August 30th

Statement on Palestinian Refugees in Syria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya August 30, 2011 - 12:00am An amateur video uploaded on a social platform shows members of the Movement of the Free Palestinian Refugees in Syria. The person on camera statement is the following: First statement of the Movement of the Free Palestinian Refugees in Syria: The Palestinian people were born free, lived free and will remain free and no one will be allowed to harm their dignity. They refuse to live under subjugation and injustice and no one will be allowed to trade in the Palestinian cause at the expense of Palestinian blood and dignity. » Read more

Someone wants a war in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald by Frida Ghitis - (Analysis) August 30, 2011 - 12:00am Something extremely important and exceedingly dangerous is unfolding in a most explosive part of the globe, but it is receiving only minimal attention by the media and by world leaders. An outbreak of violence in Southern Israel, Gaza, and along the Egyptian border, triggered by a recent attack against Israelis civilians, could easily escalate into much more serious fighting. » Read more

Talking Peace Is Only Language He Understands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - (Analysis) August 30, 2011 - 12:00am When a series of terrorist attacks killed eight Israelis in and around the southern Israeli city of Eilat, Gershon Baskin knew immediately that the deaths had the potential to escalate into a full-blown conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza. And he saw himself as one of the few individuals who could do something to stop it. You Say You Want Mediation: Peace activist Gershon Baskin is stepping down as head of the joint Israeli-Palestinian think tank he helped found. He has no plans to stop mediating disputes between the two sides. » Read more

House Republicans Seek to Force UN Changes by Using U.S. Funding Leverage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Nicole Gaouette - August 30, 2011 - 12:00am House Republicans are planning to introduce today legislation that seeks to force major changes at the United Nations, using as leverage the U.S.’s 22 percent contribution to the world body’s operating budget. » Read more

Encountering Peace: I call it national suicide ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 30, 2011 - 12:00am It took the Palestinian national movement and its representative organization the PLO (formed in 1964) 24 years to formally accept the existence of Israel and the two-state solution. Twenty-three years later, we are approaching the time when the Palestinian national movement and the PLO will abandon the idea of creating a Palestinian state next to Israel in favor of demanding full political rights within Israel. » Read more

War and peace: Egyptians consider post-uprising relations with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm by Ali Abdel Mohsen - August 30, 2011 - 12:00am Mohamed Abdel Razek Ali has been standing outside the Israeli Embassy for the past week. His clothes are torn, his hands are filthy, and he holds a couple of signs, too detailed and busy to make immediate sense to any passers-by. The message he is trying to get across, however, is all too clear: “Down with Field Marshal Tantawi!” Abdel Razek Ali demands as he takes his one-man protest off the sidewalk and into traffic. » Read more

Vilnai: 10-man terror cell planning attack from Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - August 30, 2011 - 12:00am A cell of more than 10 terrorists is currently in the Sinai with plans to carry out an attack against Israel along its border with Egypt, Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vinai said on Tuesday. “Islamic Jihad is trying for a long time to perpetrate the attacks from the Sinai and the of Id al-Fitr is a good time for attacks,” Vilnai said during a visit to an Elbit Systems factory in Sderot in reference to the Muslim holiday which begins on Tuesday. “The defense establishment has concrete intelligence regarding plans by a terror cell from the Sinai consisting of more than 10 people.” » Read more

Gaza NGOs express 'horror' at new Hamas travel restrictions on Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - August 30, 2011 - 12:00am The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip recently imposed new travel restrictions on Palestinians active in non-governmental organizations in what the Palestinian NGO Network regards as another Hamas attempt to control and hamper them. What do you think about this article? Visit Haaretz.com on Facebook and share your views. » Read more

Love thy neighboring enemy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) August 29, 2011 - 12:00am Last week’s coordinated terror attacks in the South were a tragedy, and my condolences go out to the bereaved families of the victims. Continued violence is not the answer to this conflict, and targeting civilians is a war crime – for good reason – regardless of who commits it or why. While Israel’s grief and anger are understandable, its predictable decision to respond to terror with military attacks is not, especially since, in this decades-old conflict, every ugly action is seen as a justified reaction to a perceived uglier precedent. » Read more

Netanyahu examining possible future borders of a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 30, 2011 - 12:00am Colonel Danny Terza, who outlined the map for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank for former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has spent the past few months advising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the possible future borders of a Palestinian state. The talks between Netanyahu and Terza represent the first time that the prime minister has dedicated official groundwork to the subject of future borders. » Read more