Elvis Costello cancels concerts in Israel in protest at treatment of Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory McCarthy - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Elvis Costello has cancelled two concerts he was scheduled to play in Israel in protest at its treatment of Palestinians. Costello, one of the most gifted British songwriters of his generation, was due to play on 30 June and 1 July but says his "conscience" dictated that he pull out of the performances. He joins a list of performers who have decided not to play in Israel, including Gil Scott-Heron and Santana.

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PA launches door-to-door settlement good boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Ramallah – Ma'an – The Palestinian Authority will officially launch its settlement goods boycott campaign, entitled House to House, on Tuesday at 10am across the West Bank, aimed at encouraging residents to opt for Palestinian produce instead. The campaign, which will see over 3,000 volunteers go door-to-door to distribute the first part of a settlement produce guide, is the first leg of the PA's attempts to encourage West Bank residents to implement a wide-ranging boycott of goods made on illegal settlements.

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PNA to start boycotting campaign on settlement products
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

A senior Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official on Monday announced that the PNA would start soon a new activity of boycotting products made at Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Hassan Abu Lebda, the PNA minister of economy, told the weekly media program "Face the Press" organized by the Information Ministry, that the new activity of boycotting the products is called "from home to home." "The campaign will be launched on Tuesday, The campaign's representatives will move from one house to another to explain how important the boycott of settlements products is," said Abu Lebda.

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Settlers: PA boycott – economic terror
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Shmulik Grossman - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

The Yesha Council on Tuesday morning responded harshly to a new Palestinian Authority campaign distributing a list of banned Israeli companies. "This is an act of hostility with all intents and purposes on the part of the Palestinian Authority and its leaders, and it must be answered immediately and decisively just like any other act of hospitality," the settlers' body said in a statement.

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PA boycott threatens tradesmen with jail time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

In the coming days every Palestinian home in the West Bank will receive a detailed list of 500 products the Palestinian Authority has decided to boycott. The campaign against Israeli products, set to be launched Tuesday, is backed by a recently passed law entailing prison sentences and fines.

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Palestinians intensify settlement products boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinians stepped up a campaign against Israeli settlement products Tuesday, with hundreds of volunteers in white T-shirts distributing a brochure with brand names and photos of 500 goods they want West Bank consumers to shun. The campaign drew an angry response from the settlement movement which demanded that Israel close its ports to Palestinian goods. Government officials have said the boycott is counterproductive at a time of renewed peace efforts, but have not threatened retaliation.

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Declaring war on the intellect - Israel and Noam Chomsky
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

By stopping the illustrious American scholar Prof. Noam Chomsky at the Allenby Bridge and barring his entry into Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the government's outrageous treatment of those with the audacity to criticize its policies has reached new heights. Israel looks like a bully who has been insulted by a superior intellect and is now trying to fight it, arrest it and expel it.

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A country with no bosses: What we don't do ourselves, our foes will force from us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who has never lost his sense of humor or his optimism, returned last week from a short visit to Europe. And what do you think he discovered there? That Israel is in the worst situation it has ever been in. They despise Israel in Europe, and for the first time are questioning its very right to exist. Europe hates us, Ben-Eliezer found.

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Palestinians turn to boycott of Israel in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am

MAALEH ADUMIM, WEST BANK -- In Mishor Adumim, a bougainvillea-lined industrial zone inside this West Bank Jewish settlement, at least 17 businesses have closed since Palestinians began boycotting its products several months ago. For the Israelis, it's "an insufferable situation," according to Avi Elkayam, who represents the settlement's 300 factory owners. But for Palestinians, it might be the strategy they have been looking for.

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Abbas spokesman: Negotiations likely to fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Indirect negotiations are not likely to create significant changes or advancements in the peace process, Fatah official and presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said on Sunday. Blaming "Israeli stubbornness and insistence to continue building in settlements," Abu Rudaineh cast a pessimistic shadow over indirect negotiations scheduled to resume on Monday as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell returns to the region.

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