May 15th

Report: Egypt finds 266 rockets near Israel border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - May 15, 2009 - 12:00am Egyptian security forces uncovered 266 rockets and three antitank missiles in a cache near the border with Israel, an Egyptian security source told the London-based al-Quds al-Arab newspaper. The source said the weapons were likely meant to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip. The cache, that was located in northern Sinai, also contained 43 mines, 51 shells, 21 grenades and 178 machinegun bullets. The source said Egyptian security forces did not find any suspects when they stormed the hideout, in which they found another 50 grenades, 80 mortar shells, 20 rockets and some 500 bullets. » Read more

Hour of decision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 15, 2009 - 12:00am Seven years have passed since the Arab League came out with its proposal to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for an end to the occupation and a just, mutually agreed solution to the refugee problem. According to the road map peace plan, which the Quartet submitted to the parties in early 2003, the Israeli-Arab conflict should have come to an end more than three years ago. » Read more

U.S. officials: Two states for two peoples is not an empty slogan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 15, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state will be a major focus of the upcoming talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, senior American officials have said in internal discussions over the past few days. The officials stressed that the two-state principle was "not an empty slogan." » Read more

Amira Hass / Life among the ruins in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - May 15, 2009 - 12:00am Wadi Gaza is an agricultural region southeast of Gaza City. The ruins of Hussein al Aaidy's family home are immediately apparent. The houses (and several other heaps of ruins) are scattered among budding hills, lazing goats and fields that have been plowed but not sown. Up until nine years ago, these houses were surrounded by orchards and other fruit trees. Until the Israel Defense Forces bulldozers uprooted everything in order to safeguard the Israelis driving to the settlement of Netzarim. » Read more

A New Plan for Mideast? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) May 14, 2009 - 12:00am There has been much chatter in recent days that Middle East peacemakers are on the verge of a major breakthrough with some predicting that there may be an announcement when Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanhayu comes to Washington on May 18 to meet with President Barack Obama. » Read more

Pope Benedict rises above fray in the Holy Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) May 14, 2009 - 12:00am 'A sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers within internationally recognised borders”. In voicing support for this formulation of the two-state solution, Pope Benedict XVI has thrown his considerable moral authority behind a peace settlement based on the 1967 borders. It is the goal of the Arab Peace Initiative, the realisation of which Israel whittles away with every new settlement in the West Bank, and implicitly at least the Pope has taken a stance not just on the side of Palestinians but for what may be the only workable solution. » Read more

Abbas visit to Syria boycotted by Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Phil Sands - May 15, 2009 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his rival Khalid Meshaal, the head of Islamic resistance movement Hamas, yesterday pointedly failed to overcome the deep and bitter rivalry that continues to divide their people. Mr Meshaal, who lives in exile in Damascus, and Mr Abbas, in town for talks with the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, might have found themselves in the same city but they could not agree to sit in the same room, much less hold face-to-face discussions. » Read more

US-Israel gap is widening ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Pascal Boniface - (Opinion) May 15, 2009 - 12:00am The American-Israeli strategic partnership differs from any other one. Usually when a great power grants protection and strategic guarantees - not to mention massive economic help - to a minor partner, the latter is eager to satisfy its protector's demands. During the Cold War it would have been impossible for Germany to reject Washington's requirements on a major issue. Germans were too frightened to see a weakening of the United States' strategic umbrella against the Soviet Union. The same goes for Japan. » Read more

Tony Blair holds out hope for two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Barry Schweid - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am A self-described optimist, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told Congress on Thursday there is no workable alternative to a two-state solution to the long and bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and both sides are in favor of it. But in practice, "they doubt it can happen," Blair told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. » Read more

A letter to Obama from former Mideast ambassadors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Eric Fingerhut - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am Four former U.S. ambassadors to the Middle East, including three former envoys to Israel, have signed a letter to President Obama urging an "active U.S. role" in pushing for a two-state solution. The letter was put together under the auspices of the Israel Policy Forum and,was signed by Samuel Lewis, a former ambassador to Israel; Robert Pelletreau, a former ambassador to Egypt; Thomas Pickering, a former ambassador to Israel and Jordan; and Edward Walker, a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt. » Read more