June 7th

Photos from Turkish aid ship show blood and chaos ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ayla Jean - June 6, 2010 - 12:00am Turkish pro-Palestinian campaigners released photographs on Sunday showing terrified, bleeding Israeli soldiers cowering and surrounded by activists on the Turkish aid ship that they had stormed. Nine activists from Turkey were killed last Monday in the storming of the Mavi Marmara, part of a convoy trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver some 10,000 tonnes of aid. The photographs were taken by a member of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid, or IHH, which organised the convoy, said spokesman Salih Bilici. » Read more

Israeli patrol kills 4 militants in diving gear ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ori Lewis - June 7, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli naval patrol killed at least four Palestinian militants in diving gear off the Gaza coast on Monday, Hamas security officials and the Israeli army said. "An Israeli naval patrol spotted a boat with four men in diving suits on their way to carry out a terror attack and fired at them," an Israeli army spokesman said, adding that the patrol had confirmed hitting its targets. The spokesman did not say what the army thought was the intended objective of the divers. Hamas security sources said four bodies had been found and a fifth man was missing and presumed dead. » Read more

Abbas forces Sheikh Tamimi into retirement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 7, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas announced the end of Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi's career as Palestinian Chief Justice and Supreme Judge on Monday, with sources citing corruption charges brought forward by whistle-blower Fahmi Shabana months earlier. With Shabana's allegations principally focused on former presidential adviser Rafiq Al-Husseini, who was embroiled in a sex-tape scandal and accusations of selling land to Israel, the only mention of charges against Tamimi came in early May, when the sheikh made a public statement denying rumors that Abbas was charging him with corruption. » Read more

Iran Revolutionary Guards ready to escort Gaza ships ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Robin Pomeroy - June 6, 2010 - 12:00am Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are ready to provide a military escort to cargo ships trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday. "Iran's Revolutionary Guards naval forces are fully prepared to escort the peace and freedom convoys to Gaza with all their powers and capabilities," Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative inside the Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency. » Read more

France, 5 Palestinian banks sign deals for private sector growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 7, 2010 - 12:00am The French Bank Natixis signed agreements in Bethlehem with five Palestinian banks on the sidelines of the Palestine Investment Conference 2010, a statement from the French Consulate read. » Read more

Majority of PLO factions form elections coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 7, 2010 - 12:00am All factions represented within the PLO in Nablus will run for local elections on a combined list, except for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP), a statement from the body read Sunday. Following a series of meetings between PLO factions, an agreement was reached to unify a list for the Nablus municipal and council elections, the statement read, the first that will be held across the region, set for mid July. » Read more

U.S. demands IDF probe how American lost eye at West Bank protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - June 7, 2010 - 12:00am The United States embassy has demanded an investigation into how an American citizen lost her eye last week at the Qalandiyah checkpoint after being struck by a tear gas grenade. » Read more

After the Israeli flotilla incident, Turkey is the new Palestinian champion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Alastair Crooke - June 7, 2010 - 12:00am “This is language that we have not heard since the time of Gamal Abdul Nasser.” Thus wrote the influential chief editor of Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, referring to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fiery response to the Israeli assault on the Gaza flotilla – adding that such “manly” positions and rhetoric had “disappeared from the dictionaries of our Arab leaders (since the demise of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser).” He lamented that “Arab regimes now represent the only friends left to Israel.” » Read more

PM's exit strategy: Easing naval blockade of Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - June 4, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to consider easing the naval blockade of Gaza and involving international players in its enforcement. In so doing, he is acceding to pressure from Washington, which opposes continuing the blockade in its present format and demands that Israel make it easier to send civilian goods to Gaza. » Read more

Knesset panel recommends revoking Arab MK's privileges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - June 7, 2010 - 12:00am The Knesset's House Committee on Monday recommended revoking the privileges of Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zuabi, after she participated in last week's Gaza-bound aid flotilla which resulted in an IDF raid that killed nine activists. The decision was passed by a majority of seven to one, with MK Ilan Gilon of Meretz opposing. The Knesset committee recommended rescinding from Zuabi three key privileges usually granted to Knesset Members. One is the privilege to exit the country – which is supposed to prevent Zoabi from fleeing Israel if she commits a felony or has debts in Israel. » Read more