June 18th

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman meets with Secretary of State Clinton in Washington (1). The Christian Science Monitor features an op-ed by Norwegian foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Store (4). An Israli military court decides to release the jailed Hamas speaker of the Palestinian parliament in two months when his sentence ends (8). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas encourages peaceful resistance to the Israeli occupation (9). Former President Jimmy Carter meets with Hamas officials, but fails to convince them to recognize Israel (10). A group of international human rights organizations hold a press conference decrying Israeli restrictions on Gaza trade (13), as the U.S. increases its pressure on Israel to end the blockade (14).

Barack the Zionist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) June 17, 2009 - 12:00am

It took Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 10 days, but he has finally responded to President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo. On June 4, Obama challenged both Israelis and Palestinians to work toward a two-state solution. On Sunday, Netanyahu responded with an assent wrapped in so many preconditions as to render it virtually meaningless. Obama also demanded that Israel freeze the growth of its settlements in the West Bank. To this Netanyahu responded with defiant rejection.

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Hamas rejects Carter plea to recognize Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ben Hubbard - June 18, 2009 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY - A senior Hamas official praised former president Jimmy Carter yesterday, a day after he met with the group, but said he failed to persuade the Islamic rulers of Gaza to accept international demands, including recognizing Israel. Carter visited Gaza on Tuesday and urged Hamas leaders to accept the demands to end an international boycott, which was imposed when the militant group overran Gaza two years ago.

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How Long Can Israel Resist US Pressure?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Spiegel Online
by Christoph Schult - (Analysis) June 16, 2009 - 12:00am

As US President Barack Obama presses ahead with his Middle East peace intiatives, America's new tone and new modesty are going down well in the region. Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is finding it hard to resist the pressure to compromise on the Palestinian question.

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Israelis to free jailed Hamas speaker in August
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 17, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli prosecutors failed to persuade a military court on Wednesday to extend the prison term of the Hamas speaker of the Palestinian parliament, who is due to go free in two months. Israel detained Aziz Dweik and dozens of other Hamas politicians in the occupied West Bank in 2006 after gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist group abducted an Israeli soldier on the Gaza Strip border.

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Peace for Israel requires a strong Palestinian Authority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Jonas Gahr Store - (Opinion) June 17, 2009 - 12:00am

In Cairo, President Obama made an eloquent plea for peace in the Middle East, with a two-state solution at its heart. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded last week with endorsement of a two-state solution in his speech. Mr. Netanyahu presented demanding and problematic prerequisites for the establishing of a Palestinian state, but the fact remains – the scene is yet again set for political negotiations on a final settlement between Palestinians and Israelis.

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After Bibi’s Speech: A Shift To Quiet Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - June 18, 2009 - 12:00am

The Obama administration now seems poised to ease its public pressure on Israel following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of a two-state solution to his country’s conflict with the Palestinians. Following Netanyahu’s much awaited June 14 speech addressing America’s concerns about the policies of his new government, Israeli diplomats said they sensed a new willingness within the administration to “find creative solutions” to the issue of Jewish settlement activity in the Israeli occupied West Bank that would allow some limited building to continue.

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Rights groups decry restrictions on Gaza trade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - June 18, 2009 - 12:00am

A can of humous from Gaza is a rarity anywhere in the world, Oxfam spokesman Mike Bailey said as he added his voice to a group of 36 aid organizations, who along with the UN on Wednesday protested Israel's two-year-old "blockade" of the Strip. "I was in Gaza," Bailey said at a press conference which was symbolically held in a UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warehouse in Jerusalem that supplies Palestinian refugees. As he held up a small can of humous from Gaza, he added, "I brought you something that only someone with an international passport can carry out."

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Israel: Markets without borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - June 17, 2009 - 12:00am

“Buying local” can help reduce a shopper’s carbon footprint. It can also unify warring neighbors – such as Israelis and Palestinians now working under the radar of big business and government officials to form organic-food co-ops. The goal: Avoid pesticides and circumvent the military closures, which keep most Palestinian produce from getting to Israeli markets. To do so, groups of Israelis buy produce directly from Palestinian organic farmers in West Bank villages and then sell it to a network of people in Israel who are interested in buying “green market.”

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US, Israel still butting heads on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Matthew Lee - June 18, 2009 - 12:00am

The Obama administration and Israel gave no ground Wednesday in their opposing views over Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory despite speculation the two sides might be nearing compromise. After talks in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman held to long-standing positions ahead of a meeting next week between U.S. special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The settlement question is expected to dominate those talks.

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