Canada's United Church affirms settlements boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Members of the United Church of Canada, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, voted on Wednesday to affirm a controversial motion supporting a boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The boycott has has outraged many Jewish groups, including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which expressed it's anger by "the decision to single out Israeli communities for boycott." » Read more

Palestinian envoy raised alarm about missing asylum boat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Times by Natalie O'Brien - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am The federal government has known for weeks that another asylum seeker boat, this one with dozens of Palestinians on board, had disappeared yet it kept silent about the details. The boat carrying 67 passengers, including 28 Palestinians, was last heard from 48 days ago after setting sail from Indonesia. » Read more

Secular Israelis Gentrify West Bank Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Ofer Petersburg - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am It's rather in doubt whether this is the solution that the leaders of the social justice protest [that swept Israel in the summer of 2011] wished for when they took to the streets to demonstrate against the exorbitant cost of housing in Israel. » Read more

Canada's United Church affirms settlements boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post August 16, 2012 - 12:00am Members of the United Church of Canada, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, voted on Wednesday to affirm a controversial motion supporting a boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The boycott has has outraged many Jewish groups, including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which expressed it's anger by "the decision to single out Israeli communities for boycott." » Read more

Palestinians flock to Jerusalem as restrictions eased for Ramadan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 16, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has unexpectedly eased restrictions on Palestinians looking to visit Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, saying improved security meant it could let in thousands more from the occupied West Bank. Israeli officials said Wednesday they had lowered the age limit for men wanting to visit al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City to 40 from 50 and had also handed out seven times more permits to Palestinians between the ages of 35 and 40. » Read more

Egypt deployed troops in Sinai without Israel's prior approval ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am The Egyptian army has been deploying large anti-terrorist forces in parts of the Sinai peninsula without informing Israel in advance. The peace treaty between the two countries limits the Egyptian military presence in Sinai. » Read more

Paul Ryan, Meet Dr. Lewis and Mr. Bernard ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee pick, Congressman Paul Ryan, doesn't have a lot of foreign policy experience. But neither does Romney himself, nor did President Barack Obama when he was nominated by the Democratic Party four years ago. Romney's selection confirms the conventional wisdom that, barring unforeseen developments, this will be an election almost entirely fought over domestic policy issues, particularly the economy. » Read more

Defying AG, ministers decide to hand Hebron market stores over to Israeli settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am A panel of ministers has decided to instruct the army to transfer possession of a Hebron building that Jewish settlers were living in illegally to the city's Jewish community, after first evicting the squatters. However, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein believes there may be legal obstacles to the position of the Ministerial Committee for Settlement Affairs, which was created in June and consists mainly of Likud cabinet ministers. Weinstein is trying to formulate a new position on the matter. » Read more

The Politically Incorrect Guide to U.S. Interests in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Foreign policy, including the use of military power, isn't an end in itself. It consists of tools and instruments designed to achieve specific and hopefully well-thought-out ends. Those ends -- let's call them interests -- are theoretically supposed to drive a country's foreign-policy strategy. Sounds pretty simple, right? » Read more

Hundreds of Israelis petition IDF pilots: Refuse orders to bomb Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Dan Evens, Tomer Zarchin - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am More than 400 Israelis, including Tel Aviv University law professors Menachem Mautner and Chaim Gans, have recently signed an online petition calling on Israel Defense Forces pilots to refuse to obey if ordered to bomb Iran. The petition calls a decision to launch a strike against Iran a "highly mistaken gamble" that would only delay Iran's nuclear program, without stopping it, and would come "at an exorbitant price." » Read more