May 12th

No Amendment to the Arab Peace Initiative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

The Arab [peace] initiative was born as a political miracle amid unusually favorable circumstances at a time when there was a short-lived inter-Arab agreement that enabled all Arabs to accept it. After being signed by all Arab and Islamic states, it is unreasonable for this initiative to be reproduced. It is a miracle because the Arabs rarely agree on a political plan dealing with any issue, namely the conflict with Israel.

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The Prime Minister’s statement at the press conference with the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, at Sharm el-Sheikh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Thank you very much Mr. President. I am delighted to see you again. I brought with me an old friend of yours and of Egypt, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.

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UN Security Council calls for a Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Edith M. Lederer - May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday called for "urgent efforts" to create a separate Palestinian state and achieve an overall Mideast peace settlement. In a statement by all 15 members read at the end of an open ministerial meeting, the council stressed that "vigorous diplomatic" action was needed to reach an overall settlement and a two-state solution. It encouraged the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers — the U.N., the U.S., Russia and the European Union — to continue their efforts to promote a comprehensive Mideast settlement.

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Pope visits Jerusalem holy sites
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI has been visiting sites in Jerusalem holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians on the second day of his visit to the Holy Land. He visited the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, becoming the first pontiff to see the site, and then the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest places. He said Mass in the Josaphat Valley and is later to pray at the reputed site of Christ's Last Supper. A row has broken out over the German-born Pope's time in the Hitler Youth. The Pope is meeting both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during his tour.

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US General Builds A Palestinian Army
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation
by Robert Dreyfuss - (Blog) May 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Last Thursday, in what was billed as his very first on-the-record address, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, spoke to the 2009 Soref Symposium organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. WINEP, of course, is the chief thinktank for the Washington-based Israel lobby. And in his talk, Gen. Dayton delivered an important warning.

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An Agenda for Mr. Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama has set clear and appropriate priorities ahead of the visit to Washington on May 18 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Speaking to Jewish-American activists last week, Vice President Joseph Biden conceded, “You’re not going to like my saying this,” and then he laid out the administration’s list.

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On His Tour, Pope Runs Into Politics of Middle East and Holocaust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Rachel Donadio - May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI said he came to the Middle East as “a pilgrim of peace,” but on Monday, his first day in Israel seemed to underscore the tensions in the region rather than ease them. After the pope visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and offered the “deep compassion” of the Roman Catholic Church for Hitler’s victims, Jewish leaders expressed disappointment that the pontiff, who is German, had not mentioned Germany or the Nazis.

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Israel Closes Media Center, Upsetting Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli police on Monday closed down an official Palestinian media center that had been set up in East Jerusalem for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, as Israel and the Palestinians competed to exercise authority in the contested part of the city. As the pope arrived in Jerusalem, each side accused the other of exploiting his visit for political gain. Though the pope’s movements have been carefully choreographed to avoid obvious political minefields, every step and word was bound to be closely scrutinized.

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May 11th

President Obama announces that he will travel to Egypt next month to deliver his address to the world's Muslims (1). The New York Times reports on how Israel is using park development projects to fortify its claims to Jerusalem (2). Pope Benedict XVI continues his Mideast visit, and announces his support for peace based on two states (3) (12) (16). In an interview with the Times of London, Jordan's King Abdullah warns of potential Mideast warfare if movement towards a peace agreement does not begin this year (5). A report by the UN Office for Coordination on Humanitarian Affairs finds that Israeli settlements and outposts have reduced the available land for Palestinians in Bethlehem to 13% (8). The UN Security Council is set to hold talks today on reviving the Mideast peace process (9). In a Damascus press conference exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshal rejects the idea of a peace based on two states (10).

PA says in charge of pope's east J'lem visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Several hours before the pope's visit, the question of east Jerusalem's status has been put to the test once again: The Jerusalem Police on Monday morning sealed off a conference hall at the Ambassador Hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood following the Palestinian Authority's plan to hold a briefing for foreign and Palestinian journalists ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Israel. A senior PA official told Ynet in response that "when the pope arrives in east Jerusalem, he and his visit are our responsibility."

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