June 9th

Hamas, Fatah to meet next week in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 8, 2011 - 12:00am


Delegates from rival Palestinian factions will meet in Cairo next week for more talks after they have agreed to reconcile, an official said Wednesday. The representatives of Hamas and Fatah will talk next Tuesday about the formation of a technocratic government in accordance with the Egypt-brokered agreement that was signed early last month, said Azzam Al-Ahmad, an official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. "The meeting will look into starting steps to implement the agreement," Al-Ahmad told Xinhua.


AP Exclusive: Hamas considers hands-off approach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am


After four years of turbulent rule in the Gaza Strip, the Islamic militant group Hamas is weighing a new strategy of not directly participating in future governments even if it wins elections — an approach aimed at avoiding isolation by the world community and allowing for continued economic aid.


Dagan was right about the Palestinians but wrong about Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) June 9, 2011 - 12:00am


My gut feeling is that Meir Dagan is mistaken about Iran. The former Mossad chief recently said it would be stupid for Israel to attack Iran. For three years there was great tension in the international community over the possibility that Israel would launch a surprise attack. But then just last year, the tension subsided. The success of the clandestine struggle against Iran and of economic sanctions against the regime have put off the moment of truth. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are not as crazy as some tend to present them.


Between warm and fuzzy, and dangerous in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Olivia Snaije - (Analysis) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am


We left Jenin early on our first day of cycling through Palestine. After an inaugural hill, we crossed a main thoroughfare where the terrain flattened, and whizzed along under a brilliant sun, the road lined with olive trees as well as multicolored fields of thistles, poppies, marigolds and daisies. Our guide, Nidal, drove ahead slowly, as if he were a Tour de France team car. At one point he stopped as a tortoise ambled across the road. Several other times during the week he would stop to pick some of us up when the rolling hills started to seem like mountains.


Syrian slaughter and Israeli restraint
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) June 9, 2011 - 12:00am


Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is slaughtering dozens of unarmed Syrian demonstrators every day. In Israel we cluck our tongues in shock and say he is "slaughtering his own people," but when the Israel Defense Forces killed 23 unarmed Syrian demonstrators in one day, we boasted that the IDF "acted with restraint."


Hamas: Netanyahu responsible for swap deal delay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 9, 2011 - 12:00am


Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouq blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, for what he said was a delay in the release of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners in a swap deal. Citing Netanyahu's "intransigence," the official said the leader bore "full responsibility" for the continued confinement of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit as well as thousands of Palestinians considered prisoners of war.


June 8th

NEWS: Gunmen from a faction loyal to the Syrian regime kill at least 11, and up to 20, Palestinians in a refugee camp. According to Jackson Diehl, Palestinians have shifted their demands for resuming negotiations from a settlement freeze to acceptance of the 1967 borders with land swaps as the basis for talks. The Egypt-Gaza border is reopened. After a grant from Algeria, the PA resumes paying salaries. Analysts look at difficulties facing a proposed French peace conference. Decades later, the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty continues to stir controversy. All parties are focused on European votes in the run-up to a possible Palestinian UN bid in September. A new UN report casts doubt on economic progress in the West Bank. COMMENTARY: Carmel Gould says media coverage of the conflict is becoming more balanced. Pankaj Mishra says in Palestine, as in India before it, the burden of nonviolence falls on the powerless. Tariq Alhomayed says the regimes in Syria and Iran are exploiting the Palestinian issue. Khalaf Al Habtoor says few Arabs realize the extent of Iranian-Israeli dealings at the Arab expense. Rami Khouri says PM Netanyahu is being dishonest about the refugee issue. Osama Al Sharif says Palestinians should focus on nonviolent protests against the occupation. Pierre Klochendler says Israelis are rightly concerned about the potential for another intifada after September. Yossi Alpher says there needs to be a better way of dealing with the Egypt-Gaza border. Arnaud de Borchgrave looks at conundrums facing Netanyahu.

UN says West Bank economy not flourishing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 8, 2011 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Claims that the economy in the West Bank is flourishing overlook rising unemployment and a jump in inflation that has decreased purchasing power, a United Nations report said on Wednesday. In recent months, observers and officials including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have described the West Bank's economy as booming, calling it a sign of positive momentum under Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.


Ahead of Palestinian U.N. gambit, Europe is in play
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM (JTA) – It was a sign that ties between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations remain strong despite the apparent tensions two weeks ago when the two leaders met at the White House. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shot down a French proposal for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that had put the Israeli leader in a quandary.


Forty-Four Years Later, Liberty Attack Provokes Passions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - June 6, 2011 - 12:00am


Some alleged Israeli attack on U.S. Navy vessel was no accident The Six Day War in 1967 saw Israel vanquish its Arab enemies in a stunning defeat on land, sea and in the air. There is one event, however, that remains a blemish in Israel’s victory – the attack on the U.S. Navy ship Liberty on June 8.



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