Palestinians Fear New Israeli Moves In West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR) by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - August 14, 2012 - 12:00am Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen for almost two years. But Palestinians say that doesn't mean events aren't happening on the ground. Recently, the Israeli military issued orders calling for evacuation and demolition of nearly a dozen Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians see this as evidence of Israeli plans to annex the territory, though Israel denies this. » Read more

Palestinians from Syria mired in bureaucratic limbo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mohammed Zaatari - August 14, 2012 - 12:00am After escaping the violence in Syria, Palestinian refugees who recently arrived in Lebanon are encountering a bureaucratic nightmare as they struggle to obtain basic housing and health care. More than 300 Palestinian refugee families have fled camps in Syria to the homes of relatives in the refugee camps of Ain al-Hilweh and Mieh Mieh, as well as the city of Sidon. The communities hosting the refugees are unable to accommodate the steady tide of newcomers from Syria, especially as little outside aid is being funneled to help them. » Read more

Driving Hezbollah Off Social Media ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - August 13, 2012 - 12:00am A campaign to drive designated terror organizations off social media platforms is proving effective on some fronts in preventing Hezbollah from reaching out to members and supporters through the Web. Several key social media sites, including Facebook, agreed recently to delete accounts and applications belonging to the Lebanon-based group and its TV station, Al-Manar, which have both been designated by the United States as terror groups. » Read more

Dichter quits Knesset to take home front defense ministerial position ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 14, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli lawmaker Avi Dichter resigned from the Kadima Party and the Knesset in order to join the government as minister of home front defense. Dichter reportedly sent Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin his resignation on Tuesday after being offered the position Monday night during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will replace Matan Vilnai, who on Monday became Israel's ambassador to China. » Read more

Jerusalem accuses South Africa of boycotting Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - August 13, 2012 - 12:00am Ambassador to South Africa Dov Segev-Steinberg will ask Pretoria for clarifications regarding what is viewed in Jerusalem as nothing less than a South African call for a boycott of Israel, diplomatic sources said on Monday. » Read more

Preserving Israel's Uncertain Status Quo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) August 14, 2012 - 12:00am If someone asked me to sum up in a sentence where Israel will be a decade from now, I’d paraphrase Dickens: It will be neither the best nor worst of times. The Israelis will prosper and keep their state, but the Arabs and Iranians will never let them completely enjoy it. » Read more

First Palestinian male ballet dancer battles prejudices ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News by Sylvia Smith - August 10, 2012 - 12:00am As the young ballet dancer stretches backwards lifting his leg over the barre and rising up on to demi-pointe, beads of sweat appear on his forehead. The two hour-long routine takes place daily in south London in a practice studio surrounded by mirrors. The practice is so demanding that it would break the will, not to mention the physical strength, of anyone less passionate about dance. But it is not just the gruelling requirements of ballet that this young dancer has to contend with but also entrenched cultural prejudices. » Read more

Sinai's Invisible War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Mohamed Fadel Fahmy - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am Over the weekend, Mohamed Morsy cleaned house. Following weeks of deadlock with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt's first popularly elected president finally stepped out of the military's shadow, sacking a laundry list of top generals, including Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and annulling a controversial military decree that curbed the president's powers. » Read more

Adviser: Morsy studying Camp David Accords amendment issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Egypt Independent August 13, 2012 - 12:00am President Mohamed Morsy is studying whether to amend the Camp David Accords to ensure Egypt’s full sovereignty and control over every inch of Sinai, said Mohamed Gadallah, legal adviser to the president. Calls for amending the peace treaty with Israel, which also governs the security presence in the Sinai Peninsula, have been on the rise since last week’s attack on a military checkpoint at the border left 16 Egyptian security officers dead. » Read more

Al-Malki to inaugurate Palestinian consulate in Dominican Republic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 14, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority foreign minister will travel to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday to inaugurate a newly established Palestinian Consulate on the Caribbean Island. Riyad al-Malki told Ma'an he would participate in the opening ceremony in Santo Domingo, during which the Palestinian flag will be raised over the consulate. The ceremony will be attended by the newly elected president Danilo Medina Sanchez. » Read more