July 23rd, 2012

'No Occupation' Report Negates Israel's Legitimacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) July 23, 2012 - 12:00am Considerable attention has been focused these last several weeks on the report of Israel’s Levy Commission. No great surprise: The three-person commission, appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to render an advisory opinion regarding Jewish settlement in the West Bank, determined that there is no barrier to such settlement and, indeed, that the legality of all such settlements that may have been thought clouded could and should be retroactively affirmed. » Read more

Israel fears Syrian missiles, nerve gas reaching Hezbollah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - July 23, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday said that he has ordered the army to prepare to intervene should Syria start to transfer missiles and chemical weapons to the Lebanese group Hezbollah. "Syria has advanced anti-aircraft missiles, surface-to-surface missiles and elements of chemical weapons," Barak told local Chanel 2 TV, adding that "I directed the Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) to prepare for a situation where we will need to consider the possibility of an attack." » Read more

Netanyahu’s falling stock ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jeff Barak - (Opinion) July 22, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must be kicking himself as the Knesset enters the final days of its summer session this week. Had he not buckled at the very last minute and cancelled his plans for calling early elections, he would now be only a couple of months away from an easy victory and his third term in the Prime Minister’s Office. » Read more

Drama meets daily life in Palestinian film ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Noah Browning - July 23, 2012 - 12:00am Brazen and in broad daylight, "Israeli infantry" plunge deep into the West Bank Palestinian capital of Ramallah, hoisting a flag atop a makeshift checkpoint. A motley crowd of children, veiled ladies and young men in jeans chant defiantly in the summer sun at the soldiers clad in olive drab and facing them with rifles. A clash looms. "Cut!" Director Rashid Masharawi steps into the fray, his cargo shorts and straw sun hat breaking the illusion created by the actors and production company at the set of feature-length film "Palestine Stereo". » Read more

Israel's part in Egypt's revolution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) July 23, 2012 - 12:00am Monday marks the anniversary of the Egyptian revolution. Not the Tahrir Square revolution that began last year – that is on 25 January – but the 23 July revolution of 1952. At a recent event I attended in Ramallah to mark the occasion, an Egyptian diplomat said that 2011 was a continuation of 1952. » Read more

Arab League backs bid for UN nod to Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 22, 2012 - 12:00am The Arab League on Sunday backed a Palestinian plan to ask the U.N. General Assembly to recognize a state of Palestine, but stopped short of setting a date for the bid, Palestinian officials said. Instead, Arab League representatives meeting in Doha asked a committee to prepare the U.N. appeal and report back on Sept. 5, said Saeb Erekat, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking by phone from Doha. Timing is crucial, with a U.N. bid before November potentially disrupting the U.S. presidential race. » Read more

Palestinians still need visa to enter Egypt: Airport source ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ahram Online July 23, 2012 - 12:00am A source at Cairo Airport told Ahram Online employees have not received any instructions to allow Palestinians to enter Egypt without a visa. Earlier on Monday, Associated Press news agency quoted Egyptian Airport officials saying that Egypt has started allowing Palestinians free entry into the country, ending part of a five-year blockade on the Gaza Strip. The decision would mean Palestinians can freely leave Gaza, says AP, pointing out that the decision also applies to Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem. » Read more

Defying the occupation with a camcorder ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) July 23, 2012 - 12:00am Eight or nine of those who "carry the burden," to use the jargon of the recent public discourse on military service in Israel, burst into the house in the middle of the night. Their weapons pointed, they wear camouflage helmets, backpacks with walkie-talkies, and streaks of paint on their faces. In the house: parents, four children (two boys, two girls ), a grandmother (paralyzed after a stroke ), and two friends. » Read more

Egypt allowing Palestinians freer entry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Sarah El Deeb - July 23, 2012 - 12:00am Egyptian and Palestinian officials say Egypt is allowing freer entry for Palestinians into the country, in an unprecedented move that eases long held travel restrictions particularly on Gazans but caused confusion among security agencies here. Airport officials said seven Gazans were allowed into Egypt Monday without the usual restrictions under which transiting Gazans under 40 years old were "deported" — taken in security escorts from the airport directly to Gaza, often after long detentions at the airport. » Read more

Israel, When the Lights Go Down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - (Film Review) July 21, 2012 - 12:00am Sitting in a darkened movie theater one recent morning, I had to suppress the urge to clap along as a dozen young male adherents of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov — well, actors playing Breslovers — danced around their black-hatted rabbi to an improvised ditty, “Ani lo yodea klum,” Hebrew for “I don’t know anything.” The rabbi had started the romp with that simple statement, trying to explain that wisdom was in the text for the taking. » Read more