June 7th

Israel releases Palestinian prisoner Thaer Halahleh ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has released a Palestinian prisoner who had been on a long hunger strike amid growing international criticism of its administrative detention policy. Thaer Halahleh, 33, started a hunger strike in February to protest consecutive terms of administrative detention during which he was held without being charged or going on trial. » Read more

Doctor: Al-Sarsak at immediate risk of death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 7, 2012 - 12:00am After 80 days on hunger strike, Mahmoud al-Sarsak is at immediate risk of death and must be hospitalized immediately, an independent doctor said Wednesday. Until Wednesday, Israel's prison service had refused to allow independent doctors to visit al-Sarsak, who is being held at Ramle prison clinic. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel were able to send a doctor to visit al-Sarsak on Wednesday after petitioning an Israeli court for access. » Read more

U.S. denies comments attributed to Obama against Abbas: Erekat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 7, 2012 - 12:00am The United States on Wednesday denied statements attributed to President Barack Obama against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a senior Palestinian official said. "The White House has officially presented clarifications to the Palestinian leadership on Obama's statements related to Abbas commitment to the Middle East peace process," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Earlier reports had said that Obama made statements that Abbas does not have good intentions to achieve peace with Israel and he is not committed to the peace process. » Read more

Fatah, Hamas agree on unity government lineup ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian rival factions Fatah and Hamas agreed here on the ministerial lineup of the national consensus government, official news agency MENA reported on Wednesday. The talks between Fatah and Hamas was held in the headquarters of Egypt's general intelligence. Fatah central committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad, who was leading the Fatah delegation, expressed his satisfaction with the results of the meeting, noting that "all matters are going smoothly in line with what was previously agreed upon." » Read more

US denounces Israeli PM plans for new settler homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon June 7, 2012 - 12:00am The United States Wednesday denounced Israeli plans to expand a West Bank settlement by 300 homes, saying it posed a hurdle toward kickstarting moribund peace talks with the Palestinians. "We're very clear that continued Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank undermines peace efforts and contradicts Israeli commitments and obligations," said a State Department spokesperson, Mark Toner. "You know, our position on settlements remains unchanged. We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity." » Read more

Israel plans to legalize 13 contentious West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am The government has announced that it plans to legalize 13 of the 18 settlement outposts against which petitions to the High Court of Justice have been filed. Because the 13 outposts are not built on privately-owned Palestinian land, the legalization process could presumably make the petitions against them moot. The remaining five outposts cannot be legalized, because they are located on privately-owned Palestinian land, and so are slated for evacuation. » Read more

Israel to build 850 homes in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - June 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's plans to build hundreds of new homes in Jewish West Bank settlements have put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at odds again with Washington and the Palestinians, without appeasing settlers furious over the government's plan to dismantle an illegally built enclave. » Read more

U.S. Aides in Israel Give Assurances About Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama and his senior advisers have said little publicly about Iran since the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear in April, preferring to let the diplomats hash out the issues in the hope that tensions with Tehran can be managed, at least until the election in November. » Read more

June 6th

Germany and Israel's 'special relationship' in spotlight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Stephen Evans - June 5, 2012 - 12:00am If ever there were two countries with a truly "special relationship", they are Germany and Israel. For obvious reasons of history, they are bound together. The genocidal madness of a previous generation of the one and the suffering of the victims of a previous generation of the other make them intertwined in a way no other two countries are. But is the relationship changing? There are certainly signs that it is being re-examined in Germany. What was taken as a given in the past is now up for questioning. » Read more

Palestinian Athlete Heads to the Olympics, Makes History ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Yossi Eli, Rimon Margia - June 4, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian sports just made history: 28-year-old Maher Abu Ramila from Jerusalem’s Old City, met the Olympic qualifications and earned a trip to compete in the 2012 London Olympic games next month. Thus he has become the first Palestinian athlete to compete in the games on his own merit, and not as a “solidarity gesture” — awarded by the Olympic committee as a mark of identification. » Read more