World Bank finds Israel’s water policy hard to swallow
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Stephen Glain - April 28, 2009 - 12:00am

As a former, and by many accounts successful, finance minister, Benjamin Netanyahu presumably knows his way around economics. So when the Israeli prime minister says he will work to provide the Palestinians with economic, if not political, independence, might that not suggest his hard-line government understands that a prosperous Palestine would be an important first step towards a more stable Middle East?

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Encountering peace: Education for peace - who will stand up to the challenge? Part II
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am

A peace process occurs between nations transferring them from a state of war between enemies to a state of peace between partners. A successful peace process requires a shift of attitudes in a cross section of the society and must be built between the peoples. This lengthy process also requires formal education that should take place through the educational system.

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Israel built, planned 9,000 homes on war-won land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's previous government built or issued bids for some 9,000 homes for Israelis in Jerusalem and the West Bank, despite its promise to pursue a peace deal with the Palestinians, settlement monitors said Monday, summarizing Ehud Olmert's three years as prime minister. The Israeli watchdog groups Peace Now and Ir Amim urged President Barack Obama to step in quickly and pressure Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to halt further settlement expansion, particularly in the areas of Jerusalem the Palestinians want for their future capital.

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Settler injures West Bank youth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
April 27, 2009 - 12:00am

A Palestinian teenager has been shot and seriously injured by a Jewish settler in the northern West Bank. Palestinian officials said the boy had been working on his family's land near Madama when he was shot by settlers. There are no reports of any arrests. The incident took place near the Yitzhar settlement. The boy was later taken to hospital in Nablus. An Israeli police spokesman said a settler had opened fire after coming under attack by stone-throwers. The settler was due to be questioned by police, the spokesman told AFP news agency.

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Demolitions build Jerusalem tension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Katya Adler - April 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Five young children cling to their mother. All of them are crying. This morning, without warning, Israeli bulldozers came to destroy their home in Jabal Mukabar area of East Jerusalem. Speaking amongst the mangled remains of her house, Samia Ihdaidoon says she was still sleeping when Israel's police arrived. "They came pounding on the doors and climbed in through the bedroom window as if it was a raid. They said I had five minutes to put on my scarf and collect our valuables, then I had to get out. It's a shock for the children. Look at their faces. I'm in despair."

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Rights Group Challenges Israel's Gaza War Probe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
April 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli army's investigation of troop conduct during its war on Gaza appeared to be an attempt to cover up "violations of the laws of war." The army defended its conduct during the massive 22-day offensive against the Hamas rulers of Gaza in December and January, saying five military probes found its forces "operated in accordance with international law." But Joe Stork, a deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said: "The conclusions are an apparent attempt to mask violations of the laws of war by Israeli forces in Gaza."

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World Bank: Israelis get four times more water than Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) April 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The water-supply regime used by Israel and the Palestinians must be changed, according to a World Bank report that is to be published today. The report notes that an average Israeli gets four times as much water as the average Palestinian, and warns that the Palestinian Authority water system is "nearing catastrophe." It concludes by recommending that the current water-distribution arrangement, mandated as part of the Oslo II accords, be changed to improve the Palestinian system.

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Human Rights Watch accuses Hamas of Gaza killings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Human Rights Watch accuses Hamas of Gaza killings Report issued by human rights group says Gaza security forces killed at least 32 Palestinian political rivals, suspected collaborators with Israel during and after Operation Cast Lead. Hamas spokesman denies accusations, says launched investigation into reports of political killings Reuters Hamas security forces killed at least 32 Palestinian political rivals and suspected collaborators with Israel during and after the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.

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Israel's discriminatory policy out in the open
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Opinion) April 19, 2009 - 12:00am

First, there was the openly racist anti-Arab campaign platform of Avigdor Lieberman, who called for stripping Palestinian Israelis of their citizenship and requiring them to take an oath of allegiance. The strong showing of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home} in the recent Israeli election validated for many Israelis, Lieberman’s racist views and led some Israeli commentators to wistfully observe that racism was now an acceptable Jewish value in Israel.

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Trembling earth under economic peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Alon Cohen-Lifshitz - April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The West Bank is returning to center stage amid expectations that the new U.S. administration will do more to push the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians forward. The United States faces the old vision of two states living side by side and enjoying independence, security and prosperity. Unfortunately, this vision relies on false assumptions about the West Bank's development potential.

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