Israeli settlers say open-fire rules against Palestinian rioters vague
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
(Analysis) September 8, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Some leaders among the Israeli settlement movement in the West Bank are concerned that existing open-fire orders for local civilian rapid-response teams may hobble their ability to respond effectively to possible attacks by Palestinians against their towns. In recent weeks, senior Israeli civilian and army security officials have refreshed community security chiefs on protocol and procedures as a part of Operation "Summer Seeds."

»

Peace Now: Settlement building doubles since freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 7, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Reuters) -- According to Peace Now's latest report released Wednesday, construction in West Bank settlements has doubled since the end of a building freeze which ended US brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians last year. Peace Now's Settlement Watch Director of Projects Hagit Ofran told Reuters that the settlement construction rate over the past year has allowed settlers to bridge the gap created during a 10-month moratorium that ended last year.

»

Israeli settlers vandalize IDF base in first 'price tag' act against army
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - September 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli settlers in the West Bank vandalized an Israel Defense Forces base on Wednesday, carrying out a "price tag" operation against the army for the first time since adopting the policy in recent years. Unknown perpetrators infiltrated a base in the Binyamin region and snuck their way to a mechanics workshop on site, where they slashed the tires and cut the cables of 12 army vehicles. The vandals sprayed the word "price tag" on the walls, as well as other graffiti referring to the three illegal homes demolished by the IDF in the outpost of Migron on Monday.

»

Palestinian PM says Israel hold 'full responsibility' for mosque arson
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Agence France Press (AFP) - (Analysis) September 6, 2011 - 12:00am

QUSRA, Palestinian Territories // The Israeli government bore "full responsibility" for an arson attack on a mosque in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority prime minister said yesterday, pointing to what he alleged was a lack of police action in the past, . "The Israeli government bears full responsibility for these attacks against our people, property and sacred places," Salam Fayyad said in a statement issued several hours after burning tyres were rolled into the ground floor of a mosque in Qusra village, some 15 kilometres south-east of Nablus.

»

W.Bank mosque hit after partial outpost demolition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Tom Perry, Abed Omar Qusini, Ari Rabinovitch - (Analysis) September 5, 2011 - 12:00am

QUSRA, West Bank, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Jewish settlers set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Palestinians said, in a likely reprisal for Israel's dismantling of three buildings in an unauthorised settlement outpost hours earlier. Abdel Azeem Wadi, a member of the village council in Qusra near the Palestinian city of Nablus, said settlers threw burning tyres into the mosque, damaging the entire first floor. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad denounced the attack as an act of terrorism.

»

Rivlin in Itamar: Israel is ours in its entirety
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin visited the West Bank settlement of Itamar in a show of support for the the community where five family members were slaughtered earlier this year, and said he believes that "the land of Israel is ours in its entirety." Rivlin met with Samaria Council Head Gershon Massika, toured an elementary school and paid a visit to the Fogel family's home, the site of the brutal attack that took place in March.

»

Israeli army trains West Bank settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 30, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli army is training settlers in the West Bank to repel any violent protests in the territories when the Palestinians try to secure UN membership next month, the military said. Asked to confirm a story first reported in Haaretz newspaper, the army issued a written statement saying it was in the process of training settlement response teams, "to deal with any possible scenario." But it declined to give details on "operational preparedness."

»

Lebensraum as a justification for Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Until now Israel had supported the occupation of the territories with two pillars: history and security - its right to inherit the land and its obligation to defend it. In recent weeks a third pillar was added, which all these years was hidden under straw and stubble. And maybe it's not a pillar but a snake, whose head must be crushed while it's still small.

»

Social justice also means ending the occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zeev Sternhell - (Opinion) August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Be the internal ills of Israeli society as they may, and they are too numerous to count, most of them can be treated and even cured; but the occupation and colonialism are terminal illnesses. Therefore anyone who refuses to understand - as did Shelly Yachimovich in her interview with Haaretz's weekend magazine - that the socialism of masters, and on behalf of masters, is no less ruthless and despicable than the neoliberalism of the rich on behalf of the rich, is not worthy of seeking the leadership of a party that has pretensions of charting the future.

»

Israel rejects challenge to West Bank barrier path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Daniel Estrin - August 23, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli Supreme Court has rejected a Palestinian village's appeal to reroute a section of Israel's West Bank separation barrier straddling the Jerusalem municipal border, saying the petitioners didn't prove the barrier would smother the village. Residents of Walajeh village had claimed the path of the section under construction would cut them off from their farmlands, cemetery and water source. Israel says the barrier, which at multiple points dips inside the West Bank, is crucial to keep out Palestinian attackers.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017