Britain gives $155 million to Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) June 12, 2012 - 12:00am Britain on Tuesday announced a 100 million pound ($155 million) aid package to support Palestinian refugees in the Middle East for the next three years. The British embassy in Amman said International Development Minister Alan Duncan made the announcement after a visit to the Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp near the Jordanian capital. » Read more

Rafah Border Crossing Gets a Makeover ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Omar Ghraieb - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Abu Yousef Hammouda shuffled into the Rafah border crossing to travel to Egypt for his periodic medical treatment and a smile grew on his weary face as he entered the newly renovated and air conditioned halls. “I have traveled to Egypt many times before,” said Hammouda, who looked much older than his 30 years. “The arrival hall wasn’t modern or efficient but today I see what a huge effort has been made and what a great job has been done.” » Read more

'US-Israeli military cooperation stronger than ever' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post June 12, 2012 - 12:00am US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta hosted President Shimon Peres at the Pentagon on Monday, saying that military cooperation between the US and Israel was "stronger than ever, stable and ongoing." Peres visited the Pentagon as part of a multi-day visit to the US in which he is scheduled to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barak Obama. In addition to meeting Panetta, Peres took part in a roundtable discussion with other senior US officials, including US military chief Gen. Martin Dempsey. » Read more

Israeli MK, AIPAC behind Senate bid to cut total number of Palestinian refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - June 12, 2012 - 12:00am Capitol Hill in Washington was rocked late last month when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment requiring the State Department, for the first time, to do a "count" of Palestinian refugees. The amendment required the State Department to specify how many of the five million Palestinians who receive aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency are refugees who were personally displaced from their homes in 1948, and how many are descendants of those refugees. » Read more

Parties say Israel-Vatican accord accepts occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 12, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian political factions on Sunday condemned a draft economic agreement between Israel and the Vatican, saying it entails the Holy See recognizing Israeli legislation in East Jerusalem and occupied Palestinian territory. The document outlining an agreement between Israel and the Vatican on legal and fiscal issues has been circulating in different circles, the PLO said in a statement. » Read more

PA will borrow from banks if necessary ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 12, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority will start talks with the private sector, and still has bank funds available to cover its financial crisis, the newly-appointed PA minister of economy Jawad Naji said Monday. The Palestinian Monetary Authority chief Jihad al-Wazir said Sunday the PA had reached its maximum limit for bank borrowing. But the minister told Ma'an: "If we need, we will borrow from banks to pay salaries." "In fact there are deposits and cash which we haven’t used so far," Naji continued. » Read more

Israeli authorities 'demolish Jerusalem farm complex' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 12, 2012 - 12:00am   Israeli authorities demolished a complex of sheep barns in an East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday morning, a local rights group said. Bulldozers tore down the 700-square-meter steel buildings belonging to Aziz Jamil Jaabees in the al-Salaa neighborhood in Jabal al-Mukabbir, the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said. » Read more

Israel begins rounding up African migrants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli authorities detained dozens of African migrants in predawn raids early Monday, in the first major step toward what leaders say will be deportation of 4,500 people who have entered the country illegally. The arrests were the harshest move yet against migrants, reflecting growing concern about the effect on Israel of tens of thousands of Africans who have sneaked into the country across the porous Egyptian border in recent years. » Read more

Graffiti is 'classic anti-Zionist heradi rhetoric' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jeremy Sharon - June 12, 2012 - 12:00am The declarations and content of the slogans spray-painted at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial have led the to believe that ultra- Orthodox extremists are behind the vandalism perpetrated night. Below one of the slogans spray-painted at the site, the vandals signed off in the name of “World Haredi Jewry.” The content of the graffiti, including conspiracy theories about Zionist collaboration with the Nazis, is also consistent with the beliefs of some radical anti-Zionist elements within the haredi community. » Read more

Memorial Vandalized ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Vandals spray-painted graffiti overnight Monday on the walls of Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial, with messages attacking Zionism and blaming Zionists for the Holocaust. Nearly a dozen messages were scrawled around the Warsaw Ghetto Square monument and other parts of the campus. » Read more