May 20th

Israel: 'No need to finish' W Bank barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

The head of Israel's security service has said there is no security reason for continuing construction of Israel's barrier through the West Bank. Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin told a parliamentary committee that Israel had enough capabilities to prevent attacks from the Palestinian territory. Since building began years ago, Israel has maintained that it is a security measure to keep out attackers. Palestinians reject this, seeing it as a land grab.

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Upping the Ante on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Binyamin Netanyahu's friends liken him to a good poker player. They explain, for example, that before the Israeli prime minister plays the card marked "Palestinian state," he wants an American commitment that this state will be demilitarized.

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Netanyahu's Broader Stance Earns Early U.S. Favor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am

During his first turn as Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington in 1996 with a chip on his shoulder and a long list of things he said he would not do -- from slowing the expansion of Israeli settlements to meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. It was the start of a famously testy relationship with President Bill Clinton, characterized by public fights, haggling and ultimately a drop in support for Netanyahu in Israel.

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May 19th

In their first meeting yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu tells President Obama that he wants to restart peace talks, but refrains from endorsing a Palestinian state (1). While President Obama addresses the Prime Minister’s major concern s regarding Iran (2) (4). Palestinian officials voice disappointment in the lack of progress produced by this first meeting (3), and other commentators speculate on the future of the peace process (7) (8) (9) (10). Fatah and Hamas end Egyptian mediated talks in Cairo without an agreement (6).

PM praised, chided after Obama meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

A day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Barack Obama, the Israeli political arena was split, with left-wing MKs blasting Netanyahu's insistence on refusing to utter the phrase, "two-state solution," and warning that Israel's relations with Washington were headed for an impasse. The prime minister's colleagues on the Right, however, were pleased that Netanyahu hadn't "capitulated" and expressed optimism regarding bilateral relations with the US.

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Hamas: Obama's statements misleading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

Hamas announced that it was not encouraged by US President Barack Obama's statements in his meeting Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Obama's statements and messages of hope are meant to mislead global public opinion regarding the continued existence and conduct of the racist and extremist Zionist entity," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum on Tuesday. Obama informed Netanyahu during their meeting that he intends to promote a new regional peace initiative for the Middle East.

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Shin Bet chief: Peace unlikely while Hamas rules Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Amnon Meranda - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin went before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday and briefed its members on various matters concerning the fragile armistice with Hamas, terror threats and the Iranian threat. "If the Palestinian Authority were to hold general elections now, it is highly likely that Hamas would win," he said. Shifting his attention to the PA's efforts to fight terror, Diskin noted that despite recent achievements, "Most of the (terror) preventions are ours."

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Obama to Netanyahu: New Mideast initiative soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. will soon present a new peace initiative to include Arab nations alongside Israel and the Palestinian Authority in peace negotiations. The two met at the White House yesterday, including one hour and 45 minutes with no one else present. Obama pressed for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict, but failed to win a public commitment from Netanyahu on Palestinian statehood.

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Kerry tells Netanyahu: Mideast peace is not a one-way street
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn, Natasha Mozgovaya, Mazal Mualem, Barak Ravid - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ending a three-day trip, met Tuesday with U.S. lawmakers who were expected to question him on his refusal to endorse the cornerstone of international Mideast policy, the creation of an independent Palestinian state. U.S. Senator John Kerry, a Democrat and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, said following talks with Netanyahu that he was encouraged by a number of things the Israeli leader said. Kerry said he had stressed to Netanyahu the importance of Israel moving

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Obama, Netanyahu, and two states for spoiled brats
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) May 19, 2009 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the Obama White House, the first such meeting since both men came to power, has been widely billed as a key indicator of the Obama administration's intentions in the realm of Mideast policy. "What may be Israel's most intransigent government ever elected," The Economist suggested this week, "is scared stiff that an American administration may squeeze it until its pips squeak." Fevered conjecture over the talks has tended to center on whether and how the prime minister will say aloud five of the world's most anemic magic words: two states for two peoples.

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