May 20th

The distance between Gaza and the West Bank is growing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am RAMALLAH - It's hard not to be impressed by the optimism about the Middle East that the White House is radiating. A brief visit to Ramallah, however, makes one wonder about the basis for it. » Read more

Saudis pushing Obama for new Mideast plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am The United States expects Israel to make concrete concessions to the Palestinians before U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Cairo on June 4, an American official said during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week. The cabinet is due to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip this Sunday, and one concession the U.S. would like to see is for Israel to decide at this meeting to ease its restrictions on imports and exports of goods to Gaza. It also wants Israel to ease restrictions on movement in the West Bank. » Read more

Obama should force Israel to act ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am For decades, the chasm between words and deeds has been the root cause of the continued nonexistence of a Palestinian state and the Israelis’ ability to treat international views on the matter with contempt. There have been floods of fine words about Palestinian rights and Israeli abuses but nothing has ever been done and the words have remained only that — words without action. » Read more

Washington makes a sensible turnaround ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am The meeting in the White House Monday between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted significant differences as well as deep convergences in the two countries' approaches to two major sources of tension and conflict in the Middle East - the Iranian nuclear program and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The convergences are well known, but the new gaps are an important element to watch in the coming months. » Read more

Not budging ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am Obdurate and unconcerned about the opinion expressed by the president of his country’s staunchest ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood his ground in Washington, insisting that he supports self government for the Palestinians, but not mentioning one word about a state for these people under decades of Israeli occupation. » Read more

The slapdown that was heard round the world ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) May 19, 2009 - 12:00am In the wake of Benjamin Netanyahu’s first meeting with Barack Obama, his allies were quick to declare victory. When the US president announced something resembling a finite timetable for diplomatic efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear programme, their reading goes, Israel recorded a triumph. Those observers must have been watching a different press conference from the rest of us. What was strikingly apparent is how far apart the two men are in their plans to achieve both Middle East peace and a conclusion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

US to push Israel on Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Vita Bekker - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am Israel’s relations with the United States, its chief ally and patron, appeared this week to have entered a new era. Israeli commentators yesterday said that Monday’s White House summit between Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Barack Obama, the US president, further signalled that the US’s Middle East approach is significantly shifting from its years-long alignment with Israeli interests. » Read more

Hamas, Fatah object as Abbas swears in new cabinet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a replacement caretaker government on Tuesday evening, with Salam Fayyad to stay on as prime minister. The parliament bloc of Abbas' own Fatah movement said it would refuse to support the new government, though two Fatah-lawmakers were sworn in Tuesday. Two other Fatah-affiliated lawmakers tapped for the new government, Rabiha Diab and Issa Qaraqe refused Abbas offer to join the government. Fatah Deputy Ashraf Jum'a confirmed his party would boycott Fayyad's government because it was “formed in an illegal way,” and without consulting Fatah. » Read more

Prosecutor: Gaza Probe Goes on Without Israeli OK ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press May 20, 2009 - 12:00am Former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone said Wednesday he will go ahead with his U.N. investigation into possible war crimes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over Gaza even though Israel has withheld its approval. Goldstone said the U.N. investigators would enter Gaza through Egypt if necessary, but they had wanted to visit Israel first to assess what happened there. » Read more

New leaders face old problems in Mid-East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jeremy Bowen - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am When you are dealing with a conflict that has gone on for a very long time, it is wise not to infer too much from a single meeting between two men who are new to their jobs. But new leaders usually have a better chance of changing things than they do after they have been bruised and battered by a few years in office, so it does not do to be too cynical either. Before the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu there were predictions of a rift between them. » Read more