July 19th

Israel Can't Ignore the World’s Opinion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am A friend wrote in last week to dispute my critique of Israeli judge Edmond Levy’s settlements report. Levy claimed the West Bank isn’t “occupied” under international law, and therefore settlements aren’t illegal. I wrote that while his interpretation squares with the language of the relevant treaties, not one nation in the world accepts it, so it’s meaningless. » Read more

Bush Press Secretary Says Pro-Israel Obama Voters Have “Buyers’ Remorse” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Michael Friedson - (Interview) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am  [Jerusalem] A sure sign that elections are drawing near is the effort by Democrats and Republicans to register Americans living abroad who are eligible to vote in November. In Israel, where absentee voters were credited with playing a key role in deciding the razor-thin battle between George W. » Read more

Israeli soldiers confiscate water storage tanks on West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am These rocky foothills are a forbidding place even for the scattered Bedouin communities that have herded livestock here for generations. Yet it is not the summer heat that is threatening their way of life. Last month, Israeli soldiers began confiscating water-storage containers used by Bedouin in several pastoral encampments on the northern fringes of the West Bank's Jordan Valley area. No explanation was given to the dozens of impoverished residents, who have since been rationing their already scarce water supplies and tending to thirsty livestock. » Read more

Israeli-Palestinian peace remains core issue of Middle East: Jordanian king ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Jordanian King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that despite the turmoil and challenges facing the Middle East, the core issue of the region remains the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. » Read more

Israel seeks closer ties with Dominican Republic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to deepen friendly ties with the Dominican Republic, Israel's embassy in Santo Domingo said Wednesday. In a message sent to Dominican President-elect Danilo Medina, Netanyahu wished to "strengthen the ties of friendship between the two countries," according to the embassy. » Read more

Egyptian president meets Hamas chief ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi held talks Thursday with Islamic Hamas movement's politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, official news agency MENA reported. The two talked about the latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation, efforts exerted by Egypt supporting the Palestinian issue, and ways to get a Palestinian independent state. The meeting was attended by the deputy head of Hamas movement office and members of the political bureau, including Mahmoud al- Zahar. Morsi met visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday. » Read more

Israel plans to revive ailing Jordan river ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ari Rabinovitch - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am The River Jordan is neither deep nor wide these days. The Biblical river, which has inspired countless spirituals and folk songs, is just a narrow stream in many parts - polluted and stagnant. But that's about to change. Thanks to desalination and wastewater recycling, there is more fresh water to go around and the Jordan will slowly be returned to its former glory. » Read more

Israel official: Suicide bomber attacked Israelis in Bulgaria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yaniv Kubovich, Barak Ravid - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am The bombing in Bulgaria on Wednesday was committed by a suicide bomber and not by a charge planted in the bus beforehand as believed at first, a senior official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Haaretz on Thursday. The estimate was bolstered by comments made by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Metodiev Borisov as saying that chances were that the bombing was perpetrated by a suicide bomber. » Read more

Ex-official: Israel targeted Hezbollah army chief; Iran has been retaliating ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Former National Security Adviser Uzi Arad responded on Thursday to comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and according to which Iran was behind the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, saying that Israel was not a "passive side" to the struggle against Iran and must do more to anticipate the responses. On Wednesday, Netanyahu, apparently supported by detailed intelligence, immediately blamed Iran for the terror attack on Israelis in Bulgaria, that let eight people dead, possibly including a suspected suicide bomber. » Read more

Cracks in the foundation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am Several recent developments to erode Israel’s support among American Jews and its political base on Capitol Hill. The government is grappling with questions involving conscription of ultra-religious Jews, recognition of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, Israel’s control of the West Bank and the future of the settler enterprise. » Read more