Don't believe the hype ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 24, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli politicians and its media and PR machine have filled the news in the last two weeks with exaggerated and sometimes fabricated news and analysis about practical preparations on the ground for the upcoming Palestinian bid to the United Nations. Israel, which has two major difficulties with the Palestinian plan to ask the UN to discuss the stalled peace process, is having trouble fighting this move politically and diplomatically. Instead, it is resorting to its comparative advantage in public relations to try to reduce growing international support for this move. » Read more

September can still produce something useful ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) August 24, 2011 - 12:00am September 20 is the day the PLO has targeted for submitting to the United Nations its request for state recognition. It is still not clear how that request will be worded and whether it will be submitted first to the Security Council or directly to the General Assembly. But despite this lack of clarity, or perhaps because of it, both Palestinians and Israelis are actively preparing on three fronts for some sort of confrontation. » Read more

The strange crusade: Glenn Beck's Holy Land mission ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) August 24, 2011 - 12:00am He was too right-wing for Fox TV, or at least for the 400 advertisers who told the network earlier this year they no longer wanted their commercials on his now-cancelled talk show. He provoked international outrage by saying the Norwegian youth camp where 68 people were massacred in July bore "disturbing similarities" to the Hitler Youth. He has horrified the staunchly pro-Israel and anti-racist Anti-Defamation League with his "bigoted ignorance" in comparing reform Judaism to "radicalised Islam". » Read more

Aid alone won't help the desperate Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jonathan Glennie - (Opinion) August 24, 2011 - 12:00am There are many good news stories in the world of international development at the moment, with some of the world's poorest countries experiencing the growth that has eluded them for decades. But a report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) on Tuesday makes it quite clear that Palestine is not one of them. » Read more

Yalla Peace: The rarity of ‘common’ sense ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ray Hanania - (Opinion) August 24, 2011 - 12:00am If you are a Palestinian or Israeli driven by common sense, you are an anomaly in the Middle East. That could explain why there is no end in sight to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is not much common sense in the Middle East. People are consumed with fear, suspicion and traditions of vengeance. There is a lot of passion. A lot of anger. And a lot of meaningless, distorted rehashing of the past. I consider myself a reasonable person. You have to be when you are both a journalist and a stand-up comedian. That also means I have a lot of common sense. » Read more

I am a Zionist. And I am a Palestinian nationalist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Mira Sucharov - (Opinion) August 24, 2011 - 12:00am One of the first times I taught my Israeli-Palestinian relations course, a puzzled student approached me at the end of the first class. “I always thought Zionist was a derogatory word,” he whispered. I smiled sympathetically and explained that Zionism simply means the desire for Jews to have a state of their own, as a response to centuries of exile and anti-Semitism persecution. It was a word we’d be using frequently, I added. » Read more

Woman injured as missile hits Rafah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm August 24, 2011 - 12:00am A missile from Gaza that hit Rafah in North Sinai Wednesday has left one woman injured, a source told the state-run news agency MENA. The woman was transferred to a hospital for treatment after the missile landed in Rafah's Nafoura Square. MENA did not give further details about the incident. The missile may have been fired by Hamas in Gaza at southern Israel. Palestinian factions on Monday announced a ceasefire following bloody clashes at the border between Gaza and Israel. But some factions rejected the truce. » Read more

In Battle for Weiner's Seat, Support for Israel Looms Large ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Naomi Zeveloff - August 24, 2011 - 12:00am David Weprin is an Orthodox Jew and a state assemblyman from Queens with a background in finance, a deep family history in state and local politics, outspoken support for Israel and an unobtrusive demeanor. So when Democratic leaders were looking for a candidate who could slide easily into the heavily Jewish district left behind by sexting Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, Weprin seemed like a winning candidate — and an inoffensive one — to clinch the September 13 special election. » Read more

IDF investigation: Egyptians took part in attack near Eilat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ron Ben-Yishai - August 24, 2011 - 12:00am The IDF did everything in its power to prevent Egyptian troops from getting hurt in last Thursday's multiple terror attacks near Eilat, inquiries conducted by both the IDF and the Egyptian army showed. The IDF also found that at least three of the terrorists were Egyptian citizens. Head of the General Staff's Planning Branch Amir Eshel, who traveled to Cairo early this week to present to Egyptian officials the findings of the IDF's initial investigation, even brought photographic evidence to the fact. » Read more

Israel bolsters Egypt border defenses over new terror warnings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer - August 24, 2011 - 12:00am Chief of Staff Benny Gantz ordered on Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces increase defensive measures along Israel's border with Egypt due to intelligence that terrorist groups are planning attacks similar to the ones last Thursday in which eight Israelis were killed. The new measures include putting in place additional means of electronic and visual intelligence gathering as well bolstering the Navy Command Center in the southern city of Eilat. » Read more