May 28th

Amnesty: Israel repeatedly breached rules of war in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Amnesty International has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the rules of armed conflict during its recent offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "Israeli forces repeatedly breached the laws of war, including by carrying out direct attacks on civilians and civilian buildings and attacks targeting Palestinian militants that caused a disproportionate toll among civilians," the human rights watchdog said in its annual report.

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Netanyahu letting settlers keep the upper hand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - (Analysis) May 28, 2009 - 12:00am

The trend is clear. In a few weeks Israel will be asked to take the first steps in removing the outposts in the West Bank. The settlements are not necessarily topping the Obama administration's agenda, but the Americans have been insistent enough that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to show a willingness to act on the ground. Netanyahu's stance before his party colleagues in the Knesset on Tuesday, where he suggested that the Iranian nuclear program is more important than the future of the outposts, marked the start of an effort to prepare the ground for a move.

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Israel rejects US call over settlement work
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel will continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite US calls for a freeze on its work, a government spokesman says. Mark Regev said the fate of the settlements should be decided in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. His remarks appear to be a rebuff to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said all such activity should cease. Her comments came hours before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to meet US President Barack Obama.

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Disturbing figures that undermine peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - May 28, 2009 - 12:00am

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would not halt settlement construction in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan, he was, in effect, proclaiming his flagrant defiance of the will of the international community. And, for the first time in years, the US is at one with the majority of the world’s governments which see Israeli colonies in occupied Palestinian and Syrian land as the main obstacle to regional peace.

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Pressure on Abbas rises before visit to US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, might be forgiven for thinking he is in a rare position of strength as he prepares for his first visit with Barack Obama, the US president, today in Washington. There is certainly unusual agreement between Mr Abbas, who is also president of the Palestinian Authority, and Mr Obama on what, at least in the short term, is required to relaunch a serious peace process.

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Obama should lay the parameters down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am

The inconclusive meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, has confused rather than assuaged their audiences in the US and overseas. The interpretations have been varied, ranging from one end of the political spectrum to the other. It was surprising, but probably intentional, that the meeting which lasted two-and-a-half hours, more than double the originally allotted time and a good part of it limited to the two leaders, had no joint statement.

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Obama Draws Line on Israeli Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
May 28, 2009 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama has drawn a line on Israeli settlement expansion before he meets with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of his urgent quest to revive peace talks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Obama made it clear, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited here last week, that he wants "no natural growth exceptions" to his call for a settlement freeze.

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May 27th

University of Iowa Arab Student Association Forum Features Ibish
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Washington Report On Middle East Affairs - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am

THE ARAB STUDENT Association (ASA) at the University of Iowa sponsored a public forum in Iowa City on Feb. 21 at which the featured speaker, Dr. Hussein Ibish, senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), delivered a presentation titled “Is Obama Ready for a Middle East Change?”

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Obama Deserves Palestinian Support
In Print by Ghaith al-Omari - Israel Policy Forum (Opinion) - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Over the course of successive visits by Middle Eastern leaders to the White House, President Obama's policy for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict is starting to unfold. King Abdullah of Jordan's visit highlighted the important role the Arab world should play in support of the peace process. Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit reiterated President Obama's commitment to the two-state framework and the centrality of freezing settlement construction. President Abbas' visit will play an important role in clarifying what the Palestinians need to do.

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As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Washington, the U.S. moves to bolster the Palestinian Authority (1) (3). The New York Times remembers Amos Elon’s warnings on the dangers of building settlements in the Occupied Territories (2). Israel evacuates two more settler outposts in the West Bank (13) (16). The Canadian government urges a halt to all settlement activity (4). Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu pledges to abide by existing Israeli agreements (12), while Vice-Premier Moshe Ya’alon rules out the creation of any “Palestinian entity” (17).

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