Hamas ignored requests to hand over Arish suspects
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Egyptian authorities on Monday presented an official request to the acting government in Gaza to arrest several armed Palestinians who participated in a recent attack on the Sinai police station in the city of Arish and returned to Gaza by way of tunnels. However, the authorities in Gaza have so far failed to respond to the Egyptian request.

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Israel's West Bank dilemma
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle
by Joel Brinkley - (Opinion) August 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Shaul Goldstein knows that most everyone on Earth dislikes him and his kind. For some, it's visceral hatred. For others, he represents the largest obstacle to solving a problem everyone everywhere wants resolved. "We are the enemy of the world," he volunteered without any prompting. "We have to hide behind a curtain."

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Israelis protest costly housing – but not cost of settlements. Why?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel yesterday announced new homes in East Jerusalem to ease a housing shortage. But critics argue that the cost of building in contested territory is partially to blame for Israel's economic woes. The Israeli government, facing unprecedented public protests over the soaring cost of housing, yesterday announced it is advancing plans for thousands of new homes in contested East Jerusalem.

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Editorial: The UN tactic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has provided no evidence to back his recent claim that the Palestinians were planning “bloodshed and violence the like of which we have never seen” in September as they push for UN recognition of an independent state. But when Lieberman said he feared the Palestinians could organize marches to coincide with the UN General Assembly in September, he was right. Palestinian leaders have drawn up a plan to stage rallies that would boost their drive for UN recognition.

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Hoyer: Abbas, Fayyad sent mixed messages on UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

PA prime minister tells visiting US lawmakers no final decision yet made on statehood bid, while Abbas talks as if deal is done. The Palestinian leadership sent mixed messages to a Democratic Congressional delegation visiting Ramallah, with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad saying that no decision on the UN bid in September has been finalized, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas gave the impression that going to the UN was a done deal.

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Israel prepares for Palestinian statehood rallies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Daniella Cheslow - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces are importing horses, water cannons, tear-gas launchers and a nauseating noise machine to control crowds if they become violent at Palestinian protests planned next month to support their bid for U.N. endorsement of statehood. Israel hopes the measures will avoid casualties among demonstrators.

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Hamas and Fatah agree to release political prisoners
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 8, 2011 - 12:00am

CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Hamas and Fatah have agreed to release all political prisoners after meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the reconciliation deal signed in April, official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The two factions also agreed to the formation of a committee to issue passports to Gaza residents before the end of Ramadan, as well as forming a task force to reopen institutions which were shut down in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of political animosities.

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No countries for old men
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Steve White - (Opinion) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am

After serving nearly six years as the special advisor to the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I came home convinced of one thing, cognizant of another. The first was that a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not only in the vital security interests of Israel and the future state of Palestine, but also the United States. The second, initially noted two years ago by a former IDF Chief of Staff, was that, "The USSC, the IDF and the Palestinian Security Services were buying time, time for the politicians....

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Settlers served restraining orders from West Bank over planned attacks on Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Judea and Samaria District Police and Shin Bet security services served 12 West Bank settlers with administrative restraining orders overnight on Monday. The orders were served in the wake of intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet, according to which a group of extremists have been involved in leading, planning and carrying out widespread secret, violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank over the last two years.

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Military officials warn of 'arson intifada'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Akiva Novick - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Residents of various West Bank settlements have found themselves under a new threat recently – arson. According to a report published by Yedioth Ahronoth Tuesday, more than 20 fires have been maliciously set in West Bank settlements and outposts in the past few weeks. Police investigators determined that all of the fires were the result of arson and evidence in all cases led to surrounding Arab villages. The Judea and Samaria District Police have recently arrested six suspects.

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