June 8th

The Palestinians: The single currency for crises ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq al-Homayed - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am Lately, many people came out to say "no to Palestinians being exploited in the crises of some Arab regimes." This was after demonstrations broke out at the Yarmouk Palestinian Refugee Camp in Syria in protest at the Syrian regime sending Palestinian youth to the occupied Golan Heights, which led to them being killed at the hands of the Israeli army. » Read more

The Palestinians’ trick answer to Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jackson Diehl - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am The chief Palestinian negotiator with Israel staked out a new position Tuesday in Washington: “We want to resume negotiations,” said Saeb Erekat, on the basis of President Obama’s recent Middle East address. » Read more

In India and Israel, the burden of protest falls on the victims of injustice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Pankaj Mishra - (Opinion) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am At a dark moment in postcolonial history, when many US-backed despots seemed indestructible, the great Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, whose centenary falls this year, wrote: "We shall witness [the day] when the enormous mountains of tyranny blow away like cotton". That miraculous day promised by the poet finally came in Egypt and Tunisia this spring. We have since witnessed many of the world's acknowledged legislators scrambling to get on the right side of history. » Read more

Violence at Palestinian camp funerals in Syria leaves 20 dead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Roula Hajjar - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am Funerals in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near the Syrian capital of Damascus turned violent late Monday as clashes erupted between camp residents and a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction, leading to the deaths of as many as 20 people, according to Palestinian sources and amateur video posted on the Internet. » Read more

Readiness and blindness in the Golan Heights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am The IDF proved this week that it does a good job preparing for the previous war. It may only be an isolated incident, whose character was more civilian police-oriented than military, but anyone who found flaws in the intelligence and military systems on Nakba Day (May 15 ) must admit the lessons were learned, the forces were deployed and the mission was accomplished. On Sunday, Naksa Day, the Israel Defense Forces succeeded in blocking hundreds of demonstrators who, surrounded by cameras, stormed the border fences in the Golan Heights, carrying flags, posters and loudspeakers. » Read more

The end of the media's Israel fixation? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Carmel Gould - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am The Arab spring has had a remarkable effect on the media's appetite for Middle East news which doesn't revolve around Israel. Over the first three months of this year, correspondents usually engaged full time in counting Israeli bricks going down in the West Bank were dispatched to Tahrir Square and Tripoli, because something even bigger was happening. » Read more

Pro-Syrian Palestinian group kills 11 refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Khaled Yacoub Oweis - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am AMMAN (Reuters) – Gunmen from a Palestinian faction loyal to Syria shot dead at least 11 Palestinians at a refugee camp near Damascus Monday in a dispute over the group's backing for Damascus, Palestinian sources said Tuesday. Hundreds of angry refugees had tried to storm the headquarters of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in Yarmouk camp on the edges of Damascus. They accused the group of sacrificing Palestinian lives by encouraging protesters to demonstrate at the Golan Heights, where several were shot by Israeli forces. » Read more

June 7th

Weakening the chances for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ephraim Sneh - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am Applying the term "blockade" to the Gaza Strip involves not a little hypocrisy. It ignores both the nature of the regime there and what that regime has done in Gaza in its four years in power. » Read more

A radicalizing factor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am The recent developments in Egypt that led to changes in the Egyptian regime, together with the reconciliation of Fateh and Hamas, have once again brought to the surface the Israeli blockade of Gaza and possible ways of lifting it. The most recent illustration of this was Egypt's decision to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza to travelers, which seemed to be an incentive for Gaza's rulers, Hamas, to proceed with the reconciliation pact. » Read more

Israel bears responsibility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Issam Younis - (Blog) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am Since 1967, Israel has controlled the movement of individuals and goods in the Gaza Strip through force, military orders, and executive measures and policies. This "over-control" has only served the interests of Israel, connecting the Israeli economy to the Gaza Strip through its six crossings. » Read more