May 22nd

Netanyahu: 'Fatal mistake' to concede sacred sites
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday it would be a "fatal mistake" ever to give up control over Jerusalem's holy sites. His remarks, in a parliamentary speech, went a little further than Israel's longtime policy of viewing Jerusalem, a city at the heart of Middle East conflict, as its "indivisible capital".

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Fayyad: Water crisis due to Israel's control of resources
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israel's control of Palestinian water resources in the West Bank is responsible for the water crisis, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Monday. Opening a conference on water and the prospects for agricultural development in Palestine, Fayyed said strategic vision and a long-term plan were needed to resolve the crisis. The two-day conference was organized by the Palestine Technical University, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Palestinian Water Authority.

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Jerusalem expansion reaches point of no return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Crispian Balmer - May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Named for the crash site of an airforce plane shot down during the Six Day War in 1967, Givat HaMatos may yet prove the place where Palestinian hopes of a creating a capital in Jerusalem also plunge to earth. 'Airplane Hill' lies on the southern fringes of Jerusalem's city limits -- rock-strewn land dotted with shabby, prefabricated bungalows and the occasional pine tree.

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Israeli physicians: African infiltrators "ticking illness bomb"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- African migrants residing in south Tel Aviv pose a severe health risk, warn senior Israeli physicians. Dozens of illegal migrants arrive each day at hospital emergency rooms in the greater Tel Aviv area, where they are diagnosed with tuberculosis, measles, chicken pox and other viral infections common in developing countries, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported on Tuesday.

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Israel violates Egypt-brokered prisoner deal: PNA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said on Tuesday that Israel has violated an Egypt-brokered prisoner deal that demands the transfer of 18 Palestinians it jailed from solitary confinement to regular cells. Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs Eissa Qaraqe' said Israel is still holding one prisoner in solitary confinement, pointing to its "intention to evade the articles of the agreement. "

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Israel skeptical of Iranian nuke deal with UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - May 21, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister voiced skepticism on Tuesday over an agreement by Iran to open up its nuclear facilities to U.N. inspectors, saying the Iranians are trying to create a "deception of progress" to save off international pressure.

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Settlers filmed shooting at Palestinian protesters?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 21, 2012 - 12:00am

It is the sort of incident that we often hear about, but almost never get to see. This time, thanks to B'Tselem, we have graphic video evidence of what happened. The picture the videos paint is disturbing. It appears to show Jewish settler youths attacking a Palestinian village; later heavily armed Jewish settlers shooting at, and wounding, a Palestinian man, and most disturbing of all, Israeli soldiers standing by and doing nothing to prevent the shooting.

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Group: Palestinian shot as Israeli troops stood by
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
May 21, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An Israeli human rights group has released a video that suggests Israeli soldiers stood by while Jewish settlers opened fire on Palestinians in the West Bank, wounding one.

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ATFP Expresses Alarm at Footage Showing Settlers Shooting at Palestinians in the Presence of Israeli Soldiers
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, May 22 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed deep alarm about a video released by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem that shows a group of armed settlers opening fire on Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank. Settlers, some of them masked and armed, reportedly entered the village of Asira al-Qibliya, near Nablus, on Saturday and began a confrontation by throwing rocks at the villagers. The Palestinians responded by throwing stones back at the settlers.


May 21st

NEWS: Hamas and Fatah agree to hold elections as a prelude to national reunification. An Israeli human rights group has released video of Israeli settlers shooting rubber bullets at unarmed Palestinians while Israeli soldiers stand by impassively. An Israeli military occupation court convicts a leader of Palestinian protest movements. Israeli officials react with outrage at demands by South Africa and other states that settlement goods be clearly labeled as distinct from those produced in Israel itself. Palestinians and right-wing Israelis clash in occupied East Jerusalem. The settlement outposts issue is the most immediate test of the new Israeli coalition. A verdict will be reached in August on the Rachel Corrie civil liability case. Haifa University's faculty demands the return of Arabic to the school's logo. PM Netanyahu warns that Israel could be “overrun” by African migrant “infiltrators.” The family of a Hamas operative assassinated in Dubai is trying to block an Israeli film about the murder. Austria's defense minister describes FM Lieberman as “unbearable.” Former Israeli PM Olmert says Jerusalem must be partitioned for peace. COMMENTARY: Ilan Bloch looks at the complexities of partitioning or sharing Jerusalem from a Jewish Israeli point of view. Liat Collins says the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike reveals many complexities on all sides. Nicola Nasser says Palestinians, and everyone else, should recognize that the traditional peace process is a sham. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid says Israel has finally decided that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria is in its interests. Emily Hauser says it's vital that Israelis and Palestinians get to know each other. Yossi Alpher says it's too early to tell if a new Israeli coalition will have any effect on Middle East peacemaking. Ghassan Khatib says the new Israeli government augurs little change for Palestinians. Walter Pincus asks why the United States would be funneling several packages of large amounts of new defense spending to Israel at a time of American budget crisis.

American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017