July 15th

In Nablus, Palestinians play down possibility of September Intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - July 15, 2011 - 12:00am NABLUS - Abu-Imad's restaurant, facing the entrance to the Nasr mosque in the casbah of Nablus, has for years been one of the city's leading restaurants, but it is also a particularly well-known social institution in town. Abu-Imad, who is now 75, remembers how here, from the square between the restaurant and the mosque, demonstrations departed every Friday during the first intifada in the late 1980s. It was also here that members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade met during the second intifada, which began in 2000. » Read more

PLO condemns UNESCO for listing Jerusalem as Israel's capital ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 14, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Thursday condemned listing Jerusalem as Israel's capital on the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Identifying Jerusalem as Israel's unified capital "is a procedure against humanitarian and international legitimacy and the Security Council's resolutions that consider East Jerusalem as an occupied city," said the PLO in a statement. » Read more

Former US official derides Palestinian UN effort ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Matti Friedman - July 15, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A Palestinian attempt to gain U.N. recognition without a peace agreement with Israel means "next to nothing" even if it succeeds, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said Friday. John Bolton, who served as a U.N. envoy for the Bush administration, said the General Assembly is certain to support the current Palestinian effort to win backing for a unilateral declaration of a state in September. But he said it will be meaningless without approval in the Security Council, where it almost certainly faces a U.S. veto. » Read more

UNRWA facing shortages due to Israel blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 15, 2011 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Figures released by UNRWA on Thursday reveal that the organization is facing severe shortages in construction materials needed for ongoing projects in the Gaza Strip. "We been allowed to take in to Gaza a tiny fraction of the construction materials needed," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said. Around 3,291 trucks have been allowed into the Gaza Strip, accounting for under four percent of the overall $660 million UNRWA construction plan to take place over the next three years. » Read more

PLO official: Local elections to take place in October ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 15, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian government in Ramallah is set to approve plans to hold municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in October 2011. PLO executive committee member Ghassan Shaka told Ma'an Thursday that consultations about the elections were held during a recent PLO Committee meeting and October 22 is understood to be the prescribed date for the elections to take place. "We hope that the elections will be held in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in order to translate national reconciliation into real action on the ground," Shaka said. » Read more

Air strikes across Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 15, 2011 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes raided south and central Gaza late Thursday, targeting sites belonging to Hamas, witnesses said. “Four residents were injured, including two children, as a result of the Israeli air strike in an empty plot in An-Naser neighborhood in Gaza city and all were transferred to Ash-Shefa hospital,” Hamas spokesman Adham Abu Selmeiyah from the ministry of health said. Two other residents were injured in an air strike in the south of Gaza and were transferred to the Al-Aqsa hospital, he added. » Read more

Palestinians' gambit for UN recognition wobbles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - July 14, 2011 - 12:00am After 20 years of negotiations with Israel and no lasting peace, Palestinians are pursuing a more unorthodox route: getting the United Nations to recognize Palestine as an independent state – and, ideally, welcome it as a new UN member. Two-thirds of Palestinians support the UN bid, which has lifted their expectations of sovereignty. » Read more

July 14th

Arabs to seek full Palestine upgrade at U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 14, 2011 - 12:00am The Arab League will apply to upgrade the Palestinians to full member status at the United Nations, according to a draft statement from a league meeting in Qatar on Thursday. "It was decided to go to the United Nations to request the recognition of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and to move ahead and request a full membership," said the communique, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Palestine Lost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Rachel Shabi - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am Promises were made, and it looks like they'll be broken. U.S. President Barack Obama said he believed a Palestinian state could be created by September 2011. Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly in September 2010, he laid down a challenge to formulate an agreement that would make it a reality. That same deadline was set by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad for his state-building plan, which was intended to create the institutions for a viable Palestinian state. » Read more

Palestinian leaders weigh U.N. options ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) by Rema Rahman - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am A PLO leader said Palestinians will consider bypassing the U.N. Security Council and going directly to the General Assembly when it requests admission to the United Nations in September. The option, if accepted, would allow the Palestinians to become a non-member state in the United Nations. For full recognition, leaders are also considering acceptance by the Security Council first, which could postpone the process. » Read more