April 22nd

Protest rally against ‘settler provocation’ in Jaffa ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Benjamin L. Hartman - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am Dozens of activists and residents held a rally in Jaffa’s Ajami neighborhood on Wednesday, to protest what organizers called “a series of provocations from settlers active in Jaffa,” following the alleged attack of an elderly neighborhood woman by settlers three days earlier. Wednesday’s rally, which was held in front of the house organizers say was infiltrated by a group of settlers on Sunday, included speeches by Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah and a number of community organizers from Jaffa. » Read more

Rightists: Burn effigies of Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post April 22, 2010 - 12:00am Every year, Israeli children gather around bonfires on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer and burn the effigies of the enemies of the Jewish people. Perennial favorites in that category include the likes of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. Now, a Jewish rightist group wants to add US President Barack Obama to that list. Bentzi Gupshtain, a member of the outlawed Kahane Chai (Kach) party, said his organization is distributing hundreds of effigies of the US president for children to set fire to on Lag BaOmer May 2nd. » Read more

Round 2: Lauder vs. Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews April 21, 2010 - 12:00am A week after publishing an open letter in which he criticized US President Barack Obama, Ron Lauder on Wednesday continued to slam the American president and his Middle East policies. In an interview with the German Der Spiegel, Lauder - who serves as president of the World Jewish Congress and is considered a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - said that Washington's criticism of Israel was "disproportionate." "The Obama administration is blaming Israel for the stalling peace process, but it is in fact the Palestinians which are opposed to negotiations," he said. » Read more

Settlers set up West Bank tourism ventures ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Karni Eldad - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am "Just as the Golan Heights became part of the Israeli consensus because people came and vacationed and saw that it was good, it was lovely, it was fun, and it would be a shame to give it to the Arabs, the same thing could happen in Samaria," says Doron Nir Zvi, who lives in the unauthorized outpost of Yad Yair, in northern Samaria. He and his family run a restaurant and rent out a luxury vacation cabin (called a "zimmer" in Israel) at the outpost, and even have a swimming pool. "I don't talk about the land of our forefathers and ideology. I direct myself toward it. Toward love. » Read more

Obama offered Netanyahu a gentlemen's agreement on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am If the Independence Day speeches delivered this week by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin were any indication, Jerusalem Day came early this year. As they took the podium to vow that "united Jerusalem" would never be divided, both were no doubt aware that President Barack Obama's adviser, Dan Shapiro, was making his way to the region. » Read more

Palestinians to step up "Popular Resistance" against Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 21, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian officials, Arab, Israeli and foreign members of international solidarity movements on Wednesday announced that they would step up "Popular resistance " to challenge the Israeli settlement's expansion and the construction of the West Bank Separation Wall. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told an international conference held in the village of Bel 'ein, west of Ramallah in the West Bank, that the Palestinians will keep their "popular resistance as part of a step towards establishing their future independent Palestinian state." » Read more

Israel evicts freed Palestinian prisoner from West Bank to Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 22, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli army has on Wednesday expelled a freed Palestinian prisoner from the West Bank to Gaza Strip, an official said. Nash'at al-Waheidi, in charge of public relations in the Gaza- based Palestinian Prisoners' Committee, said in a press statement that Israel started to implement its military order of evictions. Last week, the Israeli Ha'aretz Daily revealed that the Israeli army had issued an order to expel thousands of Palestinians, who are not basically registered as West Bank residents, from the territory to the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israel arrests 24 Palestinians in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 22, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli forces arrested 24 Palestinians during its raids in the West Bank early Thursday, Palestinian security sources said. The arrests took place during the Israeli incursion into the cities of Jenin, Qalqilya, Bethlehem and surrounding villages, according to the sources. Meanwhile, an Israeli army force also operated in an area east of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip, and Israeli bulldozers backed by tanks leveled some groves, according to local residents. » Read more

Israeli PM rejects calls for east Jerusalem freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's prime minister has rejected U.S. calls to halt construction in disputed east Jerusalem, clouding a new peace mission by Washington's Mideast envoy. Benjamin Netanyahu's made the comments to Channel 2 TV, shortly after the arrival of envoy George Mitchell on Thursday. Netanyahu declared: "There will be no freeze in Jerusalem." Netanyahu was repeating a long-standing position, but the timing of the statement threatened to undermine Mitchell's latest efforts to restart peace talks. » Read more

Rockets fired at Israel fall in Jordan-source ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters April 22, 2010 - 12:00am Two rockets were fired from the Jordanian port of Aqaba towards Israel on Thursday but landed on an empty warehouse in Jordan, a Jordanian security source said. Jordanian Minister of State for Information Nabil al-Shareef told the state news agency Petra: "A limited explosion took place in the early hours of the morning at a refrigration warehouse at the northern edge of the city that caused minor damage." Aqaba is adjacent to the Israeli city of Eilat. » Read more