Israeli security chiefs differ on Gaza flotilla's potential danger
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 30, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel's security establishment is at odds over the scope of threat posed by an aid flotilla that had planned to set sail to the Gaza Strip in coming days, and over predictions that violence will ensue if Israel tries to block it. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has played down military assessments in recent days that pro-Palestinian activists are gearing up for violent clashes with Israeli navy troops to be dispatched to intercept the 10-vessel flotilla.

»

Let the flotilla go
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 27, 2011 - 12:00am

The term "flotilla" is understood in Israel as a declaration of war. This is the case with respect to the latest Gaza-bound flotilla, just as it was with the one that set off from Turkey in May 2010. Furthermore, due to unstable relations with Turkey, Israel is still feeling the repercussions of its deadly raid on that maritime convoy.

»

An Israeli View: Doing everything possible? I don't believe them
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 27, 2011 - 12:00am

In September 2005, I received a phone call from one of my wife's cousins. Her brother Sasson Nuriel was missing and they thought he might have been kidnapped in Ramallah. Sasson worked with many Palestinians, buying and selling factory equipment. As a first generation Iraqi Jew born in Israel, he spoke fluent Arabic and had many Palestinian friends.

»

A Palestinian View: We also have feelings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) June 27, 2011 - 12:00am

An interview with Qadura Fares bitterlemons: Can you please describe the state of Palestinian prisoners today? Fares: Right now, there are 5,500 prisoners distributed throughout 22 prisons and detention centers. Most of these prisons are located in Israel. One hundred and forty prisoners have been in jail more than 20 years. Forty prisoners have been in jail more than 25 years. Four have spent more than 30 years in jail.

»

Israeli arms industry a major economic engine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - June 20, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli defense sales in 2010 totaled 7.2 billion U.S. dollars, making the small nation the world's fourth largest exporter. Defense officials released the figure in an official report ahead of the Paris Air Show, which is scheduled to open on June 26. A bevy of Israeli firms hope to garner even more sales at the show, after a string of recent successes. Most of the sales are from four leading companies: Elbit Systems, Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, and Israel Military Industries, a Defense Ministry statement said.

»

Israel Warns of Using Force if New Flotilla Heads to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - June 16, 2011 - 12:00am

TEL AVIV — Israel made clear on Thursday that if a new flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists sought to break its naval blockade of Gaza like the one a year ago when its commandos killed nine people, the Israeli military would use force again, including boarding the ships and confronting the activists.

»

'UN says Syria allowed Naksa Day border crossings'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
June 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Report on Naksa, Nakba clashes on northern border says Syria didn't organize the demonstrations but Syrian armed forces were always nearby. Syrian armed forces allowed Palestinian demonstrators to cross the Israel-Syrian border in the Golan Heights during Nakba and Naksa Day protests, a United Nations report released on Wednesday said, AFP reported.

»

Alleged 'spy' in Egypt is US citizen, IDF paratrooper
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - June 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Ilan Grapel, the alleged Mossad agent arrested on Sunday in Egypt, is an American citizen who served in the IDF Paratrooper’s Brigade during the Second Lebanon War and interned last summer at the Israeli Supreme Court. Grapel, originally from New York, moved to Israel after graduating from John Hopkins University in the US and enlisted in the IDF.

»

Defend our borders, but make a gesture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Editorial) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab revolutionary wave has already touched the Palestinian issue in more ways than one. The transitional military regime in Egypt has granted Hamas in Gaza greater legitimacy, opened the Rafah crossing and pressed for a Palestinian unity government. Fairly modest demonstrations and exploitation of social media by youth in Ramallah and Gaza clearly exerted additional pressure on the Palestinian leadership to reconcile.

»

Ex-Mossad chief: Purity of arms eroded
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
June 9, 2011 - 12:00am

Zvi Zamir, Israel's Mossad chief in the years 1968-1974 is criticizing the government over its way of handling the 'Naksa Day' events which saw 23 Syrian protestors killed. In an interview with Israel Army Radio, Zamir attacked the decision to open fire at the Syrian protestors who tried to breach the border fence and said: "I'm concerned by the fact that soldiers, my grandchildren, are firing at unarmed people."

»


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