June 28th

Faulty strategic calculations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Blog) June 27, 2011 - 12:00am If I were Gilad Shalit's father, I would do everything he is doing, and more if possible, to persuade the Netanyahu government to meet Hamas' demands for a prisoner exchange and obtain Gilad's release. If I were Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, I would refuse the deal for fear of the consequences of releasing so many truly vile terrorists back into society. » Read more

Let the suffering end ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) June 27, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians, especially prisoners' families, are following with a great deal of interest (and sometimes jealousy) the relatively successful public relations and media campaign by family and friends to obtain the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. When hearing the sincere expressions and words of his family, especially his father and mother, many Palestinians can easily identify with them. They wonder, though, whether his mother understands that in the same instant, thousands of Palestinian mothers are having the same feelings. » Read more

Nonviolence, a Palestinian path to liberation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) June 28, 2011 - 12:00am At the end of last week in the West Bank village of Bilin, an important principle was decisively demonstrated: Palestinian nonviolence can achieve real results in resisting the Israeli occupation. After almost a decade, Bilin protests against Israel’s gruesome West Bank separation barrier has finally produced a substantial rerouting of the wall, giving villagers access to a significant portion of their confiscated land. The greater part remains seized or inaccessible, and protesters vow that their struggle is far from over. » Read more

U.S. Funding Rigorous Study of Palestinian and Israeli Textbook Incitement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward by Naomi Zeveloff - June 27, 2011 - 12:00am In an effort to settle one of the longest-running disputes in the Middle East peace process, American, Israeli and Palestinian researchers are conducting what purports to be the first scientific study of incitement in Palestinian and Israeli textbooks. » Read more

Palestinian Inmates Put Down Their Textbooks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - June 27, 2011 - 12:00am Weeks before Israeli Prime Minster Binyamin Netanyahu declared he was putting an end to college-level studies by Palestinian prisoners, the inmates had already stopped making notations in textbooks on Islamic history and studying for final examinations in international relations. But both the students and their teachers are angry and perplexed by the decisions. » Read more

Gaza flotilla organizer: We have no intention of attacking IDF soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Barak Ravid - June 28, 2011 - 12:00am The organizer of the Gaza-bound flotilla dismissed Tuesday Israeli allegations that extremists aboard the ships plan to harm Israeli soldiers who would be dispatched to stop them. Dror Feiler says the hundreds of people planning to sail soon in a bid to break Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory have signed a declaration of nonviolence. Feiler told Army Radio on Tuesday that if Israel has information about specific suspects, it should pass it along to flotilla's organizers. » Read more

Israel preparing for September West Bank violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mark Lavie - June 27, 2011 - 12:00am Israel's military is making intensive preparations for an outbreak violence in the West Bank over a U.N. vote in September on recognizing a Palestinian state, Israeli military officials said Monday. Palestinians, meanwhile, pushed ahead with their drive. Palestinian officials are fanning out around the world to raise support for their initiative. They hope to change the minds of U.S. leaders, who appear poised to veto a resolution in the U.N. Security Council to admit Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. » Read more

Flotilla activists seek "blood" -Israeli FM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ori Lewis - June 28, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday participants in an aid flotilla planning to challenge an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip were seeking "confrontation and blood". Pro-Palestinian activists have said around a dozen ships carrying aid to Gaza, territory controlled by Hamas Islamists, could depart from European ports in the coming days. A year ago, nine Turkish activists, including a dual U.S.-Turkish national, were killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers who raided a Gaza-bound convoy in the eastern Mediterranean. » Read more

Sha'ath: PA optimistic about UN statehood bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 28, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian leadership is to step up efforts to consolidate a UN statehood bid this September, Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath told local media in Ramallah on Tuesday. Sha'ath, who is also commissioner for external relations in the Fatah movement, said that the Palestinian Authority has decided to set up a committee to manage all matters related to preparations for the September UN bid. » Read more

Hamas' Zahar says Fatah to blame for talks delay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 28, 2011 - 12:00am Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar has reportedly blamed Fatah for the delay in reconciliation talks, confirming reports that talks reached a dead end. "After we signed the agreement, Fatah on the ground worked against it," Al-Zahar told the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustur on Tuesday. He added that Fatah were linking the whole reconciliation process to the position of prime minster, an approach which was damaging unity efforts. » Read more