May 11th

Israeli Settlers Step Up Attacks on Palestinian Mosques ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - May 11, 2010 - 12:00am "Despite living under a brutal military occupation and being subjected to regular attacks by Israeli settlers for decades, normally places of worship were spared," Hussein, a spokesman from this Palestinian village, near Nablus, in the northern West Bank, told IPS. "People could forget about the economic hardship, the political oppression and their personal problems for a few hours a week as they retreated to pray in the mosque." All this changed dramatically for the agricultural village of 3,000 residents a few weeks ago. » Read more

Fire at Israeli warehouse causes heavy losses to Gaza traders, importers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Emad Drimly - May 11, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian traders and importers said Monday they suffered heavy losses due to a massive fire that broke out several days ago in a warehouse in southern Israel, where their goods, supposed to be sent to the Gaza Strip soon, are stored. Gaza traders and merchants told Xinhua that the massive fire destroyed the entire warehouse in the area of Moshav Shuva in Negev in southern Israel, adding "the losses were estimated with a value of seven million U.S. dollars." » Read more

2 Israeli Arabs suspected of spying for Hezbollah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ian Deitch - May 10, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has arrested two Israeli Arabs suspected of spying for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, police and security services said Monday, partially lifting a gag order on the case. Websites flouted the gag order and made the arrest of political activist Amir Makhoul into a rallying cry for critics of Israel's treatment of its Arab minority. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the gag order was imposed to avoid harming the investigation. » Read more

Israel detains Haifa man for alleged spying ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 11, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian citizen of Israel was detained by Israeli forces on Thursday, two weeks after authorities handed down a travel ban imposed by Israel's Interior Ministry. Amir Makhoul, director of Ittijah and chairman of the Popular Committee for the Defense of the Political Freedoms, was arrested by Israeli forces on 6 May during a raid of his home, noting that police raided the offices of the organization, confiscating equipment and documents. » Read more

May 10th

Prescription for Survival ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Zeek by Moshe Yaroni - (Opinion) May 10, 2010 - 12:00am The time has come to ask the question: what is Israel turning into? For decades, those of us who fervently support Israel but oppose with equal passion certain Israeli policies could make some allowances for Israeli behavior because of its traumatic creation and long string of conflict. But now, the actions of the government are becoming so onerous, and the support for such actions are becoming so widespread among the Israeli populace that any supporter of Israel whose politics are anything other than far right has got to be asking what Israel is becoming. » Read more

Proximity and peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News May 10, 2010 - 12:00am A POTENTIAL four months of indirect negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis began yesterday, mediated by US Middle East special envoy George Mitchell. Like the tumbler in a complex lock mechanism, success will rely on the progressive definition of a succession of key issues. It is by far from certain that the key to open direct talks between the two sides will work, and even then there is the second bigger lock of substantive face-to-face agreement to be opened. » Read more

A massacre of arabs masked by a state of national amnesia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Catrina Stewart - May 10, 2010 - 12:00am More than one unwitting visitor to Jerusalem has fallen prey to the bizarre delusion that they are the Messiah. Usually, they are whisked off to the serene surroundings of Kfar Shaul psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of the city, where they are gently nursed back to health. It is an interesting irony that the patients at Kfar Shaul recuperate from such variations on amnesia on the very spot that Israel has sought to erase from its collective memory. » Read more

All over again? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) May 10, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinians and Israelis are projected to soon commence proximity talks, expected to touch on certain final status issues of crucial import, such as borders and security. Proximity talks, by one definition, mean “diplomatic discussions between intermediaries, though the involved parties are close by”; in the case of Palestinians and Israelis, the notion seems to have gone awry, as it will involve an impartial representative acting as a mediator between parties who are willing to attend the same conference but unwilling to meet face to face. » Read more

'US support for nuke policy eroding' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - May 10, 2010 - 12:00am Jerusalem is increasingly jittery that cracks are appearing in the nearly half-century-old US policy of upholding Israel’s right to maintain its “nuclear ambiguity,” following reports that Israeli nuclear capabilities are, for the first time, scheduled to be on the agenda of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board meeting next month. » Read more

Israel's tourism ministry is wiping Palestinians off the map ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Daoud Kuttab - May 10, 2010 - 12:00am As Israeli-Palestinian negotiations restart, Palestinians are determined to begin by tackling the issue of borders, before working backwards toward deciding how to implement the establishment of a Palestinian state. Once agreement is reached on borders, the thinking goes, it will become clear who has the right to decide whether or not settlement activity can continue. » Read more