June 6th

Ministry: Fishermen detained off Gaza coast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 6, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces arrested three fishermen off the coast of the Rafah beach near the Palestinian-Egyptian border, the local ministry of agriculture said Wednesday. The workers were on a fishing boat when Israeli navy forces detained them and took them to an unknown location, the fisheries directorate within the ministry said in a statement. The fishermen were identified as Mohammad Ali Sultan, Ismael Ali Sultan and Sami al-Naddi from Rafah. » Read more

Invest in Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Allison Good - (Opinion) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's top brass made much ado about the peace process during the International Institute for Security Studies conference last week. “This is an opportunity to advance the peace process, an opportunity which may not repeat itself, in my opinion, in the next ten years,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said about his 94-member Knesset coalition. Netanyahu can invoke historic conditions all he wants, but the numbers are in, and a Palestinian state, if declared in the near future, would be economically unsustainable. » Read more

Israeli guards attack Palestinian prisoners: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli prison guards attacked Palestinians held at Ramon prison in southern Israel Wednesday, leaving several detainees with bruises and difficulties in breathing, a Palestinian official said. Eissa Qaraqe', the Palestinian minister of prisoners affairs, said the Israeli forces broke into the fourth section of the prison, where 120 prisoners are held. » Read more

Israeli parliament rejects attempt to save outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel's parliament has rejected an attempt by hardline lawmakers to prevent the demolition of an illegal West Bank outpost. The vote could set the stage for a showdown between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hardline Jewish settlers and their supporters in his government. » Read more

Amnesty tells Israel: End detentions without trial ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ian Deitch - June 5, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Amnesty International has appealed to Israel to end the practice of imprisoning Palestinians suspected of militant activity without trial, calling in a report issued Tuesday for the release of hundreds of detainees. The London-based rights group claimed that the prisoners are mistreated and that Israel is violating international law with its practice, known as "administrative detention," which Israel says is vital to prevent attacks. » Read more

June 5th

Palestinians: US refugee bill may delay peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - June 5, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian advocates are warning that a new US Senate amendment dictating a reporting requirement on the issue of Palestinian refugees could set back efforts to reach a peace deal. The amendment to a bill, recently approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, mandates that the secretary of state must report how many of the Palestinians serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency fled or left homes in Israel during the War of Independence and how many are only their descendants. » Read more

EU diplomacy on Israel/Palestine shifts up a gear ATFP World Press Roundup Article from EU Observer by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) June 1, 2012 - 12:00am Few issues of diplomatic conversation today have quite the same ability to generate a rolling of the eyes and turning of the page as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Stuck is an understatement. Israel’s government argues with its Supreme Court over re-locating a few dozen families from an illegal outpost to an illegal settlement, ignoring the bigger picture, whereby one in ten Jewish Israelis now reside in the Occupied Palestinian territories. » Read more

Egyptian status quo ends for Israelis, Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Crispian Balmer - (Opinion) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am Far apart on so many issues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas almost certainly see eye to eye on the Egyptian presidential election. Both would like Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force chief who served as Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, beat the Muslim Brotherhood's anointed candidate, Mohamed Mursi, in the June 16-17 ballot. » Read more

How Israel Can Finally Win the Six-Day War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) June 4, 2012 - 12:00am Tuesday marks the 45th anniversary of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the question remains: Which side will win? Yes, many people are under the impression that Israel already won. It’s true that the first phase of the war -- which began with Israeli strikes on the Egyptian air force and ended with Israel in possession of the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip -- represented an unambiguous military triumph. » Read more

A Concert of Kahanists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Elisheva Goldberg - (Opinion) June 4, 2012 - 12:00am Yesterday, for the nineteenth year running, in a concert in Central Park, American Orthodox Jewry and the Israeli right unapologetically laid claim to the Whole Land of Israel. » Read more