Israeli, Palestinian presidents secretly meet to resume peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 29, 2011 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas allegedly held secret talks meant to reach a formula that would enable the stalled peace process to resume, and the Palestinians to abort efforts to unilaterally seek United Nations recognition of statehood in September. The negotiations between Peres and Abbas were "real, prolonged and confidential," Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported on Sunday.


Israel arrests eight in West Bank prior to clashes between Palestinians, settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 30, 2011 - 12:00am


RAMALLAH, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army arrested eight Palestinians in the West Bank before clashes erupted between dozens of youths and Jewish settlers, witnesses and security sources said Monday. The Israeli forces demolished a store selling construction materials in Qalqilya city and leveled agricultural lands near the holy city of Bethlehem, which the Palestinians said was to expand roads leading to a Jewish settlement in the area. Israel Radio reported that the wanted Palestinians were arrested in several cities in the West Bank.


Arab League backs Palestinian statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
May 29, 2011 - 12:00am


CAIRO — The Arab League has endorsed a Palestinian bid to seek recognition at the United Nations of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. The League says it will prepare documents to support the bid at the next General Assembly meeting in September in New York. Egypt's official MENA news agency says the announcement came after an Arab ministerial meeting in Qatar late on Saturday. The move pits the League against the United States and Israel, which oppose the Palestinian bid. The idea for the Palestinian push came after the collapse of the latest Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.


Israel braces for border clashes in coming days
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - May 29, 2011 - 12:00am


The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of violent protests along its borders in the coming days, aiming to avoid a repeat of deadly unrest that erupted earlier this month, a senior military official told The Associated Press on Sunday. Facebook-organized activists have called for demonstrations next weekend in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan to mark the anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war, in which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip east Jerusalem and Golan Heights.


Abbas sees no hope for talks, firm on U.N. path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Ali Sawafta - May 28, 2011 - 12:00am


DOHA, May 28 (Reuters) - The Palestinian president said on Saturday there were "no shared foundations" for peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seeking U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood was his only option. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing an Arab League meeting in Doha, expressed concern that taking the diplomatic step opposed by the United States and Israel could result in financial sanctions and urged Arab states to fill any gap.


For Israelis, "defensible" border means more land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Dan Williams - (Analysis) May 29, 2011 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM, May 29 (Reuters) - To ask Israeli officials how the border with a future Palestine should look is to invite a deluge of data -- from the regional military balance, to topographical surveys, to intelligence projections on Hamas strength. But no one will map it out. For while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused any return to the "indefensible" lines held before the West Bank's occupation in the 1967 war, the Israelis themselves have no ready alternative to hand.


Can Palestine become a United Nations member state?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
by Louis Charbonneau - (Interview) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am


UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (Reuters) - The Arab League has said it will seek full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital, ignoring opposition from Washington and Israel. However, although such a move would carry symbolic force, there appears to be little chance it could succeed at present. WHAT STATUS DO THE PALESTINIANS CURRENTLY HAVE AT THE U.N.? The Palestinians are U.N. observers without voting rights. The Vatican and European Union have the same status. WHAT DO THE PALESTINIANS, ISRAELIS AND OTHERS WANT?


Medics: Palestinian beaten by Israeli soldiers at checkpoint
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 29, 2011 - 12:00am


HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers brutally attacked a Palestinian man at an army checkpoint near Hebron on Saturday evening, medics said. Israeli soldiers stopped Mahmoud Al-Battat, 19, at around 7 p.m. at a checkpoint near Ad-Dhahiriya in the southern West Bank as he returned from work in Israel, medical officials told Ma'an. Soldiers beat him until he fainted, director of operations at the Palestinian Red Crescent Nasser Al-Qabaja said. Al-Battat recovered consciousness at around 11 p.m. and phoned his family.


New government to be announced June 6
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 29, 2011 - 12:00am


GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The composition of the new Palestinian Authority's technocrat government will be announced on June 6 by delegates from formerly rival parties Fatah and Hamas as a major step to the implementation of a unity agreement, an official said Sunday.


Over 1,600 Israelis enter Nablus overnight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am


NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli soldiers escorted 1,600 Jewish settlers into the northern West Bank city of Nablus overnight Sunday to visit a shrine in the area, known to many Jews as Joseph's Tomb. While accompaniment by Israeli forces remains mandatory according to laws governing settlers, an additional 200 Jewish worshipers entered Palestinian neighborhoods without coordinating with Israeli authorities, an Israeli military spokesman said.



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