July 9th

Israeli settlements can face trade bans, says counsel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am European governments, including Britain's, have received legal opinion from a leading international counsel who argues they would be fully within their rights to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. » Read more

'Abbas not paying friendly visit to Iran' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - July 8, 2012 - 12:00am The Foreign Ministry responded to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement that plans to attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran, saying that "it is not a state visit, and is solely aimed at attending the summit, which will take place in Iran." » Read more

New batch of officials to be charged with corruption ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Legal authorities are putting the final touches on a fresh series of indictments of public officials for corruption and misuse of public funds, an informed source told Ma'an on Monday. The defendants in this new batch of corruption cases will now be summoned for interrogation, the source said. A senior official recently tried to travel to Jordan via Jericho, but police prevented his exit and ordered him back to Ramallah for interrogation, Ma'an has learned. » Read more

Israel’s Arab Spring problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Whatever else that might be said about the Arab revolutions, it’s obvious that they pose a problem for Israel. But how bad, and what should the Israeli government do to hedge its risks? I heard some interesting — but not very encouraging — ideas on this subject from top government officials last week. » Read more

Minister: Abbas refused Israeli offer of selective prisoner release ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Prisoners Minister Issa Qaraqe said Monday that President Mahmoud Abbas refused an Israeli offer for the staged release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for returning to peace talks. Abbas insists that all 123 prisoners held since before the 1994 Oslo agreement be freed in a single release, Qaraqe said. Israeli daily Haaretz reported earlier Monday that Israel offered to release some 25 Palestinian prisoners convicted of the murder of Israelis, followed by another 100 prisoners by the end of the year. » Read more

Abbas says Hamas obstructs reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday accused rival Hamas movement of obstructing the implementation of the Palestinian internal reconciliation agreements reached in Cairo and Doha. At a joint news conference with European Commission Chief Jose Manuel Barroso following a meeting held in Ramallah, Abbas said that he doesn't know why Hamas suddenly decided to halt the update of voters' record in Gaza. » Read more

East Jerusalem Suffers Economic Tailspin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Ben Lynfield - (Analysis) July 8, 2012 - 12:00am Call it patriotism or doing something to express his Palestinian identity — Taisir Jubeh wanted to start a business in Jerusalem. So five months ago, after handing over the reins of his Ramallah bookshop to relatives, he opened a men’s casual wear store in the new Addar Shopping Mall, off Salah el-Din Street. The mall, opened earlier this year in downtown East Jerusalem by Muhammad Nuseibeh, a member of one of East Jerusalem’s most prominent families, had sparked hope that its 40 stores and offices would inject new life into the struggling area. » Read more

Clinton meets Abbas before talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Arshad Mohammed - July 6, 2012 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should not be forgotten amid wider upheaval in the Middle East. Washington has made no visible progress toward its goal of reaching an outline peace deal by the end of this year and both sides appear unlikely to make any significant steps toward peace ahead of the U.S. election in November. » Read more

Israeli policemen jailed over death of Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Maayan Lubell - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am An Israeli court on Monday sentenced two policemen to 30 months in jail each over the death of a Palestinian detainee whom they abandoned on the side of a highway in the middle of the night. In 2008, Omar Abu Jarban was hospitalised for two weeks in Israel after entering illegally and crashing a car he had stolen, Jerusalem Magistrate's Court said in its ruling. After being discharged, Israel ordered him deported rather than prosecuted, but two days later he was found dead, apparently of dehydration, just over the boundary of the occupied West Bank. » Read more

Palestinian PM urges Arabs to send promised cash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press July 8, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is urging Arab countries to keep their promises and send tens of millions of dollars to his cash-strapped government. The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority has always relied on foreign aid but is now embroiled in its worst cash crisis in years, unable to pay tens of thousands of government employees. Fayyad needs $1 billion to close the 2012 spending gap, but previous heavy borrowing means he can no longer turn to banks. Unlike Arab states, Western donors have mostly made good on pledges. » Read more