August 4th

Egypt: Palestinian factions behind rocket launch on Aqaba, Eilat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 4, 2010 - 12:00am Egypt accused on Wednesday the Palestinian factions in Gaza, of firing the rockets which hit Aqaba and Eilat, killing a Jordanian. "Palestinian factions from the Gaza Strip were behind the launch of five rockets on Aqaba and Eilat on Monday," state-run MENA news agency quoted an official Egyptian source as saying. Preliminary investigations carried out by Egyptian security authorities showed that Palestinian factions from the Gaza Strip stood behind the operation, the source said Wednesday. » Read more

Israeli police raze rebuilt Bedouin village ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 4, 2010 - 12:00am Hundreds of Israeli police stormed an unrecognized Bedouin village Wednesday, less than one week after it was razed to make way for Jewish National Fund forest, witnesses said. Residents, who remained in the Negev-area village to rebuild, said clashes erupted with police, sent to clear the Bedouin who had not left the area. The dwellings were rebuilt following a decision by the Higher Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, the online news site Arab48 reported. The decision was made following the demolition of the buildings on 27 July. » Read more

Medics: Airstrike kills 1 in south Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 4, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian operative in the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, medical officials said. Sharif Abdel Hadi Abbey, 22, died and two others were lightly to moderately injured by the strike on Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical and security sources said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army had no immediate comment. » Read more

Israel-Lebanon clash: Could it spark another war? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Nicholas Blanford - August 4, 2010 - 12:00am Lebanon's volatile border witnessed the most serious bout of violence in four years Tuesday when clashes between Lebanese and Israeli soldiers left at least four people dead. While tensions have been running high between Lebanon and Israel amid feverish speculation of another war between Israel and Lebanon's militant Shiite Hezbollah, analysts and security sources say that the cross-border clash is probably an isolated incident. » Read more

U.N. says Israel did not violate border in clash with Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - August 4, 2010 - 12:00am A deadly exchange of fire between Israeli and Lebanese forces Tuesday shattered a tenuous calm that has persisted along the border since Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah waged a month-long war four years ago that killed hundreds and displaced thousands. In the most serious border confrontation since then, two Lebanese soldiers and one Lebanese journalist were killed. A 45-year old Israeli lieutenant colonel was also killed, and an Israeli platoon commander was critically wounded. » Read more

517,774 Jewish settlers live in West Bank: report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 4, 2010 - 12:00am Around 517,774 Jewish settlers live in settlements in the West Bank, according to a report published Tuesday by Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). According to the report, settlements in the West Bank were distributed into four strips, namely the eastern strip including 28 settlements, mountain strip including 31 settlements, western hills strip including 48 settlements and the greater Jerusalem strip including 37 settlements. » Read more

The lie behind the right wing's truth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) August 4, 2010 - 12:00am Some people are surprised at recent expressions of support on the right for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, through what appears to be a readiness to grant Israeli citizenship to Palestinians living in territories that would be annexed. I'm surprised they're surprised, because that has been the right wing's position since 1967. It's just that it hasn't been easy to openly advocate an explicitly annexationist stance. » Read more

The Implications of the Fayyad-Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from ISN Security Watch by Andrin Hauri - August 4, 2010 - 12:00am With the security situation in the West Bank improving, Benjamin Netanyahu promoted the idea of an “economic peace” with the Palestinians during the last Israeli parliamentary election in 2008 and again in his foreign policy speech to the nation in June 2009, arguing that economics, not politics, is the key to peace. Underlying this talk is the logic that “economic peace will support and bolster the achievement of political settlements down the line.” » Read more

August 3rd

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