May 23rd, 2012

EU 'concerned' over conviction of Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - May 23, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The European Union says it is "concerned" over Israel's conviction of a prominent Palestinian protest leader. An Israeli military court on Sunday convicted Bassem al-Tamimi, 45, of urging youths to throw rocks at security forces and of leading illegal demonstrations, based on the testimony of a 15-year-old. Al-Tamimi led protests in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh for years against Israeli policies. The protests often turn into clashes between rock-throwing youths and Israeli forces firing tear gas. » Read more

Pro-Hamas students holed up on West Bank campus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - May 23, 2012 - 12:00am BIR ZEIT, West Bank — At 26, Saed Qasrawi is among the oldest students at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank. The leading Hamas activist has been enrolled for eight years, but he has been unable to complete his undergraduate engineering program because he keeps getting detained by Palestinian security forces before final exams. » Read more

Hamas-Run Schools Set Out to Teach ‘the Language of the Enemy’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - May 22, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA — There are few electives in the Hamas-run high schools here. Students can study health and the environment, or they can learn French. And, starting this fall at some schools, they will be able to sign up for a new course called Know Your Enemy. » Read more

May 22nd

Why Israeli Settlers Shot an Unarmed Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Robert Wright - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am When West Bank settlers shoot at unarmed Palestinians while Israeli soldiers look on without intervening, that's a story--especially when one of the Palestinians suffers a head wound. » Read more

Israel in Peril ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books by David Shulman - (Book Review) May 9, 2012 - 12:00am On April 15 of this year I was returning to Israel on an Alitalia flight from Rome. About forty minutes before landing in Tel Aviv, the captain informed us that Israel had announced extraordinary security measures, constricting its air space in response to an unusual threat, and that from that moment on—we were still high above the Mediterranean—until we would be allowed to leave the terminal, all photography was strictly forbidden; beyond that, we were to follow the instructions of Israeli security personnel on the ground. » Read more

Status Update ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Jonathan Schanzer - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am A war is brewing on Capitol Hill. And while wars tend to create refugees, this one may result in fewer of them. » Read more

Palestine Good Enough ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Kathleen Peratis - (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am Two-State-Solution activists have not given up on their faith-based belief that Obama will do in a second term what he has not done in his first: insert America aggressively, relentlessly and successfully into the (so-called) peace process and not allow Israeli and the Palestinians negotiators to leave the room without a full and final peace agreement.  They have not entirely given up hope that Obama may yet do so in what remains of his first term. » Read more

When Peace Seems Impossible: A Response to Hussein Ibish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Michael Kagan - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am It is often said that in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the two-state solution is the only game in town. And yet, despite the official commitment of the Israelis, the Palestinians, and nearly the entire international community, a two-state solution has failed to bear fruit. » Read more

Peace directive in the hands of leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am I challenge the leaders, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas – how long would it take to make real peace if making real peace was your primary governmental directive? If you said to yourselves: I will make peace with the other side – there is nothing more important for me to do in my position as leader of my people – how could your personal decision affect real change and make the difference in leading us to peace? » Read more

ATFP Expresses Alarm at Footage Showing Settlers Shooting at Palestinians in the Presence of Israeli Soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from ATFP (Opinion) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 22 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed deep alarm about a video released by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem that shows a group of armed settlers opening fire on Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank. Settlers, some of them masked and armed, reportedly entered the village of Asira al-Qibliya, near Nablus, on Saturday and began a confrontation by throwing rocks at the villagers. The Palestinians responded by throwing stones back at the settlers. » Read more