Palestinians in cash crunch, say donors came through with $466 million of $1.2 billion pledged ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press July 11, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian finance minister says his self-rule government is facing its worst financial crisis in years because donor countries have paid only $466 million of $1.2 billion promised this year. The Palestinian Authority, which administers 38 percent of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, depends on foreign funding, in part because of Israeli restrictions and a bloated public payroll. » Read more

Growing Israeli Naval Presence Likely to Upset Turkey Even More ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Milliyet July 11, 2012 - 12:00am Israel is preparing to increase its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean to protect its natural gas exploration activities, which have been a source of tension between Israel and Turkey. According to a plan approved by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the chief of staff, Gen. Benny Gantz, Israel will buy four new combat vessels for its navy, assign more troops [to the area] and deploy unmanned aerial vehicles for patrols in the region. » Read more

A Tale of Two Reports ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Raphael Magarik - (Analysis) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am I’ll say this for the Levy report: It filled my inbox. After the Israeli blue-ribbon commission, headed by former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Edmund Levy, concluded that “Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria,” the usual suspects leapt into action. J Street wants me to “Urge US Opposition to Israeli Settlement Report,” Americans for Peace Now wonders whether it is “1984” in Israel. » Read more

Palestinian women battle to break into business ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Sophia Jones - (Opinion) July 12, 2012 - 12:00am However, the deeply traditional, male-dominated society that is prevalent across much of the Arab world, coupled with bureaucratic restraints unique to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, pose particular challenges for women seeking to get ahead. “Many women in the West Bank want to do things, but they can’t. Our culture is generally more of a man’s culture. Women are trying to do things, but in small steps,” said Shyrine Ziadeh, a 24-year-old Birzeit University graduate. » Read more

Palestinian Authority Escalates Crackdown on Journalists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Lena Odgaard - July 11, 2012 - 12:00am Earlier this month, Palestinian police beat several journalists as they covered a non-violent protest in Ramallah, according to news reports. This incident is just the latest in a series of cases over the past six months where Palestinian journalists have experienced a significant crackdown on attempts to criticize Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority. The judiciary is reinterpreting laws dating back to the 1960s that criminalized defamation of officials as the basis for arrests, intimidation of journalists and blocking web sites. » Read more

How to Advance Transition to a Post-Assad Future ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy by Michael Herzog - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am In this paper, the former chief of staff to Israel's minister of defense argues that, in addition to the moral imperative to help the Syrian people, there are also strong strategic reasons for the West and various regional states to be more proactive in bringing about the end of the Assad regime. Speeding up the process of the regime’s collapse would avert the destabilising consequences of a lengthy civil war, as well as dealing a blow to the radical, Iran-led alliance in the region. » Read more

Shrinking Palestinian Land Depicted in N.Y. Ad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) July 12, 2012 - 12:00am Anti-Israel billboards showing a series of four maps to bolster claims that Israel has systematically confiscated land from the Palestinians have appeared at some New York train stations. The ads that went on display this week at Metro North train stations in Westchester County show a succession of shrinking Palestinian territories in four maps and contain a headline stating that 4.7 million Palestinians are classified as refugees by the United Nations. The billboards were posted under the auspices of The Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine » Read more

Israeli blockade takes its toll on mental health in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Angela Robson - July 11, 2012 - 12:00am For as long as Farah can remember, her father has never worked. Nor, in recent years, has she particularly wanted to spend time with him. She and her three younger siblings love Abu Shawareb, insists their mother, Naima, but they have grown wary of him, particularly of his mood swings and violent outbursts. "It was like a part of me had gone for ever," says Shawareb, recalling the day five years ago when he suddenly lost his job. "I kept thinking, how am I going to feed my family? How will we live?" » Read more

Worldview: Israel should be wary of Netanyahu panel's West Bank recommendations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Inquirer Digital by Trudy Rubin - (Analysis) July 12, 2012 - 12:00am This week a committee formed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made recommendations that could have dire consequences for Israel. They could also end the Mideast peace process once and for all. The so-called Levy committee put forth a justification for annexation of most of the West Bank and for permanent Israeli rule over millions of Palestinians who live there. Such a move would force Israel to choose between granting these Palestinians full Israeli citizenship or keeping them disenfranchised and confined to territorial cantons. » Read more

Israel: UNESCO crisis deepens over support for Gaza Hamas- affiliated university ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 12, 2012 - 12:00am Israel is furious at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) over a recent decision to back a science chair at a Gaza university it says hosted bomb and missile makers, local media reported Thursday. UNESCO released a statement this week announcing the inauguration of a chair in the Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences department at the Islamic University of Gaza. » Read more