Israel deploys rocket interceptor near Eilat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 12, 2012 - 12:00am

The Israeli military has deployed the Iron Dome rocket-defense system to the Red Sea port city of Eilat. A military spokeswoman told Xinhua on Thursday that a single battery was stationed near the city as part of a "routine operational deployment program," in which the batteries are periodically relocated to different sites throughout the country. Palestinian militants intermittently fire rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, but strikes against Eilat, a desert resort that attracts hoards of Israeli and European tourists during the summer, are rare.

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'Two-state solution key to achieving peace'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - July 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a key issue in achieving regional peace and global stability, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday. He was delivering a speech at Haifa University, where he received an honorary doctorate in recognition of his work to combat anti-Semitism and his dedication to resolving the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

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Palestinian hunger striker in critical condition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Blake Sobczak - July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

A Palestinian prisoner convicted of transporting suicide bombers is in critical condition after a nearly three-month hunger strike, a rights group said Thursday. Akram Rikhawi started fasting on April 12, just before 1,200 other prisoners began refusing food to demand better conditions. Israeli authorities reached a deal with participants in the wider strike by mid-May, easing some restrictions. Rikhawi has continued to protest his detention by refusing to eat.

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A warning to Hezbollah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

A few months ago, after the IDF began a concrete wall between Metulla and Lebanon, an Israeli observation post spotted a group of men gathered on a rooftop just over the northern border. A closer look identified one of the men as the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in southern Lebanon. Several of the other men were later identified as senior Hezbollah operatives, also from southern Lebanon.

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Palestinians face the real police violence – with no right to demonstrate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Raghad Jaraisy - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Difficult questions about the thin line between legitimate protest and disturbing the peace have been raised by demonstrations organized by Israel's social protest movement and the methods used to police these events raise. What makes a protest legitimate? Is it the measure of 'righteousness' inherent in the cause? Or is it just a permit to demonstrate authorized by the police? And what makes a protest 'just'? Does justice exist only in the eye of the beholder? Or in the eyes of the political camps that we identify with?

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New Gaza policy needed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Giora Eiland - (Opinion) June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

The time-out between the latest round of fighting and the one to follow allows us to undertake a strategic assessment of our Gaza policy. Ever since Operation Cast Lead, and especially in recent months, we are managing the struggle using only tactical means. In this framework, we aim to identify the organization that fired at us and then target the rocket launchers.

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For Israelis, Palestinian oppression is out of sight and out of mind
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Alon Liel - (Opinion) June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems more stuck than ever. In the present stalemate, recent efforts by several foreign governments – including South Africa and Denmark – to insist on a clear distinction between products originating in Israel and those from settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are significant. These efforts can help pave the way to peace.

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Palestinian Authority arrests more than 100 following death of Jenin governor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - June 25, 2012 - 12:00am

Many family members of detainees from the Jenin refugee camp have been having trouble sleeping in recent weeks. Not because of their relatives held in Israeli prisons but rather because of their relatives held in Palestinian Authority prisons, and mainly because of rumors - which have been confirmed - of torture at the Preventative Security detention facility in Jericho.

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Hamas threatens to escalate attacks on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch - June 24, 2012 - 12:00am

Gaza's militant Hamas rulers threatened to escalate fighting with Israel on Saturday after airstrikes killed several gunmen in the coastal territory, and Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel wounded one person and damaged an elementary school in the country's south. The two sides periodically clash, but this flare-up was the most serious in months. It started with an attack by a little known al-Qaida-inspired Palestinian militant group but has extended to drag in Hamas.

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Israel, Palestine join forces in containing MRSA bacteria spreading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Amid a fresh round of hostilities along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Palestinian scientists are continuing joint efforts to combat a potentially lethal bacterium that is spreading in Gaza City. The research group has recently identified a unique strain of Methicillin - resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), a particularly aggressive antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which has become common in Gaza, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported on Monday.

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