Daily News Feed
Stream ATFP's Middle East News: World Press Round up and stay up to date with the latest news concerning the Isareli-Palestinian issue.
Browse the World Press Round Up Archives

NEWS: Palestinians are seeking international support for renewed efforts at greater recognition at the UN. Egypt will reportedly reopen its border crossing with Gaza, as Palestinians are stranded waiting to return. Israel is engaged in an unprecedented debate about the prospect of war with Iran. DM Barak is delaying approval of full university status recognition for a school in an Israeli settlement. The Israeli Defense Ministry asks for several billion additional shekels for 2013. An Israeli human rights group calls on authorities to reopen investigations of police misconduct against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel is moving forward with plans to evict 1500 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to make way for a military firing range. Palestinians brace for power cuts as Israel's electricity company threatens to cut supplies due to unpaid debts. Palestine opens a consulate in the Dominican Republic. Pres. Morsy is reportedly considering asking for amendments to the peace treaty with Israel, particularly regarding Egyptian sovereignty in the Sinai Peninsula. A Palestinian male ballet dancer is challenging cultural expectations. Israeli diplomats say South Africa's boycott of settlement products, including those from occupied East Jerusalem, amounts to a boycott of Israel itself. Avi Dichter resigns from the Knesset to become Minister of Home Front Defense. Organizations in the United States launch a campaign to prevent Hezbollah and other designated foreign terrorist organizations from using social media such as YouTube and Twitter. Palestinian refugees who fled Syria to Lebanon are mired in a bureaucratic limbo. Palestinians are increasingly concerned about aggressive Israeli moves in “Area C." COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Palestinian culture should be fairly evaluated. The New York Times says it's irresponsible for Israel to be talking about war with Iran when diplomacy is still viable and ongoing. Avi Issacharoff says Gazans are hoping that Egypt will ease its clampdown on smuggling tunnels. Alex Fishman says the shakeup at the top of the Egyptian military doesn't bode well for relations with Israel. J.J. Goldberg says Pres. Obama should welcome Palestinian moves for UN nonmember observer state status, but with certain conditions. Ben Caspit says Israeli leaders should stop chattering about attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and decide whether to do it or not. Gershom Gorenberg says few Israelis appreciate the true value of the effectiveness of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. Mohamed Fadel Fahmy says no one really knows what happened in the Sinai attack against Egyptian forces. Aaron David Miller says Israel will continue to have its state but, under the current circumstances, Palestinians, other Arabs and Iran will not allow them to " completely enjoy it."
NEWS: The US and Egypt increase security talks after the Sinai attack. The Israeli tourism industry is booming. Memorials for victims of suicide attacks proliferate on a road in Jaffa. The Knesset is considering a bill that would segregate prayer times at the al-Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. Palestinians remain divided over an official's visit to Auschwitz. More Gaza families visit relatives in Israeli prison. 11 Palestinians are killed and many more injured in a car pileup at Bala junction east of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank. A Palestinian media watchdog group says violations of media freedoms in the occupied territories were slightly lower in 2012 and 2011, the bulk still being committed by Israeli occupation authorities. Another Egyptian military official suggests Hamas probably knew about the Sinai attack in advance. Rhetoric and pro forma preparations for a potential attack on Iran are in full swing in Israel. Former Israeli settlers evacuated from Gaza are growing distant from the settler movement. COMMENTARY: Amira Hass says Palestinians are moving to exercise authority in “Area C.” Akiva Eldar says it's amazing that many Israelis still prefer the prospect of regional war over peace. Carlo Strenger says if things continue as they are, by the end of PM Netanyahu's term in office, the two-state solution will be dead as he has intended all along. Eitan Haber says Israel's present core of leadership lacks the experience to make momentous decisions such as those regarding Iran. Nathan Guttman looks at efforts in Congress to raise the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab states to offset the Palestinian refugee final status issue. Ben Caspit asks if Netanyahu and DM Barak are really determined to attack Iran, and Dimi Reider says military officials may defy them anyway. Brandon Davis looks at competing Israeli and Palestinian views of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank built on privately owned Palestinian land. Pierre Klochendler looks at how Israelis and Palestinians struggle over archaeology and its interpretation in occupied East Jerusalem.
