Israel bans 5 Gaza women from study in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 27, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's Defense Ministry said Thursday it would not allow five female students from Gaza to go to university in the West Bank, rights groups said. In May, Israel's Supreme Court ordered the ministry to reconsider its refusal to allow the students to travel to the West Bank, after Israel admitted there were no individual security concerns about any of the students. » Read more

A win-lose situation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hirsh Goodman - (Opinion) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am There are situations – the best – win-win, where both sides get something they want out of a deal. Then there is the win-lose situation where you think you have won, but in fact are destined to pay a heavy price, sort of like winning second prize in a lottery that sends you a resort in Albania for a month. » Read more

Obama to sign Israel security bill on eve of Romney visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 27, 2012 - 12:00am President Barack Obama will sign a bill to strengthen US-Israeli military cooperation on Friday on the eve of a visit to Israel by his Republican presidential challenger, Mitt Romney. Obama will seek to stress his commitment to Israel's security for American Jewish voters at a White House ceremony that appeared timed to upstage Romney, who has accused the president of undermining US-Israeli ties. Congress passed the legislation, the US-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, with broad support from Obama's Democrats and Republicans last week. » Read more

Inquiry: Police chiefs should be questioned over Ramallah violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 27, 2012 - 12:00am An investigative committee has recommended that high-ranking officers be questioned over the use of force against protesters in Ramallah. President Mahmoud Abbas ordered an investigation after police cracked down on protesters who opposed a visit by Israel's vice premier to Ramallah for talks with the president on June 30, and again used force to shut down a protest on July 1 against police brutality. » Read more

Israel prevents Arab Spring from reaching West Bank: Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 26, 2012 - 12:00am Popular uprisings in the Middle East could not reach the West Bank because of Israel, the head of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament said Thursday. "If there was no Israeli occupation in the West Bank, the uprising would have been possible," said Aziz al-Dewik, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)'s speaker, who was released recently from an Israeli prison. Al-Dewik accused the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), led by rival Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas, of "establishing a repressive regime with the help of Israel." » Read more

What Romney said: Highlights from Haaretz's interview with Obama's adversary ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Interview) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am On the eve of his visit to Israel, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican candidate for U.S. President spoke to Haaretz about Iran, Syria and Benjamin Netanyahu, but declined to comment on his opponent, U.S. President Barack Obama, adhering to the American political tradition of refraining from criticism of the president while "on foreign soil." In the same vein, he begged off commenting on Israel's settlement policy, saying it would demonstrate his "distance" from the president's policy. » Read more

U.S. counter-terrorism chief visits Israel to discuss Burgas terror attack, Syria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 27, 2012 - 12:00am U.S. President Barak Obama's chief adviser on counter-terrorism, John O. Brennan, was in Israel to hold talks on the recent terror attack against Israelis in Bulgaria and the threat of al-Qaida involvement in the Syrian crisis, Ha'aretz daily reported on Thursday. The talks were held on Wednesday between Brennan and head of Israel's National Security Council (NSC), Brig.-Gen. (ret) Yaakov Amidror, Eitan Ben-David, head of NSC Counter-Terrorism Bureau, and senior officials of the Mossad, the Shin Bet security service and the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Branch. » Read more

Debate Aversion Therapy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) July 26, 2012 - 12:00am The one thing almost all observers agree on is that progress towards realizing a two-state solution is on indefinite hold for the foreseeable future. This means we are facing an open-ended interregnum that all parties can use to seriously debate their options and to act unilaterally to either promote or obstruct peace. » Read more

In shift by Egypt, president meets Hamas leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Tom Perry - July 26, 2012 - 12:00am Gaza Islamist leader Ismail Haniyeh met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday in an official visit that signalled a big shift in Cairo's stance toward the Hamas movement after the election of a Muslim Brotherhood head of state in Egypt. A Palestinian official said the head of Egyptian intelligence had promised measures to increase the flow of fuel supplied by Qatar to Gaza via Egypt and needed to ease the small Palestinian territory's power shortages. The sides had also discussed increasing the flow of Palestinians across the border. » Read more

Palestinian cash crisis getting worse: minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Karin Laub - July 26, 2012 - 12:00am The cash-strapped Palestinian self-rule government is finding it harder each month to stay afloat, its finance minister said in an interview Thursday. The Palestinian Authority is struggling with its worst financial crisis in years, in part because key donor countries, including the U.S. and some Arab states, have so far not sent aid they promised for 2012. » Read more