July 9th

Wall still potent symbol of division in Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Kevin Flower - July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

A top U.N. official on Thursday urged Israel to "dismantle" its barrier separating the West Bank from the Jewish state and "make reparation for all damage suffered by all persons affected by the wall's construction" on Palestinian land. The call by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay came on the 5th anniversary of the International Court of Justice's non-binding ruling that Israel was breaking international law by continuing to build the barrier.

»

Netanyahu's 'weakness' is good for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu has absorbed 100 smears, one for each day on the job. Who has not excoriated the "squeezable" - now the most fashionable word in town - prime minister? Granted, this is not a bottle of catsup we are talking about, but rather a sitting prime minister. Nonetheless, there are advantages in this particular trait of Netanyahu's, even if it is, of course, limited consolation.

»

Netanyahu's paranoia extends to 'self-hating Jews' Emanuel and Axelrod
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off. In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference at the Knesset that was slated to begin in 15 minutes. This was the start of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's panicked, disproportionate response to the criticism senior Kadima politicians had leveled at him three hours earlier.

»

EU retracts criticism of Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

The European Commission on Thursday backtracked on its unusually harsh criticism of Israeli settlements, declaring that a statement released earlier this week did not reflect the commission's position. The contentious statement accused Israel's settlement policy of strangling the Palestinian economy and making the Palestinian government more dependent on foreign aid.

»

Security wall barely built in past 15 months
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Almost no progress has been made toward completing the West Bank security barrier in the past 15 months, according to numbers provided to The Jerusalem Post by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday. To date, around 490 km. of the planned 805-km. barrier have been finished, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror. This is the same figure he gave the Post in February 2008, just after a suicide bomber came through a gap in the structure and killed a woman in Dimona while wounding 40 other people.

»

July 8th

While the U.S. continues to engage Israel for a settlement freeze (1), American and European officials discuss the responsibilities of Arab countries in the dispute (6)(8). Polls reveal widespread discontent with Hamas in Gaza leading up to Palestinian reconciliation talks (2). Oxfam decries the Israeli barrier in the West Bank, calling for the ‘triumph of the rule of law’ (3). The UN war crimes investigation in Gaza concludes hearings on the recent conflict (4). Israel seeks to facilitate Palestinian economic growth by extending the hours of a vital crossing on the Jordanian border (7). Kadima leader Tzipi Livni criticizes the performance of the Netanyahu government in its first 100 days (13).

For Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Faisal Al Rfouh - (Opinion) July 8, 2009 - 12:00am

July 4 marked the Independence Day of the United States; the advent of the Obama administration marked a departure from the policies of unilateralism and intervention, thereby paving way for reconciliation and accommodation. President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo and Washington’s genuine desire for peace will take some time to convince the world, in general, and the Arab Islamic world, in particular, which has been rattled by the Bush era’s adventurism.

»

Confusing Obama before Negotiations Even Begin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) July 7, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli debate with the US over the issue of settlements is ongoing, and it appears that the US President began experiencing the problems of the Middle Easterners from the first moment that he announced his opposition to settlement construction. The resulting headache from this may have caused the president to reach for the aspirin. “Stop the construction of settlements” is the warning that Obama issued to the Israelis when he announced his willingness to solve the critical problem of the Middle East.

»

Commentary: Israeli know-how
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
by Arnaud De Borchgrave - (Opinion) July 7, 2009 - 12:00am

He speaks like an American, looks like an American, and acts like an American -- because he is an American. He is Israel's new ambassador to the United States, a citizen of both countries. Michael B. Oren (born Michael Bornstein), 54, went to Israel for the first time at 15 to work on a kibbutz, the collective farms that were once recruitment grounds for Israel's ace fighter pilots. He returned to the United States to complete a master's in International Affairs at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Near East Studies at Princeton.

»

Mideast must seize 'window of opportunity': German FM
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
July 7, 2009 - 12:00am

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Middle Eastern leaders on Tuesday to seize the "window of opportunity" that the new US administration has opened in the region. US President Barak Obama's initiative "creates many opportunities that we need to use now," Steinmeier said after meeting Lebanese prime minister designate Saad Hariri in Beirut. "That is why all the partners must take part constructively in this process and make their positions clear quickly before the window of opportunity closes."

»


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