Ex-Israeli soldier seeks Palestinian citizenship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Dalia Nammari - June 14, 2012 - 12:00am

In an odd twist to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian saga, a former Israeli soldier has embarked on a new fight: He wants to renounce his Israeli citizenship and move to a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. Andre Pshenichnikov, a 23-year-old Jewish immigrant from Tajikistan, was recently detained by Israeli police for residing illegally in the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. There he told police that he wants to break all ties with Israel, give up his Israeli citizenship and obtain a Palestinian one instead.

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Former Arafat aide Rashid says Abbas worth $100m.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - June 14, 2012 - 12:00am

Yasser Arafat’s former financial adviser, Muhammad Rashid, stepped up his attacks on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over the past few days. A PA court recently sentenced Rashid in absentia to 15 years in prison and a $15 million fine on charges of embezzlement of public funds and money-laundering. The PA decided to prosecute Rashid after a series of interviews he gave to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV station in which he talked about his experiences as one of Arafat’s most trusted aides.

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Despite it all, still committed to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas told the French President Francois Hollande that if Israel releases weapons for his security forces and releases Palestinian prisoners he would be willing to meet in public with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. This statement is very peculiar. Both the demands and the promised outcome require a bit of analysis and inquiry.

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Parties say Israel-Vatican accord accepts occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian political factions on Sunday condemned a draft economic agreement between Israel and the Vatican, saying it entails the Holy See recognizing Israeli legislation in East Jerusalem and occupied Palestinian territory. The document outlining an agreement between Israel and the Vatican on legal and fiscal issues has been circulating in different circles, the PLO said in a statement.

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A Palestinian return to a just Intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) June 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Stones have always served Palestinians better than rifles and bombs. The First Intifada beginning in 1987 was the first demonstration of mass resistance. Boycotts and strikes were employed, and clashes on the ground were marked by stone-throwing Palestinian youth. Al Aqsa Intifada, from 2000 to 2005, is on the other hand remembered for a spiral of suicide bombings and pitched battles with the Israeli military.

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Rashid: Corruption conviction is political
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A former aide to the late President Yasser Arafat convicted of corruption on Thursday dismissed the charge as politically-motivated. A Palestinian Authority corruption court on Thursday sentenced Mohammad Rashid and two other businessmen in absentia to 15 years in jail and ordered them to return $33.5 million in funds stolen during Arafat's rule.

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1967 has been bad for Palestinians and Israelis alike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill
by Hanan Ashrawi - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

Forty-five years ago this week, catastrophe befell the Palestinian people for the second time in as many decades, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip during the 1967 War. Nearly half a century later, the catastrophe continues, as millions of Palestinians still live under Israeli military rule, denied the most basic civil and political rights, while their land is relentlessly colonized with illegal, Jewish-only settlements that are destroying their hopes for the future.

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Imagining a Palestinian Economy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Amal Daraghmeh Masri - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

At the last meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for Aid to Palestine, the Israeli delegation argued that the Palestinian economy was not ready to sustain an independent state. But this argument is frustrating. It is Israel’s very denial of independence that most impedes Palestinian economic prosperity.  As a board member of the Palestinian Business Women’s Forum, I was appalled by this conclusion.

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Imagining a Palestinian Economy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
(Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am

     At the last meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for Aid to Palestine, the Israeli delegation argued that the Palestinian economy was not ready to sustain an independent state. But this argument is frustrating. It is Israel’s very denial of independence that most impedes Palestinian economic prosperity.  As a board member of the Palestinian Business Women’s Forum, I was appalled by this conclusion.

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Fatah, Hamas agree on unity government lineup
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian rival factions Fatah and Hamas agreed here on the ministerial lineup of the national consensus government, official news agency MENA reported on Wednesday. The talks between Fatah and Hamas was held in the headquarters of Egypt's general intelligence. Fatah central committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad, who was leading the Fatah delegation, expressed his satisfaction with the results of the meeting, noting that "all matters are going smoothly in line with what was previously agreed upon."

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