Five killed in Lebanese-Israeli border clash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli and Lebanese troops fought a rare cross-border skirmish on Tuesday that killed four Lebanese and an Israeli officer in the most serious violence along the frontier since a 2006 war. The Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah group, which battled Israel in the war four years ago, took no part in the exchange of fire. There was no sign of any extensive Israeli preparations for a large-scale operation -- an early indication the clash might not trigger a wider conflict. » Read more

New Gaza leisure projects focus on fun not hardship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 2, 2010 - 12:00am New leisure projects and restaurants have been springing up in the Gaza Strip, some partially funded by Hamas Islamists ruling a territory long seen as a symbol of Palestinian hardship. The construction boom in recreational facilities has prompted some Palestinians in the enclave to complain that Hamas should have channelled such investment into rebuilding homes and infrastructure destroyed in conflict with Israel. Some 800 visitors a day flock to Al-Bustan, a resort built by a Hamas-linked charity, to enjoy its swimming pools, restaurants and cafes. » Read more

U.S. group launches campaign against West Bank settlement construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - August 2, 2010 - 12:00am Americans for Peace Now, a sister group to the dovish Israeli group Peace Now, has announced the launching a unique campaign on Monday, meant to sway public opinion against containing settlement construction. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the construction freeze West Bank settlements, due to expire on September 26, in last November, after months of pressure from the Obama administration, and following a Palestinian refusal to begin talks without one. » Read more

Pro-Palestinian activists welcome, but leave the tank tops at home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Tsafi Saar - August 3, 2010 - 12:00am Tank tops, it turns out, can be the focus of a raging debate, both feminist and nationalist. The setting: an impressive protest that takes place every Friday in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Palestinians and Jews demonstrate together against the eviction of Palestinian families and attempts to evict even more residents from the site where they have lived for generations, in order to replace them with Israeli settlers. » Read more

Economy minister: Growth contingent on donor whims ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 3, 2010 - 12:00am The development of the Palestinian economy is dependent on donor countries, and its growth follows the political whims of the region, Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libda told Ma'an. "The money received from donor countries is the oxygen for Palestinian economy. However, this money is contingent on the political process, so it in effect acts as a sword hanging over our heads," Abu Libda explained during an interview on Ma'an Radio Sunday. » Read more

Israeli forces fire on Gaza workers, injuring 1 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 3, 2010 - 12:00am A young Gaza man was injured by Israeli fire east of Beit Hanoun on Tuesday, reportedly while he was gathering cement aggregates from the border area. Medical services coordinator for the de facto government Adham Abu Salmiyeh identified the man as 22-year-old Bilal Ibrahim Obeid, saying he was hit in the shoulder and was moderately injured. Witnesses said Obeid was standing with a group of men collecting small particles of cement for use in construction and sale to the cement recycling plant in Gaza City. Israeli military officials were not immediately available for comment. » Read more

Price for a potential Israeli strike on Iran? A Palestinian state. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Robert Dujarric, Andy Zelleke - August 3, 2010 - 12:00am Against the backdrop of new sanctions on Iran and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upbeat Oval Office visit in July, neither Washington nor Jerusalem can be eager to add another war to the long list of hot and warm conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Korea, and Gaza. But with the American intelligence community judging Iran to be on track to have nuclear weapons within two years, a clash with Tehran may soon be deemed unavoidable – in Jerusalem, if not in Washington. » Read more

Israel allows 250 trucks into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - August 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel facilitated the transfer of 250 trucks with supplies to the Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time since the government eased up restrictions on the amount and type of merchandise allowed into the Hamas-controlled territory. In late June, Israel announced that it would ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip after it came under pressure following the naval raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The trucks made their way into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing. » Read more

The audacity of not losing hope ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 3, 2010 - 12:00am Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are likely to resume in the near future. Both sides will reluctantly pay a price to enter the room even though neither side is too anxious to actually be there. » Read more

Israel makes no obligations to U.S. for start of direct talks with Palestinians: PM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 2, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet members that he made no obligations to the United States in his recent meeting with President Barack Obama for possible direct talks with the Palestinians, sources told Xinhua on Monday. Addressing his cabinet ministers at a weekly session on Sunday, he estimated that direct talks with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) could begin within two weeks. » Read more