UN report lauds PA state-building progress
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

A new UN report lauds Palestinian Authority state-building achievements but warns of a widening gap between institutional progress and a stagnant political process. Prepared by the office of the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, the report follows previous UN assessments that the PA’s state-building progress is on track to deliver the goals it set out to achieve. "The PA has completed what it set out to achieve two years ago to prepare its institutions to be able to assume the responsibilities of statehood," the report, released on Wednesday, states.

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In Israel, Cairo attack deepens sense of siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - September 11, 2011 - 12:00am

After a week in which Israel’s diplomats were forced out of Turkey and Egypt, for years its regional allies, and facing a possible United Nations vote recognizing a Palestinian state, the country is experiencing a deepening sense of siege. Televised scenes of Egyptian protesters storming the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on Friday, and dramatic media accounts of the threat faced by six security men who were trapped for hours inside, summoned up for many Israelis nightmare scenarios of a lynch by an Arab mob.

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Israel faces growing isolation with key UN vote on Palestinian statehood looming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
September 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Rising tensions with some of its closest and most important allies have left Israel increasingly isolated ahead of a momentous vote on Palestinian independence at the United Nations. Troubles with Turkey, Egypt and even the U.S. are adding to Israel’s headaches ahead of the vote, which is shaping up to be a global expression of discontent against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Fischer warns of damage to Israeli-Turkish trade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Lilach Weissman - (Analysis) September 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer warned Monday that the deterioration in Israeli-Turkish relations could be harmful to Israel in the future. "Turkey is an important trading partner for Israel, and the consequences of damage to trade with it will be severe for us," Fischer told the regional cooperation conference, chaired by Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom, in Tel Aviv today.

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American Muslims Call for Gilad Shalit's Release
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A group of prominent American Muslims issued a letter urging Hamas to immediately release captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Aug. 26 letter’s 11 signatories include the two Muslim members of Congress – Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Andre Carson (D-IN) – as well as Muslim academics and communal figures. “We believe Hamas’ harsh treatment and five-year detention of Shalit is wrong,” the Muslim leaders wrote in their letter, which was addressed to Khaled Mashal, the Syrian-based chairman of Hamas’ political bureau.

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UN bid 'endangers Palestinian rights'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 24, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian team responsible for preparing the United Nations initiative in September has been given an independent legal opinion that reveals a high risk involved with its plan to join the UN. An initiative to transfer the Palestinians' representation from the PLO to a state will terminate the legal status held by the PLO in the UN since 1975 that it is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, according to the document.

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Glenn Beck hosts rally in Old City of Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Aron Heller - August 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Former Fox TV personality Glenn Beck capped a contentious visit to Israel Wednesday with a strong call of support for the Jewish state in a rally alongside a hotly disputed holy site in Jerusalem's Old City. The conservative commentator has won fans among Israel's far-right with his unabashedly pro-Israel, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and 2,000 people turned out to hear him speak next to the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

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Gaza cease-fire tested by Israeli airstrike, Palestinian rocket fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - August 24, 2011 - 12:00am

A tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip was punctured Wednesday by a deadly Israeli airstrike that triggered rocket and mortar fire at Israel. After 48 hours in which air attacks were suspended, an Israeli drone strike killed Ismail Asmar, a senior member of the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group, in his car in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, according to the military and local medical officials.

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7 killed in overnight airstrikes on Gaza Strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Seven Palestinians were killed and at least 30 injured as multiple Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza overnight Wednesday. Hisham Adnan Abu Harb was killed as an airstrike hit a smuggling tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza. Earlier, reports said that three people were unaccounted for after the Rafah airstrike. Four bodies were later pulled from rubble in the Rafah area. Hamas official Imad Muhammad Hamada had earlier said that crews were searching for the missing persons.

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Rights group: Rockets injure Palestinians inside Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Eight Palestinians, including two children and three women, were injured this week by rockets fired in populated areas across the Gaza Strip, a human rights group charged Wednesday. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights says a woman was seriously injured. After one incident, according to the PCHR, an ordinance disposal unit arrived at the scene and collected the rocket's shrapnel, but the civil police never showed up to investigate.

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