April 4th

Israeli commander testifies in lawsuit over death of US activist in Gaza, says it was accident
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 3, 2011 - 12:00am

An Israeli military commander testifying Sunday in a civil lawsuit over the death of American activist in the Gaza Strip eight years ago said the young woman and other activists ignored army warnings to move before she was crushed by an armored bulldozer. Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Washington, was killed in March 2003 as she tried to block the Israeli military vehicle in a dangerous area along the Gaza-Egypt border. The activists believed the Israelis were about to demolish nearby Palestinian houses.

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Obama's retreat leaves Israel at the mercy of multilateralism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am

'This is how the international community should work," said President Barack Obama a little more than a week ago. "More nations, not just the United States, bearing the responsibility and cost of upholding peace and security." He was referring to the military campaign in Libya, in which the US insisted it was simply following the lead of the Europeans and the Arab League, and quickly handed off command of the operation to Nato and a multilateral consensus.

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Israel lauds Gaza war crimes investigator’s reversal, mulls dealing with ‘human shields’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 3, 2011 - 12:00am

Many modern armies have struggled with how to battle an enemy who uses human shields, perhaps none more so than Israel. So Israeli leaders were especially pleased Sunday after an admission by Richard Goldstone — a Jewish U.N. investigator who became persona non grata in the Jewish state — that war crimes accusations contained in his report on Israel’s offensive in Gaza two years ago should be reconsidered.

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Arabs yearn to move on
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) April 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Probably the most important clause in the Arab Peace Initiative, first adopted by the Arab League at the Beirut summit in 2002 and reaffirmed on several occasions including in 2007, is its commitment to "establish normal relations with Israel in the context of [a] comprehensive peace." This represented the culmination of decades of evolution of Arab thinking regarding relations with Israel, and the final repudiation of the Khartoum resolution of 1967, which insisted the Arabs would have "no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it".

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Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Richard Goldstone - (Opinion) April 1, 2011 - 12:00am

We know a lot more today about what happened in the Gaza war of 2008-09 than we did when I chaired the fact-finding mission appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council that produced what has come to be known as the Goldstone Report. If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.

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Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Richard Goldstone - (Opinion) April 1, 2011 - 12:00am

We know a lot more today about what happened in the Gaza war of 2008-09 than we did when I chaired the fact-finding mission appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council that produced what has come to be known as the Goldstone Report. If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.

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Strike Kills Gaza Fighters, Spurring Hamas Warning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - April 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Thousands of Palestinians attended the funerals on Saturday of three senior Hamas militants killed by Israel in an overnight airstrike in southern Gaza, and Hamas leaders warned that Israel would bear the consequences. But the area remained calm on Saturday, and Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, seemed wary of fueling a new round of hostilities.

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In Israel, Time for Peace Offer May Run Out
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 2, 2011 - 12:00am

With revolutionary fervor sweeping the Middle East, Israel is under mounting pressure to make a far-reaching offer to the Palestinians or face a United Nations vote welcoming the State of Palestine as a member whose territory includes all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

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April 1st

A Gaza engineer says Israel has kidnapped him from the Ukraine, and the Palestinian ambassador urges intervention. Hamas says he is not a member of the organization. Uri Dromi says there's no need for Israel to outlaw commemorations of the Nakba. Shibley Telhami says he's hopeful for Israeli-Palestinian progress. Pres. Abbas reportedly helps free Al Jazeera journalists captured in Libya. Israel will allow more exports from Gaza. Abbas calls for a settlement freeze to allow for resumed negotiations. Israel repeats its threats to take unilateral actions in the event of UN or EU recognition of Palestine. Israel pressures Russia to help thwart European recognition of Palestine. Carlo Strenger says Israel's youth no longer values peace and freedom. Israel's Defense Ministry is ordered to release documents on its Gaza policies. A New York court says it has jurisdiction in cases filed against the PLO. Palestinians yearn for national unity. The Jerusalem Post says Israel is not a fascist state. The Israeli military prepares for multi-front conflicts. A poll suggests that 43% of Jewish Israelis are satisfied with PM Netanyahu's performance. Pres. Peres says Israel welcomes Arab uprisings. Gaza journalists accuse Hamas of harassment. Donald Rumsfeld opposes clemency for Jonathan Pollard. Yossi Alpher says the “Arab Spring” is a source of uncertainty. The National says Israel's new citizenship revocation law is a slide towards fascism. George Hishmeh says Netanyahu is digging his own political grave.

'Digging his own grave'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) April 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The wind of change that has been blowing in the Arab world, which saw the celebrated downfall of two autocratic Arab regimes, in Tunisia and Egypt, is still blowing hard in other Arab countries, especially Libya where the days of its ruler, Muammar Qadhafi, are believed numbered.

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