No-one saw, no-one heard: 300 Palestinian olive trees uprooted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Some 300 olive trees belonging to Palestinians were uprooted on the night between Monday and Tuesday in groves near the village of Mihmas, close to the illegal outpost of Migron. Mihmas residents blamed settlers for the attack and said this was the third time the settlers had uprooted trees in the area.

»

Israel defies international law, again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli amendments to standing military orders that took effect last Tuesday were fresh punitive measures in a long line of destructive and illegal acts designed to deny Palestinians their basic human rights. The orders, signed by Major General Gadi Shamni, former commander of Israel's armed forces in the West Bank, broaden the interpretation of "infiltrator" to mean anyone who does not have a valid Israeli residence permit, and expand the powers of Israeli forces to deal with anyone they decide is a "security threat".

»

Little relief for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Mary Dejevsky - (Analysis) April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

The scene could have been almost anywhere where the rich and poor worlds collide. A reasonably maintained building surrounded by depressingly visible disintegration; and inside, a bright room where small children, dressed in their best, are waiting to sing, dance and recite for the benefit of cooing foreign visitors. The difference was that this was in Lebanon; in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp to be precise, outside the battered northern city of Tripoli. And afterwards each child received an envelope with the cash that would help maintain them and fund schooling for another month.

»

IDF bid to expel West Bank Palestinians is a step too far
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

A new military order will take effect this week, enabling the army to deport tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and prosecute them on infiltration charges, which carry long prison terms. The order, uncovered by Amira Hass in Haaretz yesterday, bears the signature of Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni in his previous capacity as commander of the Israel Defense Forces in Judea and Samaria.

»

Fayyad: New IDF orders threaten to empty West Bank of Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian leadership on Monday protested against Israeli military orders that could see tens of thousands of Palestinians deported from the West Bank. On Sunday Haaretz revealed that a new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison terms of up to seven years.

»

Human Rights Groups Warn of New Powers for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - April 11, 2010 - 12:00am

A recently amended military order that allows Israel to remove people from the West Bank if it does not recognize their legal status could lead to the expulsion of thousands of Palestinians, Israeli human rights groups warned Sunday. The amendment — to a 1969 order on dealings with those judged to be infiltrators of the West Bank — was signed by military officials last October and is due to take effect on Tuesday.

»

Israel threatens to shut off taps for West Bank water
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau threatened to restrict the West Bank water supply if no sewage treatment plants were installed in the area, a UN alert warned on Wednesday. The official reportedly told Israel's Army Radio that "They get clean water from us, and in return they give us sewage. This destroys nature, and I would also say that this is the way that wicked people behave."

»

Berkeley's Israel boycott: The occupation's new friend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

If I were a person who wanted to see the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land continue for as long as possible, I would be beside myself with relish at the thought of the current Boycott,Divestment,Sanctions (BDS) campaign at the school I love, the University of California, Berkeley. A word of background. At the time when I was an undergraduate at Berkeley, to talk with Palestinian peace activists and to back a two-state solution was to risk arrest in Israel.

»

Hamas in Gaza takes steps to carry out executions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by RIZEK ABDEL JAWAD - April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Human rights activists urged Gaza's Hamas rulers Thursday not to execute Palestinians who spied for Israel, as Hamas officials prepared to resume executions following a decade-long lull. Eleven men are on death row in Gaza, six convicted by Hamas courts of murder and five of spying for Israel, said the Gaza-based Independent Commission for Human Rights. Six others have been sentenced to death in absentia.

»

Palestinian refugees need more service from UNRWA: poll
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Syria expected more services from U.N. Refugees Works Agency ( UNRWA), according to the results of a poll, released here on Thursday. The poll was conducted from October 17 to 25, 2009 by the Beirut-based Organization for the Right of Return (Thabit), Palestinian Return Center (PRC) in London and Damascus-based Palestinian Return Community (Wajeb). It showed that among the 1,460 Palestinian refugees participating the poll, 92 percent of those in Lebanon and Syria support UNRWA's work, though 85 percent said that its work is "not enough".

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017