WEST BANK: Israeli military court sentences Palestinian nonviolence activist to prison
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

An Israeli military court Monday sentenced Palestinian nonviolence activist Abdullah Abu Rahmeh to one year in prison and a $1,400 fine after it found him guilty of “incitement” and “organizing illegal demonstrations.” Abu Rahmeh’s arrest had provoked strong international reaction, with some describing it as an attempt to silence freedom of expression. The court gave the military prosecutor one month to appeal the decision and ask for a harsher sentence. The prosecutor had sought a sentence of more than two years to make an example of Abu Rahmeh.

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Jericho unveils massive ancient mosaic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Visitors to ancient Jericho got a rare glimpse Sunday of a massive 1,200-year-old carpet mosaic measuring nearly 900 square meters (9,700 square feet), making it one of the largest in the Middle East. The small red, blue and ochre square stones laid out in sweeping geometric and floral patterns cover the floor of the main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. Since being excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, the mosaic has largely remained hidden under layers of canvas and soil to protect it against sun and rain.

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Israel Continues Deportation of Palestinians with Gaza ID
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am

When 31-year-old Farid Sha’aban was driving with his friend near the Israeli city of Beer Sheva in late October 2008, he could not imagine how drastically his life was about to change. “The police stopped us. They came right at me, handcuffed me, and drove me directly to the Gaza Strip,” Sha’aban told The Media Line. Sha’aban, whose father was born in Gaza and who lived there for only one year at age 11, was deported to Gaza because his address was registered in the town of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip.

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West Bank Oktoberfest raises a glass to Palestinian culture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Reporting from Taybeh, West Bank Maybe it's the afternoon beer-chugging contest in a land where 98% of the people are Muslim and prohibited from drinking alcohol. Or the fact that pork-filled German bratwurst and stein-carrying beer maidens have been replaced by roasted lamb gyros and AK-47-carrying policemen. Then there's the eclectic crowd, including Boy Scouts, nuns, foreign diplomats and even a few liberal-minded Jewish Israelis, who celebrated with thousands of other partygoers, technically violating the military ban against Israelis entering Palestinian towns.

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PA: Latest Israeli soldier video 'deeply offensive'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A personal film showing an Israeli soldier dancing around a Palestinian woman uploaded to YouTube on Monday "is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier," a Palestinian Authority statement said. The video, showing an Israeli soldier belly-dancing next to a woman who is a blindfolded and handcuffed, head leaning against a concrete wall, sparked outrage for Palestinians and embarrassment for the Israeli military, as Tel Aviv papers branded the incident "Another YouTube embarrassment for IDF."

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Can Palestinian police get respect through soccer clinics?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

For years, the Palestinian police force has been considered by many in the West Bank and Gaza to be weak, corrupt, disconnected from the people – not to mention in cahoots with Israel. But, in an effort to win the hearts and minds of the Palestinian grassroots, the West Bank police force has embarked on a community outreach campaign, organizing soccer clinics, town meetings, and antidrug information chats for kids.

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Play the wild card
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ami Kaufman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Pessimism,” “doomed to fail” and “waste of time” – these words and phrases litter the reporting and blogging on the current talks between Israel and the Palestinians. One can only hope to be pleasantly surprised and hear that by the end of next summer they will be deemed a success. But seeing as how the pessimists seem to be a majority, now may just be the time to think of creative ways to end the stalemate. One possibility would be for a third party to change the rules of the game. This would fundamentally change the status quo and force the two sides to act accordingly.

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Israeli principal summoned over history textbook that adds Palestinian view
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Catrina Stewart - September 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel’s Education Ministry is locked in a row with a liberal high school over its use of a history textbook that gives both the Israeli and Palestinian versions of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The ministry has summoned the principal of Shaar Hanegev high school in southern Israel for “consultations” over the decision to continue using the textbook, which has been banned from the national school curriculum. Critics denounced the move as a regressive step by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-leaning government to assert the Israeli narrative over the Palestinian one.

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Fatah official: Serious progress in unity talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Fatah Revolutionary Council member said Monday that "serious progress" has been made in finalizing a unity deal between his party and Hamas following a meeting in Damascus over the week. Faisal Abu Shahla told Ma'an that representatives from the rival parties agreed on three disputed points of four during the Damascus meeting, which have thus far stalled the ratification of the Egyptian-backed unity deal.

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Fighting radicalism with reform in Lebanon refugee camps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 27, 2010 - 12:00am

In the sprawling streets of the Burj Brajneh refugee camp, in the heart of Beirut, almost 20,000 people struggle to make a living. Mothers try to feed their children with food vouchers from the United Nations, and families live in ramshackle buildings with few of the basic facilities enjoyed by people in wider Lebanese society. Mohammed Al Shuli's grandfather fled to Lebanon in 1948 from his home in what is now the Israeli city of Acco.

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