May 16th

Defense Minister: Border infiltrations are just the beginning ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 16, 2011 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday that Israel Defense Forces soldiers succeeded in defending Israel's sovereignty when Palestinian refugee demonstrators breached the border with Syria and attempted to cross the border with Lebanon. Barak cautioned, however, that Israel will in the future have to deal with similar and perhaps more complex incidents. IDF forces opened fire on demonstrators on the Syria border, apparently killing several of them. » Read more

Israel can't detach the Palestinian issue from Syria and Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) May 16, 2011 - 12:00am In May 2000, while the Israel Defense Forces was preparing for two diametrically opposite scenarios, one of which was expected to unfold in September - either a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians or violent confrontation - the security zone in southern Lebanon went to pieces, with some prodding from Hezbollah. The South Lebanon Army collapsed, and Israel hastened to evacuate its soldiers to the border. Four months later, in the wake of the reverberating failure of talks with the Palestinians, the territories ignited in violence. » Read more

Netanyahu Knesset speech may be precursor to DC visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Rebecca Anna Stoil, Gil Hoffman, Tovah Lazaroff - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu is expected to fire the opening round at the Knesset Monday, in what is expected to be the start of a nine-day diplomatic marathon of key events, stretching from Jerusalem to Washington. Israeli officials advise that those who want to speculate as to the contents of Netanyahu’s much-touted speech in Washington before a special meeting of Congress on May 24th, should pay attention to his words in the Knesset Monday, when the summer session officially opens. » Read more

'Shooting at Syrian protesters may violate int'l law' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ron Friedman - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am The breach of the Israeli border by Syrian protesters was an unprecedented act in modern history and a clear violation of Israeli sovereignty as determined by article 51 of the UN Charter, an international law expert said on Sunday. At the same time, Dr. Daphne Richmond-Barak from the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, said that firing on civilians was also a breach of international law, and that once the details of the event were made clear, Israel would have to explain its actions. » Read more

Analysis: The writing was on the wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Mordechai Kedar - (Analysis) May 16, 2011 - 12:00am For years, I have been hearing of plans by Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria to march en masse toward the Israeli border, under the watchful, headline-making eye of the international media – especially the Arab media. Israel would never dare shoot the marchers, it was reasoned, especially if they walked unarmed and showed no violence. I wrote and spoke about these plans in Israeli media outlets. Recently, a few things changed in the Arab milieu, and we saw the consequences on Sunday. » Read more

Palestinians storm into Israel Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Washington Times - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am Thousands of Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces on three hostile borders Sunday in an unprecedented wave of protests marking an annual ritual against the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. Israeli soldiers opened fire, leaving at least 15 dead and many more injured, as rioting Palestinians poured across the borders with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Israeli officials said 13 troops were wounded and blamed Syria and Iran for orchestrating the clashes. » Read more

George Mitchell resigns as U.S. Middle East envoy Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Yahoo News - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am George Mitchell, Obama's special envoy for Middle East peace, will step down after a frustrating two and a half years seeking to jump-start the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warmly thanked Mitchell, 77, the former Senate majority leader from Maine and North Ireland peace negotiator, for his service, in statements sent out by the White House Friday. Mitchell, in a brief resignation letter to the president, said he'd agreed to serve two years, and had now served longer than that. » Read more

Palestinian protests: Arab spring or foreign manipulation? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jim Muir - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am In a very different position from most Arab nations, the Palestinians had so far been largely left out as the spirit of assertive demands for rights and freedoms swept the region and threatened its dictators. The pent-up frustrations of the Palestinians largely took the form of pressure on their own divided leaderships to unite, something that has now happened. » Read more

Mideast peace is bigger than a lone mediator ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) May 15, 2011 - 12:00am Five years after the Arab League chief Amr Moussa announced that the Middle East peace process was "dead", another blow has befallen the long-vexing struggle between Israel and the Palestinians. George Mitchell, the skilled US diplomat and veteran negotiator, tendered his resignation on Friday, becoming the latest victim in this intractable conflict. » Read more

Palestinians storm into Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Shaun Waterman - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am Thousands of Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces on three hostile borders Sunday in an unprecedented wave of protests marking an annual ritual against the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. Israeli soldiers opened fire, leaving at least 15 dead and many more injured, as rioting Palestinians poured across the borders with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Israeli officials said 13 troops were wounded and blamed Syria and Iran for orchestrating the clashes. » Read more