NEWS: Egyptian troops are moving to restore order in Sinai, testing a key provision of the peace treaty with Israel: demilitarization of the peninsula. Human rights activists say Israeli forces are entering Egyptian territory in the Sinai Peninsula to intercept would-be African migrants. Hamas says Egypt temporarily lifted its closure of the Gaza crossing point, but only to let people back into Gaza. Residents of an Israeli settlement slated for court-ordered eviction are raising funds in an effort to buy the land from its Palestinian owners. Israel frees a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner. Israeli occupation authorities in East Jerusalem ordered the demolition of 2 trailers provided to displaced Palestinians by the UN. Pres. Abbas forms a committee to study women's rights. Palestinians say they're going to raise their VAT in September. The PA Finance Minister says most public-sector employees will be paid next Monday. An Israeli military tribunal convicts a Palestinian man in the death of an Israeli soldier in 2000. Israel's largest newspaper says PM Netanyahu and DM Barak are mulling a fall strike against Iran. Palestinian refugees in Syria are fleeing to Lebanon. A report into alleged anti-Semitism on UC campuses draws controversy. COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad J. Asali gives his take on Palestinian culture. Zahi Khouri challenges Mitt Romney's account of Palestinian circumstances. Ha'aretz says Israel should cooperate with Egypt in every way it can so as to restore order in Sinai. Hussein Shabokshi says Egypt has to change the way it deals with Sinai altogether. Ofer Shelah says following the Sinai attack, Israel must reprioritize its security concerns. Amir Oren says Israel should be extremely concerned about the consequences of an attack on Iran that is not coordinated with the United States. Brent Sasley says the Israeli left is growing more pragmatic. Kathleen Peratis calls plans for the forced eviction of Palestinian villagers in the occupied West Bank a "human rights calamity.”
NEWS: Israel and Iran are engaged in a shadowy war of covert operations. Residents in one of Israel's southernmost communities were not far from the attack on Egyptian forces in Sinai, as militant forces are gaining strength there and Egypt moves to suppress them. Egypt asks Hamas to hand over three Hamas militants suspected of involvement in the attack. Officials say Egyptian-Israeli security cooperation is at a high point following the attack. Palestinians say Swiss experts have been invited to examine the body of the late Pres. Arafat to look for signs of poisoning, but the lab says it will only do that if it is guaranteed its findings won't be used for "political purposes." Shots are fired at the office of PM Fayyad in Ramallah. Fayyad condemns Israeli plans to evict 12 Palestinian shepherd communities to make way for military fire zones. The EU says it expects Israel to cancel all demolition orders in "Area C." Hamas objects to the idea of holding Palestinian elections before national reconciliation. Washington is reportedly continuing to pressure Palestinians to delay any renewed effort at greater UN recognition until after the upcoming US presidential election. COMMENTARY: Louis Frankentaler says torture need not be an integral part of Israel's occupation. Khaled Diab says Arab and Israeli women face common challenges. Sari Bashi says occupation, not culture, is holding back the Palestinian economy. Adel Al Toraifi says it's vital for Egypt's national interests that the country move quickly to restore order in Sinai. George Hishmeh says Israel is rapidly losing international support, especially in Europe. Gerard Horton says Palestinian children in Israeli detention must be treated justly. Abdallah Iskandar says the attack on Egyptian forces in Sinai is helping Israel clamp down on Palestinians.
NEWS: Egyptian military officials say “elements from Gaza” were involved in the recent attack on their soldiers in Sinai. Smugglers say the renewed closure of Gaza has sent prices soaring there, as Egyptian officials say they're planning to reopen the crossing soon. Israel claims Hezbollah smuggled explosives into northern Israel. Palestinians are angered by FM Lieberman's comments highly critical of Pres. Abbas. Abbas asks donors to fulfill their pledges to the PA, and reiterates that Palestinians are going to resume efforts at the UN even if that conflicts with the interests of others. Israel evacuates and dismantles a tiny “unauthorized” settlement outpost. The JTA profiles gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson. Palestinian homes in Israeli military “fire zones” in the occupied West Bank face demolition. COMMENTARY: The New York Times says Pres. Morsy must work with Israel to restore order in the Sinai Peninsula. Yaron Friedman says the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty needs to be revised to accomplish this. Khaled Abu Toameh says the Sinai attack is a disaster for Hamas. Osama Al Sharif says all parties -- Israel, Egypt and Hamas -- will have to play their part. The Daily Star says Gaza is paying dearly for the militarization of Sinai. Ruth Marcus says the social and political influence of the ultra-Orthodox is growing in Israel. Zvi Bar'el says Israel is about to take away one of the few remaining glimmers of hope for Palestinians living under occupation: Israel's court system, and Shaul Arieli says the proposals are part of a disturbing pattern. Yizhar Hess says Israel needs to address its own problems with religious freedom. Frank Jacobs tracks the history of mapping the "Holy Land." Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi says Fatah may be facing a Palestinian uprising against itself.
Browse the World Press Round Up Archives

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