May 24th, 2012

Abbas renews threat to seek Palestinian statehood at UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 23, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday renewed his threat to unilaterally seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state in response to Israel's refusal to accept his conditions for resuming the peace talks. Abbas, meanwhile, met with US Consul-General Daniel Rubinstein and discussed with him the latest developments surrounding efforts to resume the stalled peace talks. » Read more

High Court: Arabs deserve tax breaks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviad Glickman - May 23, 2012 - 12:00am Three Arab communities in northern Israel will be granted tax breaks by the State, similarly to Jewish communities in the same regions that are already entitled to the benefits, the High Court of Justice ruled Tuesday. » Read more

Amnesty Int'l slams Gaza blockade, settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 24, 2012 - 12:00am Israel is criticized for violating the human rights of West Bank and Gaza Palestinians in Amnesty International's yearly report on the state of the world's human rights released on Wednesday. "Israel maintained its blockade of Gaza, prolonging the humanitarian crisis there, and continued aggressively to expand settlements in the Palestinian West Bank territory it has occupied since 1967," the report posited. » Read more

Security forces 'abuse detainees with impunity' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 24, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza abuse detainees with impunity and use excessive force against demonstrators, Amnesty International said Wednesday. The London-based rights group issued its annual report, and accused the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority and Hamas security forces of arbitrarily detaining each other's supporters. » Read more

Israelis brace for more ethnic strife in south Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Gur Salomon - May 24, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police beefed up forces in south Tel Aviv on Thursday, just hours after a protest against African migrants residing in the city turned violent. Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch is weighing plans to bolster Tel Aviv District Police with Border Police units which are largely deployed in the West Bank, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported, to assist Tel Aviv District Police in confronting crimes and thwarting reprisal attacks against the Africans. » Read more

Israeli PM delays bill to legalize West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 23, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday reached an agreement with the nationalist coalition partner Habayit Hayehudi ("The Jewish Home") to delay the voting on a bill to legalize Jewish homes built on private Palestinian lands. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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.  » Read more