July 6th

Israel's settlements in West Bank present a major hurdle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Opinion) July 6, 2009 - 12:00am This sprawling, well-manicured Israeli settlement -- with its rows of red-tile roofs, palm trees and air-conditioned shopping mall -- could almost pass for Orange County. Except the guards in this gated community sometimes pack automatic weapons. Settlements such as the city-sized Maale Adumim, about four miles east of Jerusalem in the West Bank, are viewed by much of the world as illegal because they are built on land seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War. Many Israelis see Maale Adumim as part of their country. » Read more

Music event puts global spotlight on Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 5, 2009 - 12:00am It is not often Palestinians get a chance to see best- selling international artists up close and personal. Once a year, however, the Palestine International Festival offers exactly such an opportunity, and, judging by the packed outdoor venue at the Ramallah Cultural Palace on Friday, it is an opportunity people are keen not to miss. » Read more

Hamas arrests Palestinian woman for not wearing headscarf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas security forces detained a Gazan journalist at a beach over the weekend because she was not wearing a headscarf. Asma al-Ghul, who writes for the Palestinian daily Al-Ayam, said she was at the beach near the Shati refugee camp with a mixed group of friends when men in civilian clothing asked her why she was not wearing a headscarf. When she asked them who they were, they showed her Hamas security forces identity cards. She said that when questioning her, the men accused her of "laughing out loud" and walking around the beach without a male escort. » Read more

The difference a "comedian, actress, activist and dancing gimp” can make ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Deema Dabis - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am "I think that the biggest difference I make is that I actually show people that a disabled person can be members of society. "They look at me and they go woah, she walks funny but she seems to have all this power and she has no fear and her eyes are always looking straight ahead, she doesn't look down,” said founder of Maysoon’s Kids, Maysoon Zaayid. “I want people to think that hey, if I can do that, there is hope for my kid.” » Read more

Fayyad: Jews can be equal citizens in Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 5, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday said that Jews would enjoy freedom and full civil rights in a future Palestinian state, according to a report in the Aspen Daily News. "Jews, to the extent they choose to stay and live in the state of Palestine, will enjoy those rights and certainly will not enjoy any less rights than Israeli Arabs enjoy now in the state of Israel," Fayyad said in response to a question from former CIA director James Woolsey at the Aspen Institute's Ideas Festival. » Read more

July 2nd

ATFP Translation: The Palestinian Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Quds by Mohammed Daraghmeh - (Opinion) July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Over the last few weeks, we witnessed three speeches by three leaders at three universities: United States President Barack Obama and his speech at Cairo University, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his speech at Bar Ilan University, and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and his speech at al-Quds University. » Read more

Fayyad meets Washington officials in push for settlement halt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 2, 2009 - 12:00am Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinian caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was in Washington this week meeting with high-level officials in an effort to push the American administration to act on its request that Israel halt settlement construction. Fayyad met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, National Security Advisor General James Jones, as well as Congressional leaders. » Read more

The one-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yigal Sarna - (Opinion) July 2, 2009 - 12:00am One of these days, an American president will tell us: One state. After three more premiership terms, during which Netanyahu will return to power time and again in the wake of resounding failures, President Eduardo S. Gonzales will arrive here from Washington. The son of Cuban immigrants, Gonzales will stand up on top of the Masada, and with Elie Wiesel and China’s president by his side declare his unequivocal support for one state. Yet Bibi, boasting great experience and shaking because of his age, concerns, and anxiety, will insist: Only two states. » Read more

Agreements must be honored ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Dov Weissglass - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am On May 1 and 16, 2003, during discussions of Israel’s reservations in respect to the Road Map initiative, it was agreed that there will be no construction at Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, with the exception of existing communities. These words were uttered, agreed upon, and documented in the records of the talks kept at the Prime Minister’s Office. I’m sure that an efficient search will reveal the parallel American records. » Read more

Wexler: Israel will freeze settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israel would lose nothing, and potentially gain everything, by agreeing to a temporary moratorium on construction in the settlements for a short period of time, Congressman Robert Wexler, a close political ally of US President Barack Obama and a stalwart Israel supporter, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. Wexler, on his third visit to Israel since December, met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, a day after Defense Minister Ehud Barak and US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met in New York and decided that the discussion over settlement construction would continue. » Read more