Palestinians demonstrate for refugees' right to return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - May 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Thursday witnessed demonstrations calling for the Palestinian refugees' right of return to their home as the Palestinians are to mark their 63th Nakba day on Sunday. Nakba day, or "catastrophe day" in Arabic, is an annual Palestinian event to commemorate the creation of Israel in 1948.

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Blowback: Israel's bogus narrative on Palestinian refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ghada Karmi - (Opinion) April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Ghada Karmi, author of "In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story," responds to The Times' April 7 article on Lifta, the last intact pre-1948 Palestinian village.

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Palestinian groups deny involvement in recent unrest in Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Damascus-based Palestinian political groups denied on Monday accusations that some Palestinians were behind recent unrest in Syria. In a statement, the groups warned of "attempts of division between Syria and the Palestinian factions." Khaled Abdul Majeed, secretary of the national follow-up committee and the Palestinian forces coalition, said in the statement that "Syria will overcome the current crisis and will be able to foil external attempts to undermine its national stability. "

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Bedouin reject compensation offer, accusing Israel of land grab
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zafrir Rinat - March 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli government is trying to wedge a divide within the Bedouin community in the Negev in order to seize its lands, Bedouin representatives said on Thursday, in response to a reported government initiative to settle the issue of unrecognized Bedouin settlements in southern Israel.

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Palestinian with Jewish wife and IDF veteran son denied permanent visa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yanir Yagna - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian man who is married to a Jewish woman and whose son served in the Israel Defense Forces was recently informed that he is ineligible for a permanent visa to live in Israel. "I can't buy a home here like a human being, I can't open a business for fear that they'll soon kick me out," said Adel Hussein, who has lived most of his life in the West Bank city of Tul Karm, but now wants to live near his son in Israel. "There is no explanation as to why they're not letting me be a permanent citizen. My son served in a combat unit - is that not total loyalty to the state?"

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The Palestinians' Long Wait in Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Josh Wood - March 2, 2011 - 1:00am

Lebanon hands out and renews hundreds of thousands of work permits every year to people from Africa, Asia and other Arab countries. But until now, only a handful have been given to the country’s large Palestinian refugee population. Six months ago, the Lebanese government was internationally applauded for passing legislation granting the Palestinian population the right to work. But real changes remain to be seen.

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Fayyad tours Ramallah refugee camps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Salam Fayyad continued Tuesday his consultations to form a new government; meeting with representatives of the refugee camp popular committees and representatives of the private sector. Fayyad affirmed in a statement that the PA exerts tremendous efforts to develop the services and standard of living of the residents in the camps in a manner that meets with their natural right in a dignified life without exempting UNRWA from its political and legal responsibilities to care for the Palestinian refugees.

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The refugee issue in the API: contradictory or complementary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mati Steinberg - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am

The Arab Peace Initiative comprises two main references to the Palestinian refugee issue that seem to be mutually contradictory. On the one hand, the API stipulates the need for "a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with United National General Assembly Resolution 194". On the other, it indicates "the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation ["tawtin"] which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries".

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Israel’s apartheid image
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Gadi Taub - (Opinion) January 28, 2011 - 1:00am

Just before going through passport control at Ben-Gurion airport, one sees a stand with small brochures packed with some basic, catchy information about Israel. These booklets are meant to equip Israelis traveling abroad with some flattering anecdotes and fundamental facts to help them improve Israel’s image overseas.

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Palestinian plight in northern Lebanon refugee camps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Wyre Davies - January 8, 2011 - 1:00am

It is sometimes controversially said that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in worse conditions than those during the Israeli occupation in Gaza. There is no better place to witness and document the plight of Lebanon's refugees than Nahr al-Bared. It was such conditions that contributed to the destruction of the refugee camp, in 2007, as troops from the Lebanese army fought with Islamist militants. In May of that year, fierce fighting erupted here - a sprawling Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

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