July 26th

As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am Hila Abdul Wahad, a new graduate in commercial accounting from the Islamic University, was enthusiastic as she window-shopped her way round the eight new stores on the second floor of the shopping mall. "It's great that this is happening in the situation we're in," she said. "We should be proud. It feels that we are outside of Gaza, it's like ... [she paused briefly] ... being in Egypt." » Read more

IDF: Curb 'price tag' violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Israel News by Aviel Magnezi - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian fields in the Har Bracha area were torched on Monday as part of the settlers' "price tag" reprisals against the demolition of illegal structures in the settlement of Yitzhar earlier Monday. Palestinian fire trucks were deployed to the blazing fields and a heavy cloud of smoke hovered over the region. Meanwhile, two more settlers were arrested after clashing with police officers in Givat Natan near Bracha forest. » Read more

As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am Hila Abdul Wahad, a new graduate in commercial accounting from the Islamic University, was enthusiastic as she window-shopped her way round the eight new stores on the second floor of the shopping mall. "It's great that this is happening in the situation we're in," she said. "We should be proud. It feels that we are outside of Gaza, it's like ... [she paused briefly] ... being in Egypt." » Read more

Pennsylvania Senate Race Turns Into Battlefield for Dueling Pro-Israel Groups ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Josh Nathan-Kazis - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am Two self-described pro-Israel groups are trading barbs and pointed advertisements in a dispute over the record of Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania. The dueling advertisements, sponsored by the left-wing group J Street and a new right-wing group called the Emergency Committee for Israel, present diverging views of Sestak’s positions on Israel. Meanwhile, the two groups are targeting each other in a secondary dispute over which organization best represents the interests of Israel. » Read more

Top settler rabbi arrested for allegedly inciting to kill non-Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am The head rabbi of a prominent yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar was arrested Monday for writing a book that allegedly encourages the killing of non-Jews. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira is the alleged author of the book "The King's Torah," which deems as legal, according to "Jewish law," the killing of non-Jews. Police began investigating Shapira after an advertisement for the book in a Hebrew newspaper created a public uproar. Deputy Attorney General Shai Nitzan encouraged the investigation as he believed the book contained an incitement to violence. » Read more

Palestinian official hints at accepting direct talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 25, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian official on Sunday hinted at accepting U.S. demands to start direct peace talks with Israel. "We don't rule out any possibility or form of negotiations," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). However, Abed Rabbo stressed that Washington should present guarantees that the direct discussions would lead to an agreement. "These negotiations should not be taking place in vicious circle." Israel and the Palestinians started four-month indirect negotiations in May. » Read more

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, do you still have hope after the IDF killed your daughters and niece in Gaza? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Limor Shmuel Friedman - (Interview) July 26, 2010 - 12:00am TORONTO - Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish speaks frankly to Israelis and Palestinians, in synagogues, mosques and cultural centers, in this city, where he now resides. On January 16, 2009 three of his daughters, Bessan (20 ), Mayar (15 ) and Aya (13 ), and his niece, Noor (17 ) were killed by an Israel Defense Forces shell fired directly into their bedroom. When Operation Cast Lead in Gaza started, he stopped traveling to his job at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, where he worked in in vitro fertilization. » Read more

PNA to punish dealers importing Jewish settlement products ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 25, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday said merchants importing and selling products of Jewish settlements in the West Bank would be punished from the beginning of August. The dealers who bring the settlement products "would have to pay big amounts of fine or might be imprisoned," Hassan Abu Libda, Palestinian minister of economy, told reporters. Abu Libda added that his ministry would inspect the markets next month and search all stores "and would transfer anybody dealing with the settlements' products to justice." » Read more

PNA to punish dealers importing Jewish settlement products ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 25, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday said merchants importing and selling products of Jewish settlements in the West Bank would be punished from the beginning of August. The dealers who bring the settlement products "would have to pay big amounts of fine or might be imprisoned," Hassan Abu Libda, Palestinian minister of economy, told reporters. Abu Libda added that his ministry would inspect the markets next month and search all stores "and would transfer anybody dealing with the settlements' products to justice." » Read more

Six injured in clashes between Palestinians, settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 26, 2010 - 12:00am Four Jewish settlers and two Palestinians were injured during clashes between the two sides near a settlement to the south of Nablus city in the West Bank on Monday, witnesses said. The settlers went to the street to express anger after Israeli police demolished a house and a barn that were built in an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Burin, saying the demolishment violated an Israeli government freeze on settlement expansion in the West Bank, Israel Radio reported. » Read more