June 18th

Abbas slams Israel's refusal to two-state principle, likely to meet senior Israeli official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 17, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday slammed Israel for not accepting the principle of two-state solution, as he is expected to meet early next month with Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz. During a conference held in Ramallah, Abbas held Israel responsible for the deadlock of peace process, adding that " reviving the clinically dead peace process is in their hands." "The Israeli rejection to keep its commitment to the peace process would make the principle of two-state solution just an illusion," Abbas said. » Read more

Israel may fit drones with sensor that pinpoints terror sites ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 17, 2012 - 12:00am The Israel Air Force is testing a new sensor designed to enable its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to spot underground tunnels and other well-concealed assets used by militant groups, The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday. UAVs, better known as drones, routinely fly reconnaissance and surveillance missions over Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, where camouflaged tunnels are used for smuggling weapons and shielding militants from airstrikes. » Read more

Israeli driver kills 2 Palestinians, wounds 1 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press June 17, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli tow truck driver shot dead two Palestinians and wounded one Sunday during what police said was an attempted car robbery in the West Bank. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the Palestinian men ambushed the Israeli's vehicle and beat him over the head with chains and bars before the driver opened fire in self-defense. He said the driver is being treated for head wounds at an Israeli hospital, and a police investigation is continuing. The Palestinian men have criminal records, according to Palestinian police. » Read more

Hamas ordered Grad attack on Israel at request of Muslim Brotherhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gili Cohen, Avi Issacharoff - June 16, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli security officials say that the rockets that landed on Friday in the area near Ovda and Mitzpeh Ramon, were launched after a request by senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. According to these officials, the rockets were launched from the Sinai Peninsula by a Bedouin unit, according to Hamas orders, even though Hamas itself wasn't the initiator of the launching, but responded to the request of the Brotherhood, who wanted such an event on the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Egypt. » Read more

Former Israeli opposition leader charting his own foreign policy course ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) June 17, 2012 - 12:00am In his first major foreign policy speech, Israeli deputy Prime Minister and former opposition chairman Shaul Mofaz called on the Palestinians to sit down to launch unconditional talks with Israel. Mofaz's statement came only days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made remarks indicating that he might be willing to soften his demands on Israel before direct negotiations, which have been held up since September 2010, can resume. » Read more

Medics: Israeli forces shell north Gaza, 2 killed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 18, 2012 - 12:00am Two Palestinian men were killed on Monday when Israeli military forces shelled the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. Witnesses told Ma'an the men were riding a motorcycle in a field near Beit Hanoun when Israeli forces bombed the area. Four others were injured and taken to Beit Hanoun hospital, they said. » Read more

Music for the Masses ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Raja Shehadeh - (Blog) June 13, 2012 - 12:00am Monday night I attended a piano concert in Ramallah given by the internationally acclaimed Palestinian pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar who was born in Nazareth and now lives in Berlin. Despite the hardship of the Israeli occupation, a vital classical music revival has emerged in the West Bank in the last few years. » Read more

At least 3 killed in attack on Israel-Egypt border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Maayan Lubell - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am Militants fired on an Israeli crew building a border barrier on the Egyptian frontier on Monday, killing one of the workers, and Israeli soldiers shot dead two of the infiltrators, the military said. The incident, hours after Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood declared victory in the country's presidential election, raised Israeli concern about lawlessness in Egypt's Sinai desert since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. » Read more

June 15th

Quartet envoys meet amid Palestinian criticism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) June 15, 2012 - 12:00am Envoys from the Middle East Quartet met in Brussels on Friday amid calls from the Palestinians to step up action to halt continuing Israeli settlement activity. Officials from the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia gathered "to consult as they routinely do over the phone as well", said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. » Read more

Palestinians say Israel should not host football tournament ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News June 15, 2012 - 12:00am Israel is due to host the European Under-21 championship in 2013. PFA President Jibril Rajoub wrote to Uefa to express concern about three Palestinian players who are being held in Israel without charge. One of them, midfielder Mahmoud al-Sarsak, is on hunger strike. Mr Sarsak, 25, is one of a handful of Palestinian prisoners who have rejected a deal that ended a mass hunger strike on 14 May. » Read more