May 19th

Declaring war on the intellect - Israel and Noam Chomsky ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) May 18, 2010 - 12:00am By stopping the illustrious American scholar Prof. Noam Chomsky at the Allenby Bridge and barring his entry into Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the government's outrageous treatment of those with the audacity to criticize its policies has reached new heights. Israel looks like a bully who has been insulted by a superior intellect and is now trying to fight it, arrest it and expel it. » Read more

Hamas executions outrage PNA, rights groups ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Saud Abu Ramadan - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the human rights groups on Tuesday condemned the earlier execution of three Gaza residents who were convicted of committing homicide crimes by the deposed Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Ghassan al-Khatib, spokesman of the PNA in the West Bank, told Xinhua that the PNA condemns the execution of the three Palestinians, "these executions are illegal. The legal system in Gaza is messy." » Read more

Hamas downplays Israel's threats to re-occupy Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Islamic Hamas movement downplayed on Tuesday reports of Israeli plans to re-occupy the Gaza Strip and appoint an Israeli military governor to run the coastal enclave that is now controlled by Hamas. "It's a meaningless psychological war that aims at reducing the morale of the Palestinian people and their resistance," Hamas spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, told Xinhua. » Read more

Palestinians intensify settlement products boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinians stepped up a campaign against Israeli settlement products Tuesday, with hundreds of volunteers in white T-shirts distributing a brochure with brand names and photos of 500 goods they want West Bank consumers to shun. The campaign drew an angry response from the settlement movement which demanded that Israel close its ports to Palestinian goods. Government officials have said the boycott is counterproductive at a time of renewed peace efforts, but have not threatened retaliation. » Read more

West Bank health and economy up a bit, Gaza down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 19, 2010 - 12:00am With a failing economy, rising unemployment and deteriorating power, sanitation and health facilities, the health of Gaza's population continues to worsen, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report. In contrast, modest improvements have been made in the West Bank. As a consequence of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, 98 percent of industrial operations have been shut down since 2007 and there are acute shortages of fuel, cash, cooking gas and other basic supplies. » Read more

Student council calls on peers to support goods boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 19, 2010 - 12:00am University student councils offered their full support for the Palestinian Authority boycott of settlement goods on Wednesday, vowing to ensure students implement the embargo. Head of the An-Najah University student senate Makram Daraghmeh said all Palestinian universities would organize events and activties in the coming days, aimed at encouraging students to participate in the boycott. "The decision will build and pave the way for the boycott of all Israeli products in the future. It is a decision in favor of popular resistance against the occupation," Daraghmeh said. » Read more

Homes Built as Statement Razed to Make Another ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Nidal Eid was praised by Hamas officials as an example of anti-Zionist resistance when he managed to build a house here last year despite an Israeli blockade that barred the import of any building materials. But earlier this week, his house was the first to be demolished by the Hamas government, which said it had been illegally built on public land. Bulldozers, accompanied by Hamas forces and police officers who beat residents with sticks, razed at least 25 houses, including some concrete structures here in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza. » Read more

May 18th

Fayyad’s popularity on rise in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Ali Sawafta - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am His efforts are bearing fruit. Even some of Fayyad’s rivals admit that his stock is on the rise among Palestinians tired of leaders who have failed to deliver them statehood or prosperity. Fayyad could even be in line for higher office, they say, although the premier routinely denies such personal ambition. They acknowledge that the former World Bank economist, a political independent who is not a member of the long dominant Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), is making an impact. » Read more

Perfidious son: Aaron David Miller rejects the peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Depending on your view of the Middle East and the Obama administration, Aaron David Miller is either a hero or a turncoat. Miller, a peace process functionary under both Bush administrations and the Clinton administration, published a declaration of independence last month from what he called the "religion" of the peace process. Critics of the Obama administration's emphasis on peacemaking -- among them neoconservatives who once reviled Miller as an apostle of the process -- embraced his article, published in Foreign Policy, as the repudiation of the process. » Read more

Is Netanyahu alienating Israel’s friends in Europe? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Leslie Susser - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am On the day last week that Israel gained admission to the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel's continued control over the Palestinians was eroding its global standing. Whereas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Israel’s joining of the OECD as an economic and diplomatic coup, Barak warned of a growing tide of international isolation unless Israel comes out with a major peace initiative of its own, irrespective of the OECD membership. » Read more