Communal Groups Back Somali in Bid To Block Israel Lawsuits
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - December 30, 2009 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON — American Jewish organizations that fought to establish the jurisdiction of U.S. courts for suits against terrorist groups are taking an opposite tack in suits involving human rights abuses. Jewish groups have filed briefs siding with a former Somali official now living in Virginia who is alleged to bear responsibility for atrocities committed during his tenure.

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This is not humane. We need dignity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Sami Abdel-shafi - (Opinion) December 29, 2009 - 1:00am

On my way to visit a friend in the Abed Rabbo district, north of the Gaza Strip, the taxi driver handed me a small pack of biscuits for change. There are nearly no copper coins left here so cab drivers barter a half Israeli shekel for biscuits brought in from the tunnels between the southern city of Rafah and Egypt's northern Sinai. Some Gazans, who once earned a respectable living, resorted to melting coins and sold the copper for food supplies.

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Protesters Gather in Cairo for March to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mona El-Naggar - December 29, 2009 - 1:00am

More than 1,000 people from around the world were gathered here on Tuesday for a solidarity march into Gaza despite Egypt’s insistence that the Gaza border crossing that it controls would remain closed to the vast majority of them.

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Israel and Egypt eye movement on peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher, Liam Stack - December 29, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Cairo Tuesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in talks aimed at bringing Egyptian pressure on the Palestinians ahead of a flurry of diplomatic activity expected next week, including a visit from US Middle East envoy George Mitchell.

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CHOIR FEELING FLAT OVER BOYCOTT ROW
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Tim Franks - December 23, 2009 - 1:00am

It should be a time of unalloyed joy for Tim Brown. The director of one of Britain's most well-regarded choirs is beginning a six-concert tour of Israel this week. The choir of Clare College, Cambridge, will be singing Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Israel Camerata Orchestra. But the singers have not, as a choir, been able to perform in East Jerusalem or Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, after a Palestinian protest against the choir's tour of Israel. The choir has been caught in the passionate arguments over whether Israel should be boycotted.

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ISRAEL: Good neighbors make fences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - (Blog) December 23, 2009 - 1:00am

While Egypt's steel barricade draws both ire and fire from Gaza, it isn't the only neighbor fencing in its property. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to build a fence along the country's border with Egypt. The border sprawls about 143 miles through sand-land and mountainous terrain, and with the exception of the official crossing at Taba, it is wide open. It is largely a peaceful area, but in recent years it has become increasingly exploited by a wide range of factors that are evolving into a real threat.

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UN expert slams 'tragic' international failure in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
December 23, 2009 - 1:00am

A UN human rights expert on Wednesday condemned a "tragic failure" by major powers to end Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip or probe alleged war crimes committed during a military offensive one year ago. In Geneva, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk, urged Israel's European and North American allies to press for the immediate end of the blockade "backed up by a credible threat of economic sanctions."

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PA to follow up on organ harvesting allegations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 22, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli organ harvesting, settlements, climate change and Christmas topped the agenda of the Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet meeting on Monday, in which ministers joined together in calling the Bethlehem Christmas tree a symbol of Palestinian unity and peace.

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Report: German mediator in Shalit deal to arrive in Gaza on Wednesday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Jonathan Lis, Barak Ravid - December 22, 2009 - 1:00am

A Hamas official said Tuesday that the German mediator brokering a deal for the release of Gilad Shalit - the Israeli soldier held by the Islamist group - will only arrive in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as Israel is seeking to modify its response to the proposed prisoner swap. Hours earlier, the group confirmed that it had received Israel's position on the deal, but later said that Jerusalem wanted to make adjustments and asked the mediator, who has never been named, to postpone his visit.

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World 'failed Gaza over Israeli blockade' - aid groups
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Tim Franks - December 22, 2009 - 1:00am

Aid agencies have strongly criticised the international community for failing to help bring an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza. The charities made the accusation in a report published just ahead of the anniversary of Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. The aid agencies condemn not just Israel, but the world community. In the words of Oxfam's director, Jeremy Hobbs, "world powers have failed and betrayed Gaza's ordinary citizens". The charities call for more pressure to be exerted on Israel to end what they describe as its illegal collective punishment of Gazans.

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