June 24th

Migrants boost Jewish settler numbers in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am

Israelis moving to the West Bank accounted for more than a third of settler population growth in recent years, government statistics show, undercutting Israel's argument that it is continuing settlement construction only to accommodate growing families already living there. The so-called "natural growth" rationale for building on land the Palestinians claim for a future state has vaulted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into an unusually vocal and public clash with the Obama administration, which has come out strong against continued settlement expansion.

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Russia set to hold Middle East peace summit this year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Russia's president on Tuesday said that Moscow aimed to hold a Middle East peace conference before the end of 2009 - a move backed by Egypt. Russia, which has proposed such a conference in the past, is a member of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators, along with the European Union, the United States and the United Nations. "We paid special attention to Middle East issues. We highly appreciate efforts by the Egyptian president to create an atmosphere of trust and cooperation in the region," Dmitry Medvedev said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

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Netanyahu delays U.S. talks due to settlement debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 24, 2009 - 12:00am

An Israeli official said Wednesday that the government had postponed a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Washington's top Mideast envoy George Mitchell because it wanted more time to iron out differences over West Bank settlements. The meeting with Mitchell was to have taken place in Paris where Netanyahu is visiting. Netanyahu aides said Defense Minister Ehud Barak would instead meet Mitchell next week in Washington. A senior official traveling with Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel sought more professional work before the meeting.

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Israeli shackling of detainees 'torture'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 24, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli security forces' shackling of Palestinian prisoners is frequently cruel and humiliating and in a number of instances constitutes "torture," a rights group said Wednesday. The army and the internal security forces "shackle detainees in painful and humiliating manners that, in a number of instances, rise to the level of torture," the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) said. The group published its findings in a report based on 547 cases of arrests and dozens of interrogations conducted over the past year.

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Netanyahu Believes Obama Has Already Backed Down On Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Talking Points Memo
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) June 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu believes that President Obama has already blinked. The way he sees it, Obama made his demand to stop settlements in Cairo. He, Netanyahu, responded with a firm "no" -- but by uttering the phrase "two states" changed the subject suficiently to get Obama off his back. He also thinks the Iran crisis has diverted Obama's focus away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saved him from further pressure.

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Israel sees "hard work" settling dispute with Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am

Bridging gaps between Israel and the United States over settlement growth in the occupied West Bank will require hard work, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday, playing down prospects for a swift breakthrough. U.S. President Barack Obama wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare a total settlement freeze. Netanyahu wants to build further within existing blocs to accommodate what he calls "natural growth" in settler families.

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June 23rd

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad delivers a speech calling for unity, institution building, and an independent state within two years (1) (2). The Hamas-affiliated speaker of the Palestinian parliament is released from an Israeli prison after serving the majority of his three year sentence (4). Israel authorizes the building of 300 new homes in an existing West Bank settlement (4) and reportedly is formulating plans to "legalize" 60 homes at a currently unauthorized West Bank outpost (5). The Italian foreign minister urges a halt to Israeli settlement expansion (7), as the U.S. State Department clarifies that a full settlement freeze must include Jerusalem (8). In an op-ed for The Daily Star ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish urges the creation of a real American coalition for Middle East Peace (10).

Netanyahu’s Gambit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

The syndrome is clear: since 1992 every Israeli hawk, once elected prime minister, turns into a dove. Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert all shifted radically to the left after taking office. What you see from here is not what you see from there, said one of them. And what any reasonable person sees after he enters the PM’s claustrophobic chamber in Jerusalem is that occupation is futile. That is why Rabin went to Oslo (1993) and Barak went to Camp David (2000). That is why Sharon pulled out of Gaza (2005) and Olmert offered a withdrawal from the West Bank (2008).

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Bibi: Preoccupation with settlements waste of time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - June 23, 2009 - 12:00am

The preoccupation with the issue of the settlements is a 'waste of time' and hinders progress towards peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. Netanyahu arrived in Italy on Tuesday on his first trip to Europe since being elected, visiting Rome and Paris to sound out regional allies about his qualified endorsement of a Palestinian state.

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Encountering Peace: Dressing up the Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

OK, Binyamin Netan-yahu said the magic words "Palestinian state," now what? I want to give our prime minister the benefit of doubt and say that he even meant it; at least that is what he told US President Barack Obama. Where do we go from here? How do those words become transformed into reality? Let's try to imagine.

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