June 11th

Palestinian police arrest 36 Hamas supporters as Fatah widens crackdown ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Canadian Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 11, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian security forces arrested 36 Hamas supporters, many of them professors and students, the Islamic militant group said Thursday, signalling a widening crackdown by Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinian police spokesman Adnan Damiri confirmed that arrests were made, but would not say how many persons are held. The arrests come less than two weeks after a pair of deadly shootouts between security forces and Hamas militants in the West Bank town of Qalqiliya left nine people dead, including four police officers. » Read more

Obama's Stance Infuriates Israeli Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CBC News Today by Mark Phillips - June 10, 2009 - 12:00am Like everything else in the Middle East, there are two opinions of the work going on in Israel's West Bank settlements. The Palestinians call it Israeli expansion - another land grab. The Israelis call it "natural growth," to accommodate growing families. Whatever it is, President Obama says it has to stop. No more construction, period. "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve piece," Mr. Obama said last week in Cairo. The settlers are furious, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips. » Read more

U.S. Envoy Reassures Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 10, 2009 - 12:00am George J. Mitchell, President Obama’s Middle East envoy, assured Palestinians on Wednesday of Washington’s commitment to a state of their own, calling its establishment the only viable solution to their conflict with Israel. Mr. Mitchell, speaking after talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, urged both sides to meet their obligations under a 2003 “road map” that commits Israel to halting settlement expansion and Palestinians to reining in militants. Mr. Abbas, after his talks with Mr. Mitchell, made no comment to reporters. » Read more

Pro-Palestinian Advocates Sense Winds of Change in Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - June 10, 2009 - 12:00am Changes in America’s policy toward the Middle East conflict are sending positive vibrations throughout the small and struggling pro-Palestinian advocacy community. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: Imagine Palestinian settlers in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Analysis) June 10, 2009 - 12:00am People want to know: What is the big deal about the settlements? Houses, neighborhoods, towns - are they hurting anybody? Do they kill anybody? How can anybody compare settlements to Palestinian terror or to Iranian nuclear weapons? How can anybody believe that Jewish families living in Judea and Samaria are an obstacle to peace? » Read more

Knesset speaker: Bibi doesn't believe in 2-state vision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Erfat Weiss - June 11, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not believe in the two-state vision, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday, days ahead of Bibi's much anticipated speech. Speaking during a West Bank tour, Rivlin said that the Arab-Israeli conflict must be resolved before going ahead and addressing the Palestinian question. » Read more

Obama to Mubarak: Netanyahu fears peace moves will ruin coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - June 11, 2009 - 12:00am During his recent visit to Cairo, U.S. President Barack Obama relayed to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that any cessation of settlement construction and acknowledgment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders will result in the collapse of his coalition government. Arab sources say Mubarak was not impressed and retorted it was Netanyahu's choice to form a right-wing coalition and he could therefore not repeatedly use that excuse for doing nothing. » Read more

Netanyahu's speech: Yes to road map, no to settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid - June 11, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announce in his foreign policy speech scheduled for Sunday the adoption of the road map and the "two-state solution" for settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to sources close to the prime minister. The sources said the speech will "revolve around the road map." Netanyahu will present a few conditions for the implementation of the road map, above all a Palestinian recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. He will also demand that the future Palestinian state be demilitarized. » Read more

Peres calls for Palestinian state with provisional borders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm Israel and the Palestinians should move onto the second stage of the road map peace plan, which stipulates the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders, President Shimon Peres said on Thursday. Peres made the comments during a meeting with the European Union's chief foreign policy official, Javier Solana, with whom he discussed the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. » Read more

US envoy backs 'Palestinian aspirations' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News June 10, 2009 - 12:00am The US is seeking a "early conclusion" of peace talks leading to Palestinian statehood, its special Mid-East envoy said after talks in Ramallah. Former Senator George Mitchell was speaking to reporters after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town. The US is experiencing unusual tension in relations with Israel over its opposition to Palestinian independence. He said meeting both sides' aspirations was the "only viable solution". » Read more