White House says status of Jerusalem to be decided by Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Monday that the status of Jerusalem should be settled through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Commenting on the recent assertion by Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, White House spokesman Josh Earnest reiterated: "It's the view of this administration that the capital is something that should be determined in final status negotiations between the parties."

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In Jerusalem speech, it was Romney's voice but Netanyahu's words
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) July 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Romney's staff picked the 150 guests carefully. Religious American immigrants dominated the crowd; secular Jews and native-born Israelis were few and far between. Those present included Jewish-American millionaires, settler leaders like the former chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements Israel Harel, and former Netanyahu aides such as Dore Gold, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Yoaz Hendel.

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Mitt, Are You Sure This Trip Was a Good Idea?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Even before he gets to Israel this weekend, Mitt Romney has discovered the perils of trying to look like a statesman overseas while running for office at home.

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Ashrawi calls on EU to review economic relations with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 24, 2012 - 12:00am

Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Tuesday called on the European Union to review its relations with Israel in light of its persistent violations of international law. The EU-Israeli Association's annual meeting, held in Brussels on Tuesday, is an opportunity for the EU to ensure any economic relations with Israel are contingent on its compliance with international obligations, Ashrawi said in a statement.

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'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.

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A story addresses solidarity across Israeli roadblocks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Michael Felsen - (Book Review) July 23, 2012 - 12:00am

“Means of suppressing demonstrations,” a short story by 25-year old Israeli author Shani Boianjiu that recently appeared in the fiction slot of the prestigious The New Yorker magazine, has garnered plenty of attention in the few weeks since it was published. Set at a checkpoint on a closed, deserted road in the West Bank, it explores a range of questions about human dignity and the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on both the occupier and the occupied. Commentators are sharply divided on what the author intends with this simple story.

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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.

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Egypt's president promises to help lift Gaza blockade: Hamas official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi promised to exert more efforts to lift a blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, a Hamas official said Thursday. The promise was made during a meeting between Morsi and a delegation from Hamas in Cairo Thursday, according to the official, Ayman Taha. It is the first time that an Egyptian president has sat with Hamas, the Islamic movement that took over Gaza after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

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Israel Walls Itself In
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours - (Opinion) July 20, 2012 - 12:00am

As Israel continues to build walls and fences along virtually each of its borders, analysts say the country’s isolationist policies and unwillingness to deal with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbours through anything other than forceful means spells disaster.

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Israeli-Palestinian peace remains core issue of Middle East: Jordanian king
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Jordanian King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that despite the turmoil and challenges facing the Middle East, the core issue of the region remains the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

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