July 2nd, 2012

Labor minister: PA unable to pay July salaries ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 1, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority labor minister said Saturday that due to the government's worsening financial crisis, public sector salaries will not be paid on time for July. Ahmad Majdalani urged Arab nations to fulfill their financial pledges to the PA in order to allow salary payments. He said cabinet ministers had tasked the finance minister with preparing a report on the PA's financial crisis and potential solutions, which will be presented at the government's weekly meeting on Tuesday. » Read more

PNA opens investigation into demonstrators' repression ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 2, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Monday opened an investigation into clashes between demonstrators and police in the West Bank city of Ramallah. At least 15 people were injured, including six journalists, when the PNA forces repressed demonstrations Sunday and Saturday when protestors called on President Mahmoud Abbas not to receive Israeli Deputy Vice Premier Shaul Mofaz in Ramallah. Mofaz's visit has been canceled. » Read more

PA police crush new Ramallah demo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian protesters said security forces used brutal force Sunday during the second demonstration in as many days protesting Palestinian Authority policy. Police attacked protesters with batons, beating and injuring at least seven people. Another seven protesters were taken to a police station along with at least two journalists, a Ma'an correspondent said. Protesters shouted against police brutality, and the police responded by beating them. Journalists were also attacked for the second day in a row, the correspondent reported. » Read more

Palestinian Children ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Emily L. Hauser - (Opinion) June 29, 2012 - 12:00am Those of us who advocate for a just Israeli-Palestinian peace (however defined) make a point of clarifying that each side has seen enormous suffering, and we’re right to do so. There are no angels and very few innocents in this war–there’s far more ugly dehumanization, bloodletting, and endless, inconsolable mourning. » Read more

New IDF military college to move to east Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Melanie Lidman - July 2, 2012 - 12:00am The Interior Ministry on Monday gave its initial approval for a new military college in east Jerusalem, which will be on the Mount of Olives. The 42,000 square meter structure of the new National Defense College is planned for an open area between the Mount of Olives and Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus. » Read more

Deadline extended for Israel settler homes removal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ori Lewis - July 1, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday granted the state a four-month extension to remove five apartment blocks built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank. The court had ruled the homes, in the Ulpana neighbourhood of the Beit El settlement, must be torn down by July 1. The 30 families who lived in the buildings moved out last week to nearby temporary accommodation under a deal with the government to go quietly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to construct 851 new settler homes in the West Bank. » Read more

Divest in Israel: Presbyterians should support Palestinian aspirations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Roger Waters - (Opinion) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am On Wednesday, I will be visiting Pittsburgh to perform my Pink Floyd hit "The Wall" at Consol Energy Center. By coincidence, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has gathered this week in Pittsburgh. One issue the Presbyterians will be debating is whether to take action in support of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, under siege in Gaza and as second-class citizens in Israel under the rule of the apartheid government there. » Read more

Hamas suspends Gaza voter registration ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Nidal al-Mughrabi - July 2, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas suspended voter registration in the Gaza Strip on Monday in a setback to Palestinian plans for parliamentary and presidential elections and to forging unity with President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement. Hamas, the Islamist group that seized the enclave from Fatah forces in 2007, cited the continued arrest of its members in the West Bank by security forces of the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Abbas. » Read more

Mideast Peace Will Come From Strong Economic Relationships ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Israel Ziv - (Opinion) June 26, 2012 - 12:00am Now that Gaza has been set aflame once again, Israel's southern towns and villages are one more time under fire, the Sinai Peninsula is turning into a replica of Lebanon and the future of Egypt is still unclear — now is the time to consider a totally new approach — an approach that would provide an effective response to the escalating problems plaguing us and possibly even quell the extremist passions that trigger the barrages of Grads launched from Gaza, the burning of Israeli flags at Tahrir Square and [protest] flotillas like the Marmara. » Read more

PA envoy: Holocaust was ‘greatest crime in history' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - July 1, 2012 - 12:00am Sitting in this city, where the echoes of the Holocaust are everywhere, Palestinian Authority envoy Salah Abdel Shafi told a group of Israeli journalists last week that in his mind “the Holocaust is the biggest crime in human history.” “This was a human tragedy that hit humanity,” said Abdel Shafi, who has headed the PA mission in Germany for the past two years. » Read more