Palestinian firefighters come to Israel's aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

Firefighters and firefighting personnel from all over the world came to Israel's aid over the weekend, responding to the most devastating fire the country has ever seen. While most of the aid that arrived had to be flown in, early Sunday morning, four fire engines manned by 21 firefighters began a five-hour drive to the Carmel mountains.

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Unraveling another myth about the State of the Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

In everything that pertains to locating the source of fires, water shortages, flight safety, earthquakes, etc. - subjects that require long-term planning - our decision makers prefer to use a method of pinpoint handling. It is known as "putting out fires." Yet the disaster in the Carmel has shown that we are also far from being able to be called world champions in putting out fires.

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HRW urges PA to release West Bank blogger
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 5, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Human Rights Watch on Sunday urged the Palestinian Authority to release a blogger detained over his religious opinions. PA intelligence officers arrested Walid Hasayin on 31 October at an internet cafe in the West Bank city of Qalqiliya. Ahmad Mbayyad, the head of the PA's military judiciary, told HRW that Hasayin was suspected of posting online messages criticizing Islam and other religions.

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Gazans Start to Eat Well Again, But Animals Face Starvation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - December 3, 2010 - 1:00am

Shops in the Gaza Strip are overflowing with food these days after Israel eased its blockade, but chickens, sheep and goats of the coastal enclave aren’t sharing in the new bounty. According to an Agriculture Ministry official in Gaza, a severe shortage of animal feed is threatening mass starvation of livestock. Zakariyah Kafarneh, head of veterinary services in the Palestinian Health Ministry, blamed Israel for the shortage, saying the Gaza Strip was in need of 16,000 tons of feed every month. Israel has been letting in only half of that quantity, he said.

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Childcare experts condemn police treatment of Palestinian stone-throwers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - December 3, 2010 - 1:00am

Sixty Israeli childcare experts and literary figures have sent an open letter to the prime minister and attorney general calling on the authorities to monitor more closely police interactions with minors suspected of stone throwing in East Jerusalem. The letter, sent last week, came amid recent complaints that the police have been making illegal arrests and using questionable interrogation methods in their campaign against stone throwing.

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Aid groups: Plight of Gaza civilians still dire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Diaa Hadid - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Business and construction in the Gaza Strip remain stifled half a year after Israel announced it would ease its three-year-old blockade of the needy, war-ravaged Palestinian territory, a report by several aid groups said Tuesday. The groups accused Israel of ducking promises to ease the blockade's effects on civilians, a pledge it made under pressure after a deadly Israeli commando raid in May on an international flotilla protesting the restrictions. The report said Israel is allowing in more food and some building materials but is dragging its feet on major construction projects.

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Israel's eased blockade 'still crippling' Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
by Jon Donnison - November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

That is the verdict of a new report by aid agencies and rights groups working inside the Palestinian territory. A ban on most exports from Gaza is "crippling" the economy, they say. The report, "Dashed Hopes: Continuation of the Gaza Blockade", was compiled by 21 different groups, including Oxfam, Amnesty and Save the Children. "Only a fraction of the aid needed has made it to the civilians trapped in Gaza by the blockade," said Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International.

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Palestinian girl fights life-threatening condition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Paula Hancocks - November 28, 2010 - 1:00am

The second Aya abu Mouwais opens her eyes she starts crying. The 3-year-old is in pain every waking moment and has been for two years. She is suffering from oxalosis, a condition which occurs when the kidneys fail. Doctors in Israel say if the Palestinian girl doesn't have a liver and kidney transplant she could die within months. Aya's mother, Suhair, wakes her gently. The pain in Suhair's eyes is clear with each of her daughter's sobs. "It is so hard for me to see her like this," she said. Aya also has a broken arm, the dialysis she needs five days a week has made her bones brittle.

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Israel razes Palestinian home in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 24, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli police on Wednesday razed a Palestinian house in occupied East Jerusalem, shortly before the owner arrived home with a court order halting the demolition. Scores of police and a single bulldozer were involved in the operation, which leveled the small house in the Al-Tur neighbourhood near the Mount of Olives. House owner Abed Zablah, a father of five, showed Agence France-Presse a letter issued early Wednesday by the Jerusalem District Court ordering a halt to the demolition. But by the time he got home with the letter, the house was already flattened, he said.

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Palestine aid models must change
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Kieron Monks - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am

"Peace Starts Here" is the slogan adopted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to promote its work in the Palestinian territories. But why does peace "start here"? Why not 60 years ago when UNRWA began its work with Palestinian refugees? Or 60 years in the future, when we will still be debating the same problems if the aid models do not change.

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