An understandable but ill-planned gesture ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - May 24, 2010 - 12:00am I don't like boycotts. Israel suffered from a comprehensive Arab boycott prior to 1967, when settlements and territories were not an issue. Israel is today targeted for academic and economic boycotts by elements in the West whose hostility toward it in many cases goes far beyond the West Bank, Jerusalem and the settlements. » Read more

End the blockade in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill by Iara Lee - May 25, 2010 - 12:00am This week, I will be boarding one of several ships that are part of a flotilla sailing to Gaza. The Israeli government’s recent decision to deny internationally renowned scholar Noam Chomsky entrance into the occupied territories suggests we, too, might be refused entry. Nevertheless, we will set sail with the intent of delivering food, water, medical supplies and reconstruction materials to communities in Gaza that are in need of humanitarian relief. » Read more

'Palestinians are hijacked by Iran' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 26, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas came out against Iran on Wednesday, calling his people "hijacked, at the hands of the Iranians." "The decision-making power is not in our hands," he told Egyptian television station Nile TV, possibly referring to Hamas's refusal to reconcile with Fatah at Teheran's behest. "The Palestinian people's unity... is not in our hands." » Read more

Palestinians: Israeli threats meaningles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - May 25, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority sources say they are unimpressed by Minister Silvan Shalom's threats to impose sanctions against the PA to counter a Palestinian boycott on settlement goods. PA spokesman Dr. Ghassan al-Khatib said Tuesday that threats by "settler leaders and manufacturers as well as by ministers and settler sympathizers do not deter us." "We are not interested in maintaining the welfare of settlements any longer. We are interested in boosting the local Palestinian industry and economy," al-Khatib said » Read more

Rightist banned from J'lem neighborhoods ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shmulik Grossman - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am In an unprecedented move, the administrative order against settler Neriah Ofen, keeping him away from the West Bank, was extended to also include the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaakov. The order was signed by GOC Home Front Command Major General Yair Golan. Ofen, a right-wing activist, is well known to the security services from the days of the Gaza disengagement, when he was suspected of planning attacks against Arabs. He was also under administrative detention. » Read more

MESS Report / Key U.S. figure in Israel-PA talks, Lt. General Dayton, steps down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am The United States government's special security coordinator in the Middle East, Lt. General Keith Dayton, who has played a key role in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, will step down from the post in the fall, Haaretz has learned. Though initially scheduled to serve in his capacity for one year, Dayton has remained in the region for five years, at the behest of the U.S. government. » Read more

Rahm Emanuel invites Netanyahu to discuss 'shared security interests' with Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington for talks with the U.S. President Obama on regional peace and security. "On behalf of the President I am happy to extend an invitation to visit President Obama in the White House for a working meeting to discuss our shared security interests, as well as our close co-operation in achieving peace between Israel and its neighbors," Emanuel told Netanyahu at the prime minister's Jerusalem office. » Read more

Gaza aid agencies urge Israel to ease Gaza access restriction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 25, 2010 - 12:00am Humanitarian aid agencies urged on Monday the Israeli government to ensure full and unfettered access into and out of the Gaza Strip for materials and exports necessary for the revival of the agriculture and fishing sectors in Gaza. "Maintaining agricultural livelihood and local food production in Gaza depend on the opening of border crossings," Philippe Lazzarini, UN acting humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, told a news conference in Gaza on behalf of several humanitarian aid agencies. » Read more

Israel ends highway segregation, pleasing no-one ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Douglas Hamilton - May 25, 2010 - 12:00am Starting Friday, Israeli troops will guard new checkpoints in the West Bank that nullify the impact of an Israeli court order allowing Palestinian drivers to use route 443. What was hailed as a victory for justice six months ago, when a 2002 ban on Palestinian traffic was ruled illegal, now looks like sleight of hand presaging a "human rights travesty", says the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). » Read more

Israel to permit entry to Arab investors for PIC ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 26, 2010 - 12:00am Israel will permit an exceptional 815 Middle East businessmen and women to enter the West Bank for Bethlehem's second Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) in June, officials announced on Tuesday. Executive director of PIC Ja’far Hdeib called news of the permits, communicated by Israel's Civil Administration late Monday night, the first signs of success for the conference, titled Investing in Palestine: Empowering Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. » Read more