July 8, 2008 | The American Task Force on Palestine

Daily News Issue Date:

July 8, 2008

In an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun Professor Shibley Telhami analyzes data from public opinion surveys regarding Palestine conducted in six Middle Eastern countries (1). Tension mounts in East and West Jerusalem as a result of recent attacks (2). Violations of the Gaza ceasefire continue from both sides (3). Residents in the West Bank town of Ni?lin protest an ongoing IDF imposed curfew (6). Israel announces plans to shut down Hamas-affiliated organizations in the West Bank (7).

Mostafa: Israel Is Seeking Reviving Negotiations To Buy Palestinian Gas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Atef Sa'ad - (Opinion) July 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

The managing director of the Investment Fund, Mohammaed Mostafa, has revealed yesterday that Israel is seeking to revive negotiations to buy Palestinian gas, while the Palestinian side and the British Gas company, the main developer of gas from Gaza's beaches, are being cautious in making a decision over this issue until they are certain of Israel's seriousness.

Israel Closes Gaza Crossings After Mortar Attack (1:00am Est)
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 8, 2008 - 3:26pm

Israel closed all but one of its border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to a mortar attack 24 hours earlier, Israeli officials said. The Jewish state said one mortar shell was fired from Gaza on Monday and landed in southern Israel, causing no casualties or damage. "All crossings, except for the Erez terminal, will be closed today because of the mortar fired yesterday," said defense official Peter Lerner.

Israel Opens Gaza Crossings Despite Palestinian Mortar Fire (10:00am Est)
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 8, 2008 - 3:28pm

Israel agreed to an Egyptian request and opened its border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday despite Palestinian mortar fire that violated a three-week-old truce. The request from Egypt was an attempt to prod forward the cease-fire, which was designed in part to ease Israel's crushing blockade of the coastal strip. In so doing, Israel suggested it might stop automatically closing the crossings in response to every truce violation, like the mortar shell Palestinian militants fired Monday.

An End To Conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Andrea Barron - (Opinion) July 8, 2008 - 3:30pm

There was Ehud Olmert, prime minister of Israel, promising to freeze all Jewish settlements in the West Bank and remove 300 roadblocks to make it easier for Palestinians to get to work, attend school and farm their land. Then Mr. Olmert said he would dismantle over 100 settlements and unauthorized outposts to show Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel was serious about concluding a peace agreement before the end of the year.

Israel, Hezbollah To Swap Prisoners
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - July 8, 2008 - 3:32pm

Israel's military said it began digging up the bodies of Lebanese fighters yesterday after the government struck a deal with Hezbollah guerrillas to swap five living prisoners and dozens of bodies for two Israeli soldiers captured in 2006. Israel said in a statement that the swap agreement was signed "in the presence of a U.N. representative." Implementing the deal depends on carrying out further steps, the statement said without providing specifics. Hezbollah officials would not comment.

Nearly Billion Dollars In Direct Aid Disbursed To Palestinians In Six Months
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
July 8, 2008 - 3:33pm

The international community has paid out nearly a billion dollars in direct aid to the Palestinians in six months, officials of the International Donors' Conference for the Palestinian State said here late Monday, while hitting out at Israeli restrictions on movement by Palestinians. The chair and the co-chairs of the Paris conference, which last December came up with pledges of donations totalling 7.7 billion dollars over three years, "strongly welcomed" the process of disbursing the funds.

Israel-hamas Truce Boils Down To Simple Tradeoff
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 8, 2008 - 3:37pm

An Israel-Hamas truce has boiled down to a simple tradeoff: For a day of calm, Israel adds five truckloads of cows and 200 tons of cement to its shipment of the barest basics to Gaza, but also punishes sporadic rocket fire by resealing the territory for a day.

Israeli Troops Raid Girls' School And Medical Centre In West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 8, 2008 - 3:45pm

Israeli troops in jeeps swooped down on the West Bank city of Nablus early on Monday, shutting down a girls' school, a medical centre and two other facilities of a Hamas-affiliated charity, witnesses said. Computers, documents, cash and furniture were seized, the witnesses said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the Palestinian reports. But the raid appears to have been part of an intensified crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank by Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Fayyad Suggests Foreign Troops For Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 8, 2008 - 3:48pm

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Monday he was proposing ideas that include the temporary deployment of Arab security forces in Gaza to help reunite Hamas-run Gaza with the West Bank. Fayyad said his ideas, proposed in meetings with foreign Arab and Western officials, complemented an initiative by President Mahmoud Abbas last month to offer a national dialogue to end the rift between the secular factions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and their Islamist rival Hamas.

Paralyzed Palestinian Girl Fights To Stay In Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 8, 2008 - 3:51pm

Paralyzed from the neck down in an Israeli strike on the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, six-year-old Palestinian Maria Amin is fighting an order to move her from a rehabilitation centre in Israel to the West Bank.

*the Challenge Of Development Under Occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-ayyam
by Hassan Al-battal - July 8, 2008 - 3:54pm

I gently pressured my colleague, Abd Al-Naser Al-Najjar, to continue the third part of his field investigation into the realities and problems of the Jordan Valley, and the ways to solve them. His excuse is that he's busy as an editor in chief, a weekly columnist with additional editing duties during the summer time, and, soon, the director of the Media Center at Birzeit University.

Rumors Of Peace Amid Rumors Of War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) July 8, 2008 - 3:55pm

There has been much talk lately behind the long hallways of power in the U.S. capital of an impending move toward peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. To become a reality the many pieces that make up the Middle East's complicated geopolitical jigsaw puzzle have to come together at the right time to fit in correctly.

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