future." Donniel Hartman says settlers are trying to train other Israelis to believe that settlement evacuation is impossible. Rachel Shabi looks at growing similarities and alliances between the extreme right in Israel and Europe. Rubik Rosenthal says Israel's wars in Lebanon backfired. Wray Herbert describes a new study looking at rage and opinion related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. David Margolick profiles Netanyahu.

The Netanyahu Paradox
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Vanity Fair
by David Margolick - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

At one point or another for an entire week last November, most of the Israeli establishment showed up at the Bauhaus home in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem: members of the Cabinet and Knesset, security officials, rabbis, businessmen, journalists, supplicants of all stripes, “everyone who didn’t want to get in any trouble,” as one participant put it. They stood solemnly around the small stone courtyard with a tent on top, officially mourning, but also studying who else was there, who was whispering to whom.

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Rethinking Rage in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Wray Herbet - (Blog) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

In September of last year, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas petitioned the United Nations for full membership in the world body. For many Palestinians this event was a potent and long-overdue symbol of their statehood, a cause for celebration. For many Jewish Israelis, the Palestinians' bid was a betrayal of the spirit of ongoing peace negotiations in the region. For many others around the world, it was just one more flash point in the seemingly endless and intractable conflict between Israel and Palestine.

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The Lebanon Wars Backfired on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Rubik Rosenthal - (Opinion) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the Lebanon War. For more than half of Israel’s citizens, that war is a part of history, mixed in with the wars that preceded it. The Second Lebanon War brought the first one back into relevance, but we’d rather repress that war, too. It is this distance that allows us to look back at the first Lebanon War to see what can be learned from it for the sake of future generations.

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Far-right Europeans and Israelis: this toxic alliance spells trouble
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rachel Shabi - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Last month, demonstrations against African refugees in Tel Aviv turned violent. Protesters looted shops, broke windows and firebombed buildings, including a nursery. Days ago, arsonists torched the home of 10 African migrants in Jerusalem, injuring four, and leaving the unequivocal graffiti: "Get out of the neighbourhood."

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