Gaza is a Victim Twice! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Hassan Haidar - May 13, 2010 - 12:00am According to an ordinary piece of news, the Egyptian Supply Control members seized a truck loaded with 100 small power generators at a security checkpoint at the entrance of Al-Arish City. These were being smuggled into the Gaza Strip, so the load was confiscated and the person accompanying the driver arrested. » Read more

Israel's secret police targeting leaders of country's Arab minority, say Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - May 14, 2010 - 12:00am The recent arrest of two respected public figures from Israel’s Palestinian Arab minority in night-time raids on their homes by the Shin Bet secret police – brought to light this week when a gag order was partially lifted – has sent shock waves through the community. » Read more

Imposed solution can end Palestinian conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Omar Rahman - May 14, 2010 - 12:00am It is a sign of how far the peace process has retrogressed that the Israelis and Palestinians have now entered into proximity talks, more than 16 years after having started direct negotiations. To make matters worse, nobody – including the actual participants – gives the latest round of talks the slightest chance of success. In fact, many fear that failure will only bolster critics of the peace process by further displaying the ineffectiveness of its methods. So why are they entering negotiations to begin with? » Read more

US to fund installation of Israeli rocket defence system ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 14, 2010 - 12:00am Barack Obama is to ask the US Congress for an extra $200m in military aid to help Israel get a short-range rocket defence system in place. The system is designed to shoot down mortars and rockets from Gaza or Southern Lebanon with guided missiles. The system, called Iron Dome, has gone through testing and installation will start later this year. According to US State Department figures, direct military aid to Israel was $2.55bn in 2009. This is set to increase to $3.15bn in 2018. Easing tensions » Read more

Human Rights Watch say destruction in Gaza 'unlawful' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 13, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli army unlawfully destroyed civilian property in its 22-day offensive in Gaza in 2008 and 2009, a report by Human Rights Watch says. Israeli forces destroyed buildings that had "no military significance", a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Conventions, the report said. The New-York based group have documented 12 cases that they say must be investigated. The IDF denies the charges and says it has investigated the incursion already. » Read more

Desperately smearing Goldstone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - May 12, 2010 - 12:00am Inside the Israeli echo chamber, it’s now “case closed” on the war in Gaza. The country’s biggest newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, has “exposed” Judge Richard Goldstone as an apartheid-era hanging judge. This proves he’s a huge hypocrite whose word means nothing, which proves his report on the war in Gaza means nothing, which proves Operation Cast Lead was every bit the shining example of restraint and purity of arms Israel says it was. » Read more

Attorney seeks to bar Goldstone from US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by E.B. Solomont - May 14, 2010 - 12:00am A well-known American Jewish attorney who worked to deport former Nazis from the US is urging American officials to bar former judge Richard Goldstone from entering the country over his rulings during South Africa’s apartheid regime. » Read more

E. J'lem demolitions on hold ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin - May 14, 2010 - 12:00am Demolition orders for illegally constructed Arab homes in east Jerusalem are highly unlikely to go ahead in the near future, it emerged on Thursday, despite a recent announcement to the contrary by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch. The U-turn came after the US State Department sought clarifications over comments by Aharonovitch, who said on Wednesday that “police have no instructions to refrain from carrying out the demolitions. They will be carried out in the coming days.” The comments threatened to reignite a US-Israeli row over Israeli policy in east Jerusalem. » Read more

Pins in the Goldstone voodoo doll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Hagai El-Ad - May 13, 2010 - 12:00am What will they come up with next? The campaign to discredit Judge Richard Goldstone, his fact-finding commission and the report that now bears his name seems to reach new heights every week. The latest installment in this high-drama farce has been the revelations about Goldstone's record during apartheid-era South Africa, and the implication that his report can therefore be disregarded. » Read more

Thus spoke the dairy farmer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - May 13, 2010 - 12:00am Many years ago, the incumbent chief of staff spoke at a prestigious club that used to host a prominent government figure every Friday. Mostly, reporters were also invited, and if there were no scoops to be had, at least they got a nice free lunch. I was present at that luncheon, and the CoS spoke such a lot of nonsense that I wrote a critical piece about his speech. Astonishingly, the military censor blue-penciled the whole article. » Read more