April 15th

World Jewish leader to Obama: Is U.S. committed to Israel's security?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder has publically questioned U.S. President Barack Obama's commitment to Israel's security, in a letter he reportedly drafted with the approval of his close friend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Our great country and the tiny State of Israel have long shared the core values of freedom and democracy," wrote Lauder, in a letter published Thursday as an advertisement in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

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Israel ponders construction, demolition in disputed Jerusalem areas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Dave Bender, Qi Xianghui - April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The Jerusalem municipality has taken an administrative step towards building some 200 apartments, a synagogue and a school in a disputed area in East Jerusalem, Israeli media reported. It is unclear when the building would begin. Yossi Gottesman, deputy spokesperson for the municipality, told Xinhua on Wednesday that the municipality has "transferred legal ownership of several dunams of land" in the neighborhood of Gilo. But he did not specify if the property would be used for housing, the synagogue or the school.

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Hamas executes two Palestinians in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas said on Thursday it executed by firing squad two Palestinians convicted by a Gaza military court in 2009 of collaborating with Israel. It was the first time that Islamist group has carried out formal executions since the it seized control of the Gaza Strip three years ago from the rival Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas, which governs in the occupied West Bank. A Hamas government official confirmed the executions after the bodies of two men arrived at a Gaza hospital. The group's interior ministry said they were carried out by firing squad.

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Egypt suddenly reopens Rafah crossing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Within hours of announcing the terminal's "indefinite closure," Egyptian authorities said on Wednesday that Cairo had reopened the Rafah crossing into Gaza. Egyptian security sources told Ma'an the crossing's reopening came "without mentioning any reasons," and that it would remain open for Palestinian patients who have completed treatment in Egyptian hospitals to return until Thursday, in accordance with its weekly schedule.

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De facto gov't denies shutting down Rafah tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The Ministry of the Interior in the Gaza Strip has denied reports that the Hamas-run government shut down smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border. Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein said in a statement posted on Hamas-affiliated Web sites Wednesday that "the Palestinian government in Gaza did not issue any order to shut down tunnels along the border." The reports are rumors and nothing more, Al-Ghussein stressed.

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Obama Speech Signals a U.S. Shift on Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Mark Landler - April 14, 2010 - 12:00am

It was just a phrase at the end of President Obama’s news conference on Tuesday, but it was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how aggressively it might push for a peace agreement. When Mr. Obama declared that resolving the long-running Middle East dispute was a “vital national security interest of the United States,” he was highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.

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Remarks by Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations, on the Middle East, in the Security Council Chamber
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations
by Alejandro Wolff - (Opinion) April 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Under Secretary-General Pascoe, for your briefing. Before turning to the subject at hand, let me join my other colleagues in extending our own condolences the government and people of China for the loss of life and injuries suffered by so many as a result of the devastating earthquake.

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Obama Speech Signals a U.S. Shift on Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Mark Landler - (Analysis) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — It was just a phrase at the end of President Obama’s news conference on Tuesday, but it was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how aggressively it might push for a peace agreement. When Mr. Obama declared that resolving the long-running Middle East dispute was a “vital national security interest of the United States,” he was highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.

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Remarks by Amb. Alejandro D. Wolff, U.S. Dep. Representative, on the Middle East, in the Security Council
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Under Secretary-General Pascoe, for your briefing. Before turning to the subject at hand, let me join my other colleagues in extending our own condolences the government and people of China for the loss of life and injuries suffered by so many as a result of the devastating earthquake.

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April 14th

Israelis and Palestinians bicker over street names. Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinian militants in Gaza. Egypt closes the Rafah crossing as Israel warns all its citizens to leave the Sinai, and Hamas orders Gaza tunnels to shut down. Controversial new Israeli deportation orders come into effect. Israeli Pres. Peres says a Palestinian state is in Israel's interests. Special Envoy Mitchell will return to the region next week. Shaul Arieli says Israel must give up the idea of exclusive sovereignty in Jerusalem. The Israeli military complains Palestinian protests are not nonviolent. Senators urge Sec. Clinton to heal relations with Israel. Gen. Petraeus calls Israel a strategic ally. The Jerusalem Post confirms PM Netanyahu avoided the nuclear summit for bilateral reasons. A 43-nation plan for managing Mediterranean water resources collapses because Israel will not accept the term "occupied territories." UK advertising authorities warn Israeli tourism officials not to represent the occupied territories as part of Israel. Mahmoud Habboush despairs over Palestinian disunity. Omar al-Sharif says Jordan is changing its policy towards Israel. Rami Khouri says an international peace plan would be better than an American one.

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