July 15th

World Bank to give Palestinians $33.5m. in aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - July 14, 2009 - 12:00am The World Bank on Tuesday announced plans to spend an additional $33.5 million on Palestinian infrastructure initiatives, including $21.5 million for six Gaza projects. The new aid was announced in the morning at a signing ceremony in Ramallah attended by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad and Dina Abu Ghaida, the World Bank acting country director for the West Bank and Gaza (WBG). » Read more

Israeli Author's Zionist Novel Creates Controversy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider, Samuel Sockol - July 15, 2009 - 12:00am The idea for Israeli author Alon Hilu's latest novel, "The House of Dajani," came to him one day in a Tel Aviv cafe when he began mentally stripping the city to its roots. Where he ended was with an Arab boy in the 1890s, at his family farm near what would become the Jewish metropolis, hallucinating about a future in which an army invades and builds skyscrapers over the land. » Read more

Akiva Eldar / How to apply PR spin to the settlement issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 15, 2009 - 12:00am America's best Jewish minds are wracking their brains, trying to find a magic formula that will put the settlements close to the hearts of Israel's supporters, not to mention its critics. A new guide to the perplexed, disseminated by the leadership of the Israel Project, the organization spearheading Israel's public relations efforts in the United States, offers a glimpse into its very own internal confusion. » Read more

Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News July 15, 2009 - 12:00am A group of soldiers who took part in Israel's assault in Gaza say widespread abuses were committed against civilians under "permissive" rules of engagement. The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said Palestinians were sometimes used as human shields. Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers. Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay. » Read more

U.K. upholds ban on 'misleading' Israel tourism ad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 15, 2009 - 12:00am A British advertising watchdog says a tourism poster cannot be displayed because it suggests the West Bank and Gaza Strip are part of Israel. The Advertising Standards Authority on Wednesday upheld complaints about the ad produced by the Israeli Government Tourist Office and displayed in London subway stations. It featured a map of the country that included the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in 1967. The watchdog says the ad was misleading because it "implied that those territories were part of the state of Israel." » Read more

Evading the real issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) July 15, 2009 - 12:00am There is a disturbing feeling that we could be heading toward a form of an abrupt closure in the Palestine question in the coming few months. Like a silent and deadly perfect storm the elements are lining up and no one really knows when and how the tempest will strike. We appear to be suspended in a state of political inertia, but on the ground the undercurrents are picking up speed. » Read more

Barak: Criticism of IDF should be directed at me ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - July 15, 2009 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday criticized an Israeli human rights organization for publishing an Israel Defense Forces soldier's testimony that troops used Palestinians as human shields during Operation Cast Lead last January, despite a 2005 High Court ruling outlawing the practice. » Read more

Qaddoumi drops a bombshell ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Mohammed Mar’i - July 15, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday harshly criticized Farouk Qaddoumi, secretary-general of Fatah, for accusing President Mahmoud Abbas of involvement in the alleged poisoning of Yasser Arafat. The PLO said in a statement that as part of Qaddoumi’s efforts “to disrupt the sixth convention of Fatah, he made hysterical remarks to reporters during his visit to Amman in the last two days.” » Read more

What About "Evil" Itself? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) July 15, 2009 - 12:00am Travel and Leisure magazine, one of the most respected in its field, has dedicated a number of pages promoting tourism in Israel. In this advertising campaign the map of Israel was shown as including the West Bank and Gaza, and of course - the Golan Heights. This was not a misprint or inadvertent; it was deliberate and came amidst talks of pressure being put on Israel and its extremist rightwing government to force it to take part in serious peace negotiations, to which the government is absolutely opposed. » Read more

Soldiers say received orders to shoot first, worry later in Gaza war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 15, 2009 - 12:00am A number of IDF soldiers who took part in Israel's recent Gaza offensive say they were urged by commanders to shoot first and worry later about sorting out civilians from combatants. Accordingly, they say, the force went into Gaza with guns blazing. In print and video testimony published on Wednesday by the activist group Breaking the Silence, the 30 soldiers say the army's imperative was to minimize its own casualties to ensure Israeli public support for the operation. » Read more