May 7th

'Talks doomed due to Arafat's legacy'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Horovitz, Herb Keinon - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am


Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are doomed to hit a brick wall because no Palestinian leader will accept anything less than what Yasser Arafat rejected at Camp David 10 years ago, and no Jewish prime minister will offer anything more, Vice Premier and Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom said Thursday in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. “No matter what we do, I do not see a Palestinian leader who is willing to accept what Arafat rejected, and I don’t see a Jewish prime minister who can give more than what [Ehud] Barak offered. Therefore, I see it as a dead end,” he said.


Foreign Ministry working with rightists against Palestinian incitement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am


Last Monday, diplomatic reporters and members of the foreign press corps were invited to a press conference with Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon and the director of Palestinian Media Watch, Itamar Marcus, at which PMW's new report on Palestinian incitement against Israel was presented.


Foreign Ministry working with rightists against Palestinian incitement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am


Last Monday, diplomatic reporters and members of the foreign press corps were invited to a press conference with Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon and the director of Palestinian Media Watch, Itamar Marcus, at which PMW's new report on Palestinian incitement against Israel was presented.


Why won't Israel allow Gazans to import coriander?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am


The Defense Ministry is refusing - on security grounds, it says - to reveal why Israel prohibits the import into the Gaza Strip of items such as cilantro, sage, jam, chocolate, french fries, dried fruit, fabrics, notebooks empty flowerpots and toys, while allowing cinnamon, plastic buckets and combs. Palestinian smuggler climbing down into an underground tunnel that leads from Gaza to Egypt. But in its response to a freedom-of-information suit last week, the state did admit, for the first time, that there is specific list of permissible goods.


Hamas knocks Abbas on anti-armed resistance statements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 6, 2010 - 12:00am


Islamic Hamas movement criticized on Thursday the statements of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the Palestinian people, including his Fatah party and Hamas, are not interested in the "armed resistance" against Israel. In a press release, a Hamas official, Salah al-Bardawil, described Abbas' statements as false and only aim to "fraud the will of the Palestinian people and their right to struggle for their freedom."


U.S. envoy meets Netanyahu ahead of peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 6, 2010 - 12:00am


U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for the second time in two days before the expected start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The United States hopes the two sides will embark on negotiations in an indirect format in the coming days, a U.S. spokesman said on Wednesday, after the first, three-hour meeting between Netanyahu and Mitchell. Neither side commented on the details of Thursday's meeting.


Bethlehem prepares for 2nd Palestine Investment Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 5, 2010 - 12:00am


The Palestinian Authority cabinet allocated 485,000 US dollars to Bethlehem councils, southern West Bank, for local improvements and renovations ahead of the Second Palestine Investment Conference scheduled for June. Bethlehem Governor Abdul Fattah Hamayil met on Wednesday with mayors and heads of village councils to inform them of the PA cabinet's decision, providing them with the requested funding for preparations.


Gaza: Lineups to remove cash from Arab Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 6, 2010 - 12:00am


Hundreds of Gaza residents started lining up outside the Ar-Rimal branch of the Arab Bank in Thursday morning, the day after an announcement by the administration that two of the three Gaza Strip branches would close. In a statement, the bank announced that "in light of worsening conditions under which the Bank is called upon to operate in Gaza and after having recently reduced the number of its staff there, it has also decided to close two of its three branches."


Israeli construction in East Jerusalem adds to difficulties facing negotiators
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am


When the Obama administration launches indirect peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, as early as this weekend, it faces a much more complicated landscape than the Clinton or Bush administrations did, especially in Jerusalem. In the decade since Israelis and Palestinians came close to a peace deal in 2000, the complexion of Jerusalem, perhaps the most sensitive of all the sticking points, has been altered. Israeli construction is blurring lines between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods, making any bid to share or divide the city even more difficult than in the past.


Sunny Days in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) May 6, 2010 - 12:00am


A cool breeze came in from the sea, knocking over salt shakers at the Zorik Café. It was a beautiful day in Israel, clear skies, brilliant light, and the volleyball players were out. Young couples in low-slung jeans sipped smoothies and ate poached eggs. Things are calm in Tel Aviv. Menace is beyond the horizon. Nobody thinks twice about boarding a bus, hanging out. It was pleasant to sit and people watch, see the smiles and bear hugs. New York’s West Village of a balmy Sunday.



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