August 15th

Netanyahu set to bury Levy report on legalizing illegal West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to bury the Levy Report, which recommends legalizing most unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank and making it easier for existing settlements to expand, a senior politician who spoke with the premier about the issue told Haaretz yesterday. » Read more

Israel's Foreign Ministry gives envoys a lesson on twitter diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Israel’s Foreign Ministry updated online social media guidelines for representatives of the State of Israel worldwide, following a few recent unusual tweets and Facebook posts made by Israeli diplomats. The Foreign Ministry’s message to Israeli diplomats: Surfers on the web take everything you post as Israel’s official position. » Read more

Israeli rights groups ask court to stop razing of Bedouin villages ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 15, 2012 - 12:00am Several Israeli human rights organizations petitioned the High Court on Tuesday to prevent the demolition of five Bedouin villages. The petition is spearheaded by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and is aimed at averting the construction of agricultural settlements in the area of Mevo'ot Arad, in the Negev. These Jewish settlements, seven of them, will be built after the existing Bedouin villages, which are home to hundreds of families, are razed. » Read more

Palestinian prisoner refuses water after two months on hunger strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 15, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike for more than two months refused water on Wednesday in a new challenge, protesting the renewal of his administrative detention. The Palestinian Prisoners' Association said that Hassan Safadi went on a hunger strike on June 21 and was promised by Israeli authorities to be released by the end of his administrative detention term. However, this term has now been renewed for another six months, prompting him to refuse water. » Read more

Enlisting From Afar for the Love of Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - August 14, 2012 - 12:00am Three days into Josh Warhit’s first-ever visit to Israel, as a 16-year-old on a summer tour, war broke out in Lebanon, which transformed the group’s itinerary — and his life plan. On Tuesday, with talk rampant about the possibility of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, Mr. Warhit became a citizen of Israel to enlist in its army. » Read more

August 14th

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