Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Former PM Olmert is acquitted of major corruption charges, but convicted on “breach of trust.” The population of Israeli settlers in the occupied territories is booming under PM Netanyahu. Netanyahu refers a report asserting broad Israeli authority over the occupied territories, and which denies there is any occupation, to his ministerial committee on settlement affairs. The US criticizes the report. Israel's Air Force bombs southern Gaza with no injuries reported. Hamas demolishes more homes in Gaza it says are built on government land. Palestinian businesses are reaching out to new markets in Jordan. An Israeli oil well project straddles the border between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. A new poll suggests young Jewish Americans may be growing more, rather than less, attached to Israel. The UN says Israel has dramatically increased the demolition of Palestinian homes. The PA says it plans to hold local elections on October 20. COMMENTARY: Adam Gonn says Pres. Abbas' participation in a conference in Tehran is not intended to appease Ahmadinejad. Alex Fishman says Abbas is only undermining his own credibility by going to Tehran. Aeyal Gross critiques claims by the Levy Committee Report that there is no occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Jerusalem Post says it also thinks there is no occupation in the occupied territories. Gershon Baskin says peace cannot be achieved at the expense of either Israelis or Palestinians. Kenneth Bandler says Israeli government efforts to promote employment among Palestinian citizens of Israel should be supported by everybody. Robert O. Freedman says there are solid grounds for stronger ties between Israel and Russia. Dimi Reider says closer Israeli-Russian ties are based on growing shared, and disturbing, values. Osama Al Sharif says the late Pres. Arafat's death continues to haunt friend and foe alike.

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Former Israeli Premier Is Cleared of Most Corruption Charges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister of Israel, was acquitted of corruption charges in two matters by a Jerusalem court on Tuesday, but convicted in a third, in a high-profile corruption prosecution that cut short his term in office and changed the course of Israeli politics and diplomacy. Mr. Olmert was convicted of breach of trust, the least serious of the charges he faced, and will be sentenced in September, according to court documents. » Read more

Israeli settler population surges under Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was elected more than three years ago, the Jewish population in the West Bank has ballooned by 18 percent, drawing tens of thousands of Israelis to the territory the Palestinians claim as the heartland of a future state, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press. » Read more

Netanyahu to discuss legal status of West Bank settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he will discuss a recent report stating that settlements in the West Bank are not illegal. "This report, in my opinion, discusses the question of the legality and legitimacy of the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria on the basis of the facts and claims that merit serious examination," said a statement sent by the prime minister's office. "I will submit this report to the Ministerial Committee on Settlement Affairs I established and we will discuss it and make a decision," Netanyahu said. » Read more

US displeased with Levy Report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The American Administration vehemently disagrees with the findings of the Levy Report, which states that the Israeli government must promote the legitimization of all West Bank settlements and outposts. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday evening, State Department Spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that, "The US position on settlements is clear. » Read more

Israeli jets strike south Gaza, no injuries ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli fighter jets on Tuesday morning bombarded several sites in the southern Gaza Strip, without causing injuries. Three missiles landed in a militant base of the Al-Ansar Brigades, the military wing of Al-Ahrar movement, in Khan Younis, witnesses said. The airstrike caused material damage, but no injuries were reported. Another unidentified site was bombed in Rafah. An Israeli military statement said the forces targeted "two Hamas terror activity sites," confirming direct hits. » Read more

Gaza govt begins demolition of homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency July 8, 2012 - 12:00am The Gaza government on Sunday began the demolition of several homes in Gaza City, saying they are built on government land. Abu Al-Abed Abu Omra, whose house is threatened with demolition, told Ma'an that police officers arrived late Saturday night and told residents to evacuate their homes in order to facilitate the demolition. He said that there are more than 120 families living in the 15-dunams area under threat, near Gaza's Al-Azhar University, and they have been there since 1948. » Read more

Palestinian businessmen searching for new markets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Abdullah Omar - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am From furniture to cosmetics to food, dozens of Palestinian companies are seeking new markets in Jordan. Fifty seven Palestinian companies, including seven from Gaza, were in Amman this week for the first-ever exhibition in Jordan to find local partners and boost investment in the Palestinian territories. » Read more

Does Israel walk a thin line with West Bank oil drill? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Alex Rowell - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am While the search for oil beneath Israel has been going on for years, the most recently drilled well in the Meged oil field, on the edge of the West Bank, is raising concern that it might draw from untapped Palestinian reserves. After a 10-minute uphill hike through the rocky fields of the West Bank village of Rantis, we reach a summit where we rest, panting in the 40-degree heat. A hundred metres (330ft) in front of us lie the wired fence and gravel track of the Green Line - the perimeter of the West Bank and Israel. » Read more

