July 12th

Israeli military strikes Gaza, kills 1 militant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press July 12, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian militant was killed and four people were wounded in Israeli air and artillery attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a Gaza health official said. The Israeli military confirmed a combined air and artillery attack, which Gaza health official Dr. Ashraf al-Kidra said wounded three Palestinians, including one critically. Al-Kidra said a second airstrike later Thursday morning killed the militant and wounded another. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on that report. » Read more

Was Arafat poisoned with polonium? If so, by whom? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ely Karmon - (Opinion) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am In an interview with Yaakov Lappin published in The Jerusalem Post on July 5, 2012, I asserted that considering polonium 210’s 138-day halflife, the abnormally high levels of polonium discovered by specialists at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Yasser Arafat’s belongings eight years after his death could mean the polonium was planted much later. » Read more

Will Olmert return to politics? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The dramatic decision of the Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday morning to acquit former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of charges pertaining to the Rishon Tours and Talansky affairs, will shock not only Israeli law enforcement, but will also send shockwaves through Israeli politics and the international arena. » Read more

July 11th

BDS Loses by Losing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Jon Haber - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The Rumplestilskins of the BDS “movement” have had to work overtime to spin the soiled straw of defeat within the Mainline Protestant Churches into gold.  But what can you expect from a “movement” that can keep a straight face when writing headlines such as “Pro-Divestment Presbyterians Win by Losing.” (The response to my piece on Open Zion by Alex Kane was one such example—albeit without such a tell-tale headline.) » Read more

No trade with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Stuart Reigeluth - (Opinion) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am “Our intention is to ensure that the trade agreement with Israel is not being used to smuggle settlement [colony] products,” said Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Villy Soevndal, last May. This is exactly what the controversy over the Agreement on Conformity and Acceptance of Industrial products (ACAA) between the European Union (EU) and Israel is all about. » Read more

How Not to Host a Summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Twelve years ago this week, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat gathered at Camp David to launch a historic bid to put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Israel Didn't Kill Arafat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Yossi Melman - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Al Jazeera’s English-language TV service released a new documentary that reveals evidence suggesting that Yasser Arafat was poisoned by a radioactive element, polonium-210.  Many who followed Arafat’s death believe that Israel took a byproduct of its nuclear program and used it to turn Arafat into a sickly, weak man, leading to his death in November 2004. » Read more

Israel ignores decades of Occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am The latest news out of Israel will come as a surprise to both students of international law and the world in general: according to Israeli officials, apparently, the illegal occupation of the West Bank is neither illegal, nor an occupation. That appears to be the ludicrous conclusion of the Levy Committee, set-up by the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to explore the status of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. » Read more

Occupation can't be erased ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Boaz Okon - (Opinion) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am The Levy Report on legitimizing Israel’s West Bank outposts cannot legitimize Israel’s actions in the territories. One cannot curb millions of Palestinians’ demands for freedom via legal reports. At the end of the day, the report will be shelved, and its main contribution would be the boosting cynicism and suspicions towards judges. » Read more

Occupation no more ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Michael Sfard - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Every lawyer is familiar with that embarrassing situation. A friend or acquaintance asks you an everyday legal question they came across. While you get carried away explaining different legal schools of thought and indications that could lead one way or another, you see in the questioner’s eyes that they were expecting a yes or no answer. » Read more