June 21st, 2012

Palestinian refugees with dream of returning home after 64 years ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 21, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian refugee Abdel Majid al- Mabhouh, 81, does not understand the ongoing complexities in politics, but only keeps in mind his right to return to his house and his village that he was forced to leave during the 1948 Arab- Israeli war with his family. » Read more

Principle and pragmatism demand an end to Gaza blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) June 20, 2012 - 12:00am Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of Israel’s imposition of a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. Although the land, sea and air blockade has not made Israelis any safer or enhanced Israel’s security, it has had a clear humanitarian and economic impact on Gazans. » Read more

Israel: "all options" open after Iran talks fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, June 20 (Reuters) - Israel responded on Wednesday to a lack of progress in talks aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme by demanding that the West impose stiffer economic sanctions on Tehran and hinting anew that a military option was still on the table. Six world powers and Iran failed to secure a breakthrough at talks in Moscow this week, the third round under the latest diplomatic initiative, and set no date for more political negotiations. » Read more

Israel eyes landfill site for Bedouin nomads ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jihan Abdalla - June 20, 2012 - 12:00am Bedouin tents and wandering goats dot the barren hills on the drive from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea, giving residents and visitors a glimpse of how the Holy Land must have looked in ancient times. With their corrals, water cisterns and tractors the camps look more like rudimentary homesteads. But the Bedouin tradition is slowly dying out as Israel clears the camps to make way for expanding Jewish urban settlements. » Read more

They started it ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) June 21, 2012 - 12:00am This time there is no argument - they started it. This time one can say with certainty that Gaza Kindergarten started the brawl and Israel Kindergarten in the south continued. That's how it is with quarreling kindergarten children. » Read more

Hamas signals ready for truce after Israel kills 2 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 20, 2012 - 12:00am Gaza militants said on Wednesday they were ready to sign up to an Egyptian-brokered truce to end three days of cross-border fighting after Israeli air strikes killed a Palestinian militant and a 14-year-old boy. In a statement, the militant wing of the Islamist Hamas group in control of Gaza said: "Responding to the Egyptian efforts, we and the armed resistance announce our commitment to stop this round of confrontation as long as the occupation stops this aggression." » Read more

Israeli President Shimon Peres discusses Syria and Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Lally Weymouth - (Interview) June 15, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama presented the Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres at a dinner at the White House on Wednesday. The last surviving founder of the state of Israel, Peres went on to serve as prime minister and leader of the Labor Party, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in the Oslo Accords, the first Israeli agreement with the Palestinians. The morning after the White House dinner, Peres sat down with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth at Blair House to discuss Syria, Iran and U.S. presidents from Kennedy to Obama. Excerpts: » Read more

Lally Weymouth’s interview with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Lally Weymouth - (Interview) June 20, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak sat down this week with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth. Excerpts: Q. An Israeli was killed this week in the south by someone from the Sinai. How do you see the situation in the Sinai? » Read more

Hamas Military Wing Accepts a Cease-Fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - June 20, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The military wing of Hamas, the Islamic group that governs Gaza, announced late Wednesday that it was committed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to end three days of fighting with » Read more

June 20th

Palestine nominates birthplace of Jesus in controversial UNESCO World Heritage bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Colum Lynch - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am Palestine, recognized last October as the 195th member state by the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recently launched its first initiative as a full-fledged government in the Paris-based agency, nominating the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and a traditional pilgrimage route to be listed as an endangered site on the World Heritage List. » Read more