UN envoy: All settlements contrary to international law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2012 - 12:00am The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process on Thursday reiterated the international community's view that settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegitimate. In a statement, Robert Serry said that Israel's settlements were contrary to international law "whether on private Palestinian land or elsewhere in occupied Palestinian territory." » Read more

The Time for a Palestinian State Is Now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Maen Areikat - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am This week marks the 45th anniversary of the Arab-Israeli War, when Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip fell under Israel's occupation. Since 1967, the power relationship that ensued has had deep and wide ramifications. What is remarkable is how each side has observed the anniversary. » Read more

Facing the Lords of the Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Yael Paz-Melamed - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am A young committed man brimming with public courage stands today almost alone against the settlers, mainly those who reside on private Palestinian lands in illegal settlement outposts. His name is Yariv Oppenheimer, and he drives the settlers mad because he has succeeded time and again in placing a few boundaries for this band of people, who are certain that the entire area beyond the Green Line is their private domain, and they can do with it as they please without interference. » Read more

Camp David Pact May Be Revised No Matter Who Wins Egypt Vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Ashraf Khalil - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Egyptians are a domestically-obsessed population right now. It’s understandable given the state of the country 15 months after Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power. » Read more

Time for American Jews to shun racist Israeli legislators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Rothschild - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, is no one’s idea of a soft touch. Hawkish on Israel’s settlement policy and a practitioner of a muscular, even bullying brand of diplomacy, Lieberman has a well-earned reputation as a hard-liner, no mean feat in Israel’s current rightist government. So when Lieberman becomes the voice of moderation on an issue, it’s worth a closer look. » Read more

Segregating Gazans has made them easier to demonise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Amira Hass - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am A stout sense of humour and self-irony is the least most Israelis expect of Gazans. It is certainly true today, when they are spoken of almost solely through the hyperbole of military commentators who jump frantically from discussing the Iranian threat to the danger that the tiny, overcrowded, impoverished and besieged enclave poses to the state of Israel, a global military power. » Read more

Ulpana, shmulpana – get real! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hirsh Goodman - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am This week, 45 years ago, Israel won the Six Day War and with it the territories. » Read more

Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jay Bushinsky - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Invariably, it seems that Defense Minister Ehud Barak says one thing and the US State Department immediately contradicts him. At the end of his latest visit to Washington, where he conferred with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, and other senior US officials, the former IDF chief of staff and prime minister raised the possibility of a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank. » Read more

Netanyahu 1, settlers 0 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sima Kadmon - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory in the vote on the settlement regularization bill is not just a numerical win. It was also a moral win, because he taught the settlers an important lesson on the limits of power. » Read more

'Celebrations' that miss the point ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am The idea of demolishing the houses in Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood reminds me of a Jewish joke about the "wisdom" of the people of Chelm. Early in the morning the sexton used to walk through the streets of Chelm to remind people that it was time for the Shaharit morning prayer. One day the weatherman announced that snow was expected the following day. The locals didn't want the sexton's footprints to spoil the beauty of the blanket of snow, so the city's wise men convened for an urgent meeting to find a solution. » Read more