Why Israeli Settlers Shot an Unarmed Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Robert Wright - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am When West Bank settlers shoot at unarmed Palestinians while Israeli soldiers look on without intervening, that's a story--especially when one of the Palestinians suffers a head wound. » Read more

Israel in Peril ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books by David Shulman - (Book Review) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am On April 15 of this year I was returning to Israel on an Alitalia flight from Rome. About forty minutes before landing in Tel Aviv, the captain informed us that Israel had announced extraordinary security measures, constricting its air space in response to an unusual threat, and that from that moment on—we were still high above the Mediterranean—until we would be allowed to leave the terminal, all photography was strictly forbidden; beyond that, we were to follow the instructions of Israeli security personnel on the ground. » Read more

Status Update ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Jonathan Schanzer - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am A war is brewing on Capitol Hill. And while wars tend to create refugees, this one may result in fewer of them. » Read more

Palestine Good Enough ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Kathleen Peratis - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am Two-State-Solution activists have not given up on their faith-based belief that Obama will do in a second term what he has not done in his first: insert America aggressively, relentlessly and successfully into the (so-called) peace process and not allow Israeli and the Palestinians negotiators to leave the room without a full and final peace agreement.  They have not entirely given up hope that Obama may yet do so in what remains of his first term. » Read more

When Peace Seems Impossible: A Response to Hussein Ibish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Michael Kagan - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am It is often said that in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the two-state solution is the only game in town. And yet, despite the official commitment of the Israelis, the Palestinians, and nearly the entire international community, a two-state solution has failed to bear fruit. » Read more

Peace directive in the hands of leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am I challenge the leaders, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas – how long would it take to make real peace if making real peace was your primary governmental directive? If you said to yourselves: I will make peace with the other side – there is nothing more important for me to do in my position as leader of my people – how could your personal decision affect real change and make the difference in leading us to peace? » Read more

ATFP Expresses Alarm at Footage Showing Settlers Shooting at Palestinians in the Presence of Israeli Soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from ATFP (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 22 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed deep alarm about a video released by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem that shows a group of armed settlers opening fire on Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank. Settlers, some of them masked and armed, reportedly entered the village of Asira al-Qibliya, near Nablus, on Saturday and began a confrontation by throwing rocks at the villagers. The Palestinians responded by throwing stones back at the settlers. » Read more

Freed Palestinians find Gaza exile a challenge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Sakher Abu El Oun - May 22, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — "Gaza is a big prison, but some prisons are better than others," admits Nihad Abu Kishk, a former detainee from the West Bank who was exiled by Israel to the Gaza Strip. "I feel uprooted and it is difficult to adapt," says the 34-year-old who was sentenced to life in an Israeli prison but freed and sent to Gaza under terms of a prisoner swap deal with Israel late last year. » Read more

Palestinian Paralympians visit Jerusalem holy site ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - May 21, 2012 - 12:00am In al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, Moussa Qadoom sank to the floor and wept into the gold and red carpet. As swallows swooped between the white marble columns of the vast edifice, the athletics coach from Gaza City surrendered to the emotion of the moment. "I'm 31 years old, and I have only ever seen this place in newspapers and on television," he said a few minutes later. "I never imagined in my whole life that I would come and pray in al-Aqsa." » Read more

Talk on possible EU boycott of Israeli settlements stirs controversy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya May 20, 2012 - 12:00am Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore’s recent statements that he may push for an EU wide boycott of products from Israeli settlements if Israel does not quickly change its settlements policy in Palestinian territories has stirred controversy. Gilmore, whose country will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union in January 2013, also said his government may seek to have certain extremist Israeli settlers banned from the EU if they do not stop their violence in settlement areas, according to a report by the Irish Times. » Read more