May 18th

30 tons of building material to enter Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am In response to a special request by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Israel allowed some 30 tons of building material into the Gaza Strip last Thursday to help rebuild a hospital damaged in the fighting there in 2009. Israel has been extremely reluctant to let concrete and building materials into the region since the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009 because of the concern it would be diverted by Hamas to rebuild factories manufacturing Kassam rockets. » Read more

PA boycott threatens tradesmen with jail time ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am In the coming days every Palestinian home in the West Bank will receive a detailed list of 500 products the Palestinian Authority has decided to boycott. The campaign against Israeli products, set to be launched Tuesday, is backed by a recently passed law entailing prison sentences and fines. » Read more

Settlers: PA boycott – economic terror ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shmulik Grossman - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am The Yesha Council on Tuesday morning responded harshly to a new Palestinian Authority campaign distributing a list of banned Israeli companies. "This is an act of hostility with all intents and purposes on the part of the Palestinian Authority and its leaders, and it must be answered immediately and decisively just like any other act of hospitality," the settlers' body said in a statement. » Read more

Museum of Tolerance Special Report / Part II: Secrets from the grave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am The first one to excavate the site and come upon human remains was archaeologist Gideon Sulimani. Sulimani, a senior archaeologist with the Antiquities Authority, would come to play a key role in the affair. In December 2005 he began a “rescue excavation” financed, as mandated by Israeli law, by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, intended to remove antiquities, or in this case, human bones, before the area was cleared for construction. » Read more

Museum of Tolerance Special Report / Part I: Holes, Holiness and Hollywood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Sometimes a lack of sensitivity or even an innocent mistake exposes a major truth. On the Web site of Moriah, a public company for infrastructure work that belongs to the Jerusalem municipality, one can find descriptions of various projects in which the company is involved. Among them is the Museum of Tolerance: “The Simon Wiesenthal Center, the entrepreneur for the construction of the Museum of Tolerance in central Jerusalem, asked Moriah to carry out preparatory and infrastructure work for the project,” says the site. » Read more

IDF concerned settler violence could spark Palestinian uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Extremist settler activity could set the West Bank ablaze, GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi warned on Monday at a brigade-wide training exercise at the Tze'elim military base in the Negev. The Kfir Brigade exercise focused on urban warfare - including the capture of a simulated Arab city - and pitted Israeli troops against Palestinian security forces. » Read more

Israel rejects Qatar bid to restore diplomatic ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has rejected two proposals from Qatar to restore diplomatic relations and let Israel reopen its office in the capital of Doha. A senior source in Jerusalem said that in return for renewed diplomatic relations, the Qataris demanded that they be allowed to carry out a series of reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip and to import the necessary construction materials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were unwilling to agree to this, he said. » Read more

Palestinians, Israelis remain skeptical as peace talks begin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am It is now one year four months and 21 days since the last official talks between Israelis and Palestinians. During those 506 days the parties have repeatedly blamed one another for that breakdown and the failure to reboot negotiations. Indirect peace talks are expected to resume on Wednesday but Israelis and Palestinians alike are still expressing serious reservations about the chances of their success. » Read more

Palestinian PM slams Israel for denying entry of U.S. professor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad lashed out at Israel on Monday for denying entry of Jewish American professor Noam Chomsky into the Palestinian territories. According to the official Palestinian Wafa news agency, Fayyad phoned Chomsky after he was barred from entering the West Bank and updated him on the latest developments in the Palestinian territory. The academic was invited by Birzeit University, near Ramallah, to lecture at a number of its faculties. He was also supposed to meet with Fayyad and other Palestinian officials. » Read more

How to tell if there's progress in Israeli- Palestinian talks? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Indirect talks between Palestinians and Israelis are to kick off on Tuesday with the visit to Ramallah of United States special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell. Later in the week he is slated to hold talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem. These initial indirect or proximity talks will first tackle border issues and security. For some regional analysts, this is the best way to begin the process, while others see this approach as doomed to fail. » Read more