August 12th

Palestinians receive U.S. approval of proposal of reference for direct talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Osama Radi - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am A senior official revealed on Wednesday that the Palestinian leadership received a preliminary approval from the United States over a proposal that the Quartet committee for peace in the Middle East issue a statement defining a reference for direct peace talks with Israel. Hana Amira, member of Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua that U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell informed President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that the U.S. has accepted in principle the proposal that the Quartet Committee issues the statement. » Read more

Netanyahu, the anti-Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by George F. Will - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am Two photographs adorn the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Together they illuminate a portentous fact: No two leaders of democracies are less alike -- in life experiences, temperaments and political philosophies -- than Netanyahu, the former commando and fierce nationalist, and Barack Obama, the former professor and post-nationalist. » Read more

What If the Palestine Issue was Resolved? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Mshari Al-Zaydi - (Opinion) August 12, 2010 - 12:00am Away from the channels of indirect and direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, whether this is above or below the table; the "eternal" Palestinian Cause has remained central to Arab politics since 1948, the year of the Israeli declaration of independence – or perhaps a little before this [date] – until today. » Read more

Lebanon debates giving Palestinians rights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Zeina Karam - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am Mohammed al-Amin spends his days doing little more than playing billiards and smoking cigarettes in this sprawling Palestinian refugee camp, where gunmen roam narrow alleyways dotted with tin-roofed, cement-block homes. The 25-year-old studied dental lab technology but works at a small, grubby coffee shop in the camp, making $100 a month. He dreams of working with a respected doctor in Lebanese society and being welcomed like any other foreigner, without being looked down on. » Read more

http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/lebanon-debates-giving-palestinians-rights-855172.html ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Zeina Karam - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am Mohammed al-Amin spends his days doing little more than playing billiards and smoking cigarettes in this sprawling Palestinian refugee camp, where gunmen roam narrow alleyways dotted with tin-roofed, cement-block homes. The 25-year-old studied dental lab technology but works at a small, grubby coffee shop in the camp, making $100 a month. He dreams of working with a respected doctor in Lebanese society and being welcomed like any other foreigner, without being looked down on. » Read more

Abbas, Mubarak, Abdullah to meet in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 12, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will sit for a tripartite meeting in Cairo on Thursday, an aide to Abbas said. In a Wednesday statement published on the governmental news agency WAFA, Abbas’ political adviser Nimer Hammad said officials would discuss the US call to start direct negotiations. Earlier in the day, Abbas met with Mubarak in a one-on-one meeting in Cairo. » Read more

Program joins Palestinians and Israelis as interns in the District ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am A sweltering June day at Reagan National Airport. Mariam Ashour walks to the parking lot, "freaking out in my mind," looking for someone she has never met. Noam Rabinovich sits in a car, trying to identify Ashour, with whom she has exchanged only a few messages on Facebook. As they approach each other, something strange happens, something neither can fully explain. They hug. "I don't want to over-dramatize the moment, but time stopped for a second," Ashour said later. "To me it was, like, 'Wow.' I was very happy." » Read more

Abbas Between the Plague and Cholera ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) August 12, 2010 - 12:00am Will the sixth tour of American Envoy George Mitchell between Ramallah and occupied Jerusalem since last May - which marked the launching of the indirect talks between Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government - be the last tour that will make Abu Mazen head toward direct negotiations? » Read more

August 11th

Israel wasn't ready for flotilla resistance -general ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ari Rabinovitch - August 11, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Israeli troops were not ready for the violent resistance they met when they boarded a Gaza-bound aid ship and ended up killing nine pro-Palestinian activists, the country's top military officer said on Wednesday. Speaking to an inquiry, Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff General Gabi Ashkenazi gave the most detailed explanation so far of what went wrong with the military plan in the May 31 raid, which sparked a world outcry. » Read more

Bulldozer injures sheikh at Jerusalem cemetery ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 11, 2010 - 12:00am Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikha was injured Tuesday when an Israeli bulldozer struck him while when he attempted to block a construction crew from bulldozing a section of a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Abu Sheikha suffered moderate injuries but refused to leave the Mamilla (Ma'man Allah) cemetery, Ma'an's correspondent said. An Israeli police spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Israeli bulldozers entered the cemetery Monday night and began taking down headstones from Muslim graves, the Jerusalem-based Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said. » Read more