4 Die in Smuggling Tunnel Under Gaza-Egypt Border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Four Palestinians died Tuesday in a smuggling tunnel beneath the Gaza-Egypt border, according to medics in Gaza. Authorities with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said the men suffocated while repairing the tunnel, which they said had been hit by an Israeli missile several days ago during a recent wave of violence. Some people have died in the tunnels in the past after being overcome by fumes while smuggling fuel to Gaza.


Israel on verge of breakthrough in probe into Itamar massacre
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Chaim Levinson - April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli security forces believe that there will soon be a breakthrough in the investigation into the Itamar murders, in which five family members were stabbed to death in their home. On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces soldiers arrested more Palestinian suspects in Samarea in the West Bank, after dozens were already taken in for questioning regarding the Itamar murders. Earlier this month, terrorists entered the West Bank settlement of Itamar and murdered Ehud and Ruth Fogel, along with three of their young children, including their three-month-old baby, before fleeing the scene.

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Juliano Mer-Khamis obituary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rachel Shabi - April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian-Israeli actor Juliano Mer-Khamis, who has been shot dead at the age of 52, was a successful stage and screen performer, film-maker and activist, widely known for his work as the artistic director of the Freedom theatre in the refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin. Dedicated to equipping young Palestinians with the potent powers of art and self-expression, Juliano carved out a stage on which children could find their feet – and voice. The theatre's achievements have resonated around the world as a focal point of creativity against the odds.

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Gaza: Goldstone's recantation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) April 10, 2011 - 12:00am

First there was a veritable storm of fury when the original Goldstone Report was issued.

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Palestinian killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - April 8, 2011 - 12:00am

At least one Palestinian was killed and two Israelis were injured Thursday amid escalating violence between Israel's military and militants in the Gaza Strip. The clashes marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces successfully deployed a new short-range rocket interception system, Iron Dome, to destroy a Palestinian rocket launched toward the city of Ashkelon.

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11 killed in Gaza, dozens injured in series of strikes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli air strikes and artillery fire have hit Gaza eight times Friday, killing six, and bringing the total number of dead over the past 24 hours to eleven, almost half of who were civilians. A mother and daughter, and elderly man were killed in two separate strikes near Khan Younis, and a fourth unidentified man was killed in the most recent strike near Gaza City.

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The Goldstone Chronicles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) April 7, 2011 - 12:00am

We have a new verb, “to Goldstone.” Its meaning: To make a finding, and then partially retract it for uncertain motive. Etymology: the strange actions of a respected South African Jewish jurist under intense pressure from Israel, the U.S. Congress and world Jewish groups.

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UN jurist to review Gaza war criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

South African jurist Richard Goldstone has accepted an invitation to visit Israel and work to nullify his UN report accusing Israel of targeting civilians during its offensive in the Gaza Strip two years ago, Israel's interior minister said yesterday. The Israeli invitation follows Goldstone's comments that he no longer believes Israel intentionally fired at civilians. Israel had shunned the Jewish jurist since his 2009 report, ordered by the UN Human Rights Commission into the actions of Israel and Hamas in the three-week war of 2008-09.


Shock in Jenin after theater director's murder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Jenin refugee camp was in shock on Tuesday after the brutal murder of its theater director, with co-workers refusing to believe he was killed for his work. Juliano Mer-Khamis, a well-known actor and theater director born of Jewish and Palestinian parents, died on Monday when a gunman opened fire on his car as he was driving home with his infant son and the babysitter.

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Goldstone report: the unanswered questions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
(Editorial) April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

It is difficult, in this digital world of instant claim and rebuttal, to say that you were wrong. But Richard Goldstone's retraction of one of the claims of the report that he chaired – that Israel targeted civilians in the war on Gaza as a matter of policy – is one such instance. Mr Goldstone deserves credit for honesty. It is another matter altogether to decide whether all the other claims of a 575-page report are now invalidated. The Goldstone report was a fact-finding mission, not a judicial inquiry. It was not a document of verdict, but put forward evidence for further investigation.

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