Netanyahu's "insoluble" conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now by Ori Nir - (Opinion) June 15, 2011 - 12:00am If you want to understand why the Obama administration is so angry with Binyamin Netanyahu and his government, read what Netanyahu told Etgar Keret, one of Israel's leading young authors. Keret spoke with Netanyahu on a recent trip to Italy. He was reporting for Haaretz, the Israeli daily, which once a year hires Israel's leading authors and poets to serve as reporters. |
Palestinian Strategy and the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah by Jerome M. Segal - (Opinion) June 16, 2011 - 12:00am Many questions have arisen about the wisdom of seeking United Nations recognition of the State of Palestine in September. In particular, two issues stand out: 1) Once recognition is obtained from the United Nations General Assembly, then what? Is there a step-2? 2) Is there really any long-term alternative to negotiations, given that without Israeli agreement issues such as Jerusalem and refugees cannot be resolved? Will a UN strategy lead to productive negotiations at some point in the future, or will it make resolution more difficult? |
Benjamin Netanyahu: Why the U.S. Can’t Make Peace in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic by William Galston - (Opinion) June 16, 2011 - 12:00am I’ve spent the past week in Israel listening to as many voices as I could. Based on what I’ve heard, a rough summary of the situation is this: Benjamin Netanyahu offers no viable alternative to the status quo, and the opposition offers no viable alternative to Netanyahu. Until Mahmoud Abbas recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, the prime minister says, serious talks are impossible. And besides, negotiating with a coalition that includes Hamas is unthinkable. |
Abbas Has No Mandate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Hudson New York by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Opinion) June 14, 2011 - 12:00am It is time that someone in Washington started asking Abbas whether he has a clear mandate from his people to make historic decisions, including signing a peace agreement with Israel. As the Palestinian Authority continues to threaten to ask the United Nations in September to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines, someone needs to ask President Mahmoud Abbas whether he really has a mandate from his people to embark on such a step. |
Opposition: Netanyahu isolated Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews June 15, 2011 - 12:00am The Opposition took aim at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday during a special hearing on "The Netanyahu government's failure in the political, economic, and social fields". "You have isolated the State of Israel," said MK Dalia Itzik (Kadima). "You and your government sit in shocking idleness while the Arab states conduct a de-legitimization campaign. Your answer to that: They hate us." |
Ex-Mossad man a fit for Sharon's shoes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Asia Times by Victor Kotsov - (Opinion) June 17, 2011 - 12:00am A new star is about to rise on the Israeli political horizon. Given the widely perceived impasse on all fronts, the time may be just right. Analysts have long lamented what they call a "deadlock" in the Israeli political system. Last year, American think-tank Stratfor described the situation in the following way: |
U.S. official: Cutting U.N. funds harms Israel, U.S. interests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) June 15, 2011 - 12:00am A top U.S. official outlined U.S.-Israel cooperation at the United Nations and argued that cutting funding to the body would be detrimental to the interests of both countries. |
No Ford in Israel's Future?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Ideas Daily by Elliot Jager - (Analysis) June 16, 2011 - 12:00am With little fanfare, the Ford Foundation has initiated a phased withdrawal from its long, largely behind-the-scenes campaign to influence Israeli politics. News reports have focused mostly on the foundation's 23-year-long patronage of the New Israel Fund (NIF), whose beneficiaries include a number of pressure groups that colluded with the now-discredited Goldstone Commission Report. |
Brutal blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) June 15, 2011 - 12:00am It has been five years since Israel imposed its oppressive and inhuman blockade on the Gaza Strip. Without doubt it has been easily one of the toughest and most trying periods in the eventful history of the Palestinian people. The proud and fiercely independent people, however, have refused to give in to Israeli diktats or allow their fighting spirit to waver under the totally asphyxiating blockade of Gaza by land, air and sea. |