Settlers attack Palestinians near Bethlehem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 23, 2010 - 12:00am Hebron – Ma’an – Furious after their own government demolished two houses in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian property in the latest incident of the "price tag" phenomenon. Dozens of residents of the illegal Israeli settlement of Bat Ayin, in the Bethlehem Governorate, were seen throwing stones and empty bottles at Palestinian homes in Safa, an adjacent village next to the Beit Ummar town north of Hebron. » Read more

After escaping flotilla uproar, Israel faces new flap over Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am Tel Aviv, Israel Diplomatic tensions have flared over Jerusalem for the first time in weeks following the preliminary approval for a controversial plan for a tourist park in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. The plan calls for 22 Palestinian houses to be demolished. The decision Monday by a Jerusalem municipal planning committee immediately drew condemnation by the Palestinian Authority and a warning from the United States. » Read more

Israel asks UN to shelve aid ship raid inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News June 23, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said any inquiry should be shelved because new attempts to breach the blockade were still being organised. Nine pro-Palestinian activists died when Israeli soldiers stormed a Turkish aid ship in May. The UN has called for an impartial and credible inquiry into the raid. Israel has announced its own inquiry but some governments have expressed scepticism about its credibility. Mr Barak spoke after talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has been trying to organise the international inquiry called for by the Security Council. » Read more

Shimon Peres defends Israel's policies as vital to security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Interview) June 23, 2010 - 12:00am Reporting from Jerusalem Israeli President Shimon Peres said Tuesday that his nation's policy on the Gaza Strip has not yielded the results the government expected, and he criticized municipal plans to tear down 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to make way for redevelopment. But the 86-year-old former prime minister vigorously defended Israel's overall policies as vital to its security, saying international critics don't face the daily threat of terrorism. He spoke with the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday in his Jerusalem office. » Read more

Few legitimate candidates ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) June 23, 2010 - 12:00am The question of settlers remaining in a Palestinian state is becoming increasingly central to the issue of a successful two-state solution. One reason is quite simply the growing number of settlers who live beyond the settlement blocs and who are not likely to accept financial compensation and leave their homes in order to facilitate an agreement. » Read more

Palestinians in Lebanon: Righting a wrong ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Ramzy Baroud - (Opinion) June 23, 2010 - 12:00am What is unfortunate though, is that granting basic civil rights to over 400,000 Palestinians — 62 years after their expulsion from their historic homeland and the issuing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — has been a topic of “debate” in the first place. Equally regrettable is the fact that various “Christian” Lebanese political forces are fiercely opposing granting Palestinians their rights. » Read more

Adviser to Israel's Netanyahu questions Mideast peace effort, new Iran sanctions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said Tuesday that the push for Palestinian statehood has weakened Israel's standing in the world, and he suggested that the outlook is bleak for U.S.-mediated negotiations in the region. Uzi Arad, central in the crafting of Israel's stance on the Palestinians and on Iran's nuclear program, also argued that new U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran are inadequate to thwart its nuclear progress. A preemptive military strike might eventually be necessary, he said. » Read more

Israeli Official Assails Plans for Demolition of Arab Homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Dina Kraft - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am TEL AVIV — A top Israeli official scolded local officials on Tuesday for giving preliminary approval to a plan calling for the demolition of 22 Palestinian homes, in an echo of past stumbles over Jewish development in East Jerusalem. » Read more