Once fertile valley dries up as Jerichoans face drought and demolition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Irish Times by Michael Jansen - July 19, 2011 - 12:00am THE PALM trees of Jericho stand tall on the broad brown floor of the Jordan valley, their thick green fronds fluttering in the stiff breeze. » Read more

Michele Bachmann’s Hazardous Love for Israel: Jeffrey Goldberg ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman and Republican candidate for president, is making a muscular showing in the polls. She is telegenic. She is clever. Some of her Republican opponents worry she may be unstoppable. But never fear, oh Republican opponents of Michele Bachmann: I’ve devised a fail-safe way to bring her to a state of cognitive paralysis. This method will require some travel on her part. Bachmann’s destination: the Tel Aviv gay-pride parade. » Read more

The Long Overdue State of Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Hussein Ibish and Saliba Sarsar - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am With the independence of the new Republic of South Sudan, the world is again reminded that states are created on the basis of local, regional and international necessity. At least two decades of international action, as well as a long, bitter and bloody conflict produced the independence of the south, a state that has been already welcomed by the international community, the African Union, the United Nations, and has been invited to join the Arab League. » Read more

Israeli minister says Palestinians losing UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - July 18, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — International support for a planned Palestinian declaration of independence at the U.N. in September is waning, in large part because of intense Israeli lobbying against the initiative, a senior Israeli diplomat claimed Monday. » Read more

Israel’s anti-democratic impulses grow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am A recently-passed anti-boycott law in Israel allows anyone advocating a boycott of the country or “areas under its control”—in other words the settlements—to be sued by private citizens and denied government benefits and contracts. This egregious attack on freedom of speech and conscience is a symptom of several deep-seated problems that are having a profoundly negative effect on Israel’s international standing and on prospects for peace with the Palestinians. » Read more

Dr Musa A Keilani: Decision in the doldrums ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am The international Quartet has proved itself to be ineffective in its mandate to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Quartet, made up of the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia, could not get out of its own trap when the group met in Washington this month. » Read more

Ministry: Syria recognizes Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Agence France Press (AFP) - July 19, 2011 - 12:00am The Syrian foreign ministry said Monday that Damascus recognizes a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital within the borders in effect prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. "Syria recognizes a Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 borders and east Jerusalem as its capital, and on the basis of the preservation of Palestinian legitimate rights," a statement said. Syria "will treat the Damascus office of the PLO as an embassy upon the publication of this statement," the ministry added. » Read more

Asharq Al-Awsat talks to Just Journalism director Michael Weiss ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Mohammed Al Shafey - (Interview) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am London, Asharq al-Awsat- Michael Weiss is an American journalist, and contributing editor of Tablet magazine. Having received a BA in History from Dartmouth College in 2002, Weiss has gone on to write extensively on the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israel-Palestine conflict and human rights issues. His work has been featured in many prestigious publications in both the United States and Britain, including The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, where he currently contributes a regular blog on Middle Eastern issues. » Read more

Israel plans hundreds more Jewish settler homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet July 18, 2011 - 12:00am Israel announced plans on Monday to build another 294 homes in two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and the Palestinians said the move hardened their resolve to seek statehood recognition from the United Nations. Israel's Housing Ministry linked the new construction to a nationwide plan to lower housing prices, which have skyrocketed in recent years, and appease protesters demanding affordable living space. » Read more

Abbas to bypass US opposition to UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 19, 2011 - 12:00am OSLO, Norway (AFP) -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said he was ready to circumvent opposition from the United States to a bid for statehood by taking the proposal to the United Nations' General Assembly. The plan to seek UN membership for a state on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War is opposed by among others Israel and the United States. It risks being blocked by a US veto at the UN Security Council. » Read more