August 11th

Lebanon’s Palestinian Ghetto Redesigned ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Le Monde Diplomatique by Don Duncan - (Special Report) August 11, 2008 - 4:41pm Lebanon proposes to rebuild Nahr al-Bared, the Palestinian city-camp near Tripoli pulverised in a long siege last year in an attempt to kill Sunni militants holed up there. The new, as yet only imagined, town is intended to preserve the memories of the old, yet return the area to the control of Lebanon. » Read more

Guide: Gaza Under Blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Heather Sharp - (Analysis) August 11, 2008 - 4:38pm   The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since the militant group Hamas seized control in June 2007. What gets in and out of Gaza, what has been the impact of the restrictions, and what has changed since the truce between Israel and Hamas in June 2008? OVERVIEW For the past year, Gaza's 1.5m people have been relying on, on average, less than a fifth of the volume of imported supplies they received in December 2005. Some weeks significantly less than that has arrived.   » Read more

Palestinians Doubt Two-state Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News August 11, 2008 - 4:26pm Israel's strategy in negotiations could force the Palestinians to abandon their goal of a two-state solution, a top Palestinian negotiator says. Ahmed Qurei says they may instead seek a binational solution, that is a single state for Israelis and Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Israel fears such a this would spell the end of the Jewish majority state. Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in 1967. Its negotiators have always resisted full withdrawal from them. » Read more

Darwish, Poet Of The Palestinian Cause, Dies After Surgery ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Mohammed Assadi - August 11, 2008 - 4:23pm Mahmoud Darwish, whose poetry encapsulated the Palestinian cause, is to get the equivalent of a state funeral in the West Bank following his death this weekend – an honour only previously accorded to the PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Tributes for Darwish poured in yesterday, a day after he died, at the age of 67, from complications following heart surgery in a hospital in Houston, Texas. » Read more

August 8th

Eu Deeply Concerned By Decision To Build New Israeli Settlements -- France ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna) August 8, 2008 - 3:50pm The French Presidency of the European Union said Friday that the 27-member EU was "deeply concerned" by an Israeli decision to approve the construction of more illegal settlements in defiance of agreements and calls not to do so. "The Presidency of the European Union Council is deeply concerned by the decision of Israeli authorities to approve the construction of 400 housing units in the Neve Yacov colony and to issue tenders for 286 units in Beitar Illit and 130 units in Har Homa," a statement issued in Paris said. » Read more

Israel Opens West Bank Roadblock For Trucks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 8, 2008 - 3:49pm Israel, under international pressure to ease curbs on Palestinian movement, opened a roadblock in the occupied West Bank to commercial traffic on Thursday. The Israeli army said the checkpoint between the city of Hebron and a commercial crossing point into Israel would be open for trucks for six hours a day. Private vehicles remain banned. Residents said the measure reduces travel time between Hebron and the Tarqumiya crossing to less than 20 minutes from about 45. » Read more

British Consulate: Settlers Attack U.k. Diplomats On Hebron Tour ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 8, 2008 - 3:48pm A small group of settlers attacked a delegation of British diplomats during a visit to the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, the British Consulate said. The consulate in Jerusalem said the diplomats were attacked while touring the area in an armored car. None were injured. A Palestinian security official in the city said one of the settlers kicked the car after trying to open one of its doors. » Read more

Palestinians: Israel To Allow Bank Notes Into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 8, 2008 - 3:47pm Israel will allow banks to transfer 72 million shekels ($20 million) into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to ease a shortage of bank notes, Palestinian officials said on Friday. » Read more

Israel To Build New Homes On Occupied Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 8, 2008 - 3:44pm JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel issued on Thursday a tender for the construction of 447 housing units in settlements in the Jerusalem area, drawing fire from Palestinians who accused the Jewish state of sabotaging chances of peace. Under the tender, Israel will build some 130 housing units in Har Homa, an area Palestinians refer to as Jabal Abu Ghneim. The tender also calls for construction of 317 housing units in Beitar Illit, a settlement near Jerusalem. » Read more

Gaza Militants Warn Israel Truce May End In 3 Weeks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 8, 2008 - 3:43pm GAZA (Reuters) - Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) militant group on Thursday warned Israel that a truce between Israel and Hamas which went into effect on June 19 was in danger of collapse, saying it could end in three weeks. Abu Mujahed, one of the group's leaders, told dozens of fighters undergoing military training that Hamas, the PRC and other factions were disappointed at Israel's slow action on opening Gaza's border crossings and prisoner release talks. » Read more