July 30th

UN envoy says acts in Jerusalem 'provocative' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 30, 2010 - 12:00am Robert Serry, the UN special envoy to the Middle East peace process, condemned the takeover by armed settlers of a building in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday. Two Jewish families, protected by Israeli police, entered the building, home to nine Palestinian families, with documents claiming that they owned the property. Israeli National Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said police were examining the documents “to determine whether they are accurate or not." » Read more

For biased critics of Israel, even its defensive actions violate human rights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Jeffrey Robbins - (Opinion) July 30, 2010 - 12:00am In 1947, when excusing Soviet totalitarianism had become quite the rage in fashionable progressive circles, George Orwell eviscerated a British politician who consistently defended totalitarians but nevertheless denied that he was a defender of totalitarianism. “But of course he does,” Orwell wrote. “What else could he say? A pickpocket does not go to the races with a label ‘pickpocket’ on his coat lapel, and a propagandist does not describe himself as a propagandist.” » Read more

Breakthrough? Abbas gets Arab backing to enter Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - July 30, 2010 - 12:00am Setting the stage for the Palestinians to negotiate directly with Israel, the Arab League agreed in principle today to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas holding face-to-face peace talks with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The decision of the Arab League's forum on Israeli-Palestinian talks is significant because it provides political cover for Mr. Abbas, who has been locked in a battle for legitimacy with Islamists from Hamas who oppose negotiations with Israel. » Read more

From lynch to escort - cooperating with the PA is bearing fruit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Blog) July 30, 2010 - 12:00am Two reservists en route to their Israel Defense Forces base in the West Bank make a wrong turn and find themselves in the heart of a Palestinian city. They run into Palestinian policemen, who demand that they turn themselves in. » Read more

West Bank leader eyes ‘home stretch to freedom’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - July 30, 2010 - 12:00am Over the road from the offices of the Palestinian prime minister, a new commercial tower is taking shape – one of countless projects that have sprung up across Ramallah. The building site provides a noisy reminder of the economic boom under way in parts of the occupied West Bank, which registered growth of 8.5 per cent last year. Moreover, the upswing is taking place against a backdrop of relative stability and security. Yet the man most commonly associated with the West Bank’s transformation is far from content. » Read more

July 29th

Police, settlers take over Jerusalem home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli settlers accompanied by police took over a building in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem early Thursday morning, evicting families from three of the building's apartments. Israeli National Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said two Jewish families entered the Old City home "based on documents claiming that they owned the property." He described the eviction as proceeding without incident. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: One man’s terrorist ... ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am One evening about 20 years ago, someone with a “Middle Eastern accent” called the Knesset and said a bomb was set to go off. I was working at The Jerusalem Post that night, and I can’t remember how much advance time the caller gave, but security guards went all around the Knesset and informed everyone, and some people left, but many stayed. It turned out there was no bomb. » Read more

Israel speeds up West Bank barrier construction following court injunction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am The Defense Ministry picked up the pace of work on the separation fence near the Palestinian village of Walajeh, south of Jerusalem this week, village residents and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel say. The residents had petitioned the High Court of Justice, asking it to order the state to find an alternative route for the fence. The current route would surround the village on three sides and separate it from large tracts of its land. » Read more

Pandering is no substitute for leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am With less than 100 days until the congressional elections, Republican dreams of taking control of both the House and Senate are giving nightmares not only to Democrats but also to those who want to see the Israelis and Palestinians make peace. As the GOP tries to out-Israel the Democrats by taking an increasingly hard line, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida lawmaker who could become the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) if Republicans win in November, is leading the charge by essentially proposing shutting down the peace process. » Read more

'Israeli Arabs have no choice but to build illegally' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Fadi Eyadat - July 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's Arabs are forced to build illegal housing due to the government's refusal to recognize many of their communities as official towns or to grant them permits for legal construction, according to a study released by the Dirasat - Arab Center for Law and Policy. The dozens of structures Israel razed earlier this week in the Bedouin town of Arkaib are among the 45,000 illegal constructions in unrecognized villages in the Negev. According to Knesset figures, some 1,500 structures like these are built annually in unrecognized villages. » Read more