May 24th

Hamas leader: Egyptian elections define future of Palestinian cause
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 24, 2012 - 12:00am


GAZA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haneya on Wednesday said presidential elections in Egypt "would define the future of the Palestinian cause." "The results of the elections will also establish a role for the nation in the world map," Haneya added in a brief statement.


Israeli peace movement to launch online university
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
May 24, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Organizers of an online Mideast peace movement say they are launching the Internet's first university for Israelis and Arabs across the Middle East Former Israeli peace negotiator Uri Savir, founder of the "Yala Young Leaders" movement, says the group's "Online Academy" will offer students courses in government, social networks, communications and skill development.


Turkey May Indict Senior Israeli Officers Over Deadly Gaza Flotilla Raid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Rick Gladstone - May 23, 2012 - 12:00am


A prosecutor in Turkey has prepared indictments and recommended life sentences for four senior Israeli officers over the killing of nine activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla forcibly intercepted by Israeli commandos two years ago, Turkish news services reported Wednesday. The indictments, which have not been formally approved by the Turkish judiciary, could further strain relations between Turkey and Israel, which were once close but which deteriorated badly after the flotilla raid on May 31, 2010.


May 23rd

Nothing is “inevitable”
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Blog) - May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

One of the most important political principles is that history is not deterministic in any sense. It is, rather, a genealogy of human choices. It is shaped by agency, intentionality and decisions that are both individual and collective. 


NEWS: Hamas is moving forward with teaching Hebrew to Gaza schoolchildren. Pro-Hamas students face serious difficulties completing their education in the West Bank. The EU expresses “concern” over the arrest of a leader of Palestinian nonviolent protests. The rebirth of Palestine's national air carrier is part of a move towards state sovereignty. The PA says Israel has violated an Egyptian-brokered prisoner exchange agreement. South Africa demands Israeli settlement produced goods be clearly labeled as distinct from those from Israel. Armed settlers attacked a village near Nablus while Israeli soldiers apparently do nothing to prevent the use of live ammunition. A new study shows 70% of Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem exist below the poverty line. The Knesset is moving forward with a bill to retroactively “legalize” unauthorized settlements. Palestinian writer Salameh Kaileh describes Syria as a “slaughterhouse.” COMMENTARY: Thomas Friedman says now is the time for constructive unilateralism on Israel's part. Amira Hass says Israel is encouraging Hamas ruling Gaza because it wants to detach it from the West Bank. Denis MacShane says Israel cannot be compared to apartheid South Africa. Ray Hanania says Israel's withholding of Palestinian tax revenues is a serious threat to calm and stability. Leonard Fein says for many young Jewish Americans, Israel is nothing but a headache. Peter Beinart says Palestinians and Israelis have in fact been negotiating, even though everybody thinks they have not been. Elliott Abrams says the Hamas-Fatah agreement for national elections might displace PM Fayyad but not produce elections or any lasting national reunification. Yossi Beilin says it's hard to know at this point how much of a hard liner PM Netanyahu really is. Mahdi Abdul Hadi says Israel has retreated into a bunker mentality government. Hussein Ibish recounts his debate with Reza Aslan at UCLA and emphasizes the importance of human agency and choices in determining the path of the future.

Palestinian financial problems
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ray Hanania - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am


Much is made of the fact that the late president Yasser Arafat controlled billions in funds that were used to support the Palestinian struggle for statehood and freedom. And since it also involved politics, more than a few people asserted there was corruption, asking how could one man be in charge of so much money? When George Washington led the American revolution against the British in the mid-18th century, he also controlled a vast sum of money, in the tens of millions, which back then was the equivalent of hundreds of millions, maybe even billions.


Stopping Them From ‘Tuning Out Israel’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) May 20, 2012 - 12:00am


Just about wherever I go these days, or so it seems, I encounter 20-somethings who have tuned out of Israel. I know that there’s a difference between anecdotes and evidence, but when a series of uninvited anecdotes all point in the same direction — well, that’s a lot of smoke, and it makes sense to look for the fire.


Israel cannot be compared to apartheid South Africa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Denis MacShane - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am


Speaking at the Istanbul World Political Forum last week, the Israeli journalist Gideon Levy got at least one listener to his denunciation of Israel as a "tyranny" worked up.


Don't Tell Anyone But Israel and the Palestinians Have Been Negotiating
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am


Last week I debated The Crisis of Zionism with my friend David Suissa at Temple Israel in Los Angeles. Whenever I suggested that Benjamin Netanyahu might be less than enthusiastic about birthing a Palestinian state near the 1967 lines, David responded that at least Netanyahu was willing to talk.


Israel is doing everything to separate Gaza, West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am


An elephant will be sitting Wednesday in the courtroom of Supreme Court justices Asher Grunis, Salim Joubran and Noam Sohlberg. The elephant will occupy the places of the five plaintiffs, who will be absent: five women from the Gaza Strip who were accepted into Bir Zeit University in the West Bank. Four want to go on to a master's degree in gender studies.



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