Young Jews More Interested in Israel: Poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Simi Lampert - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Young Jews are now more attached to Israel than the previous generation, almost reaching the level of interest of their elders, a new poll reveals. While Jews 45 and older were rated as having a 40-44 level of attachment to Israel, those between 35 and 45 only scored a 24. Those under 35 got a 39 out of 100, according to the poll carried out by the Workmen’s Circle. » Read more

Walls Of Palestinian Homes Come Tumbling Down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR) by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has dramatically increased its demolitions of unauthorized Palestinian homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, according to a recent United Nations report. Last year, 1,100 Palestinians — more than half of them children — were displaced, an 80 percent increase from the previous year. And demolitions this year continue at a high rate. For Sami Idriss, the Israeli bulldozers came while the 26-year-old Palestinian was at work. » Read more

Palestinians call local elections for October 20 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Nasser Abu Bakr - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian government in the West Bank on Tuesday said it would hold local elections in October across the Palestinian territories, sparking anger from Gaza's Hamas rulers. "The Palestinian cabinet approved during its meeting today, chaired by prime minister Salam Fayyad, conducting local elections on October 20, 2012 in all local councils in the homeland," a statement said after the meeting. » Read more

Abbas' Iran visit to explore options, not appease Ahmadinejad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will make his first-ever visit to Iran next month, when he attends the Non-Aligned Movement Summit to be held in Tehran. "Historically speaking, this forum and its meetings have been extremely important for the Palestinians during the last 30-40 years," Prof. Bassem Zbeidi of Birzeit University told Xinhua on Monday. "We have plenty of supporters in this organization and Palestinians have a very good record in attending its meeting," he added. » Read more

Abbas hurting himself ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas misses no Mideastern opportunity to fall into a pothole. What can you say, the man simply has no luck. He had a terrible year: Every international, regional or domestic initiative he touched has collapsed. » Read more

If there are no Palestinians, there's no Israeli occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eyal Gross - (Analysis) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits occupying powers from settling their own populations in occupied lands. But that's not a problem for Israel, according to the committee set up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to examine construction in the West Bank, because Israel is not a "military occupier" in the territories. » Read more

Settling truths ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am After nearly six months of investigations, three legal experts known colloquially as “the outpost committee” – a government-appointed advisory body – submitted some clear-cut conclusions. » Read more

Thank you, Mr. Sherman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am I would like to thank Martin Sherman for his scathing attack against me in his article "The honorable thing to do" (Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2012). Although I agree with Sherman’s criticism of President Shimon Peres’s last speech, that it is wrong not to learn from the failures of the Oslo process, it is a great honor to be attacked together with our president and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. » Read more

Boosting Arab employment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Kenneth Bandler - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am How to improve the economic conditions of minority populations is a challenge for any democracy, all the more so for one as young as Israel. The country’s non-governmental organizations devoted to advancing Jewish-Arab relations have long advocated concrete steps to integrate citizens into the nation’s workforce. In recent years some government officials have for measures to increase the numbers of qualified Arab workers. » Read more

Israel and Russia Make Odd Couple ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Robert O. Freedman - (Opinion) July 6, 2012 - 12:00am Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Israel in late June with the ostensible purpose of helping to unveil a monument to the Soviet soldiers who helped defeat Nazi Germany. But Putin’s motivations for this trip to the Middle East were not so innocuous. In fact, they underlined the degree to which his ambitions for the region have not changed at all since his last reign as Russia’s president, from 2000 to 2008. » Read more

What Putin's Trip To Jerusalem Really Means ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Dimi Reider - (Opinion) July 9, 2012 - 12:00am Much of the coverage of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories focused on two questions: Putin's perceived foot-dragging over Iran, and the visit's significance for the Russian-speaking Israelis who make up about one-fifth of the population, as large as Israel's Palestinian population. » Read more

Arafat’s death haunts foes, followers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am Ask any Palestinian about the death of former leader and symbol of national resistance, Yasser Arafat, and he or she will immediately say that he was killed by Israel for refusing to give in to pressure to accept an unjust final peace settlement. Arafat’s death, in mysterious circumstances at a French military hospital, in November 2004, remains one of the most contentious issues for millions of Palestinians. » Read more

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