June 1st

Fayyad says PNA's deficit nearly 1 bln USD
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) needs nearly one billion U.S. dollars to cover shortage in its budget, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday. His remarks came as Germany pledged to pay 42 million euros (60 million dollars) in support of the PNA over the next year. Also on Tuesday, the PNA and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement to support educational, health and development projects in East Jerusalem. According to the agreement, the EU will pay six million euros (8.6 million dollars) to implement these programs.

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Hamas opens memorial to dead flotilla activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The Islamic militant group Hamas has unveiled a memorial for nine activists killed last year in an Israeli raid on an international flotilla seeking to break a blockade of the Gaza Strip. The memorial at Gaza's harbor includes nine 12-yard-(meter)-high metal statues shaped as sails, and a new public park. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday the memorial commemorates "the heroes who drew the world's attention to the siege of Gaza."

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East Jerusalem residents face police violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

An Israeli rights group on Tuesday called on Jerusalem's new police chief to "fundamentally change" what it said was his officers' violent treatment towards the city's Palestinian residents. In a report timed to coincide with the anniversary of Israel's 1967 occupation of east Jerusalem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said that over the past two years it had received a rising number of complaints and mounting evidence of abuses suffered by Palestinian residents. "Residents do not view the Jerusalem District Police as a body meant to serve and protect them," the report says.

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Peace process and Arab Spring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Christopher Hill - (Opinion) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s speech on the ongoing popular uprisings in the Middle East, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington, was intended to kick off a renewed effort to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Things are not turning out as planned.

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Fayyad: Promised donor aid not arriving
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is facing a financial crisis because funds pledged by donor nations are not arriving on time, Prime Minister of the West Bank government Salam Fayyad said Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference with Japan's representative to the Palestinian Authority, Fayyad said the slow delivery of promised aid was putting pressure on the government. "The financial crisis continues until now, to varying degrees, and has continued alongside the work of the Palestinian Authority since mid-2010," Fayyad warned, saying the government was facing a serious shortfall.

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Scores at Rafah spark tension with Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

An escalated crisis between Egypt and the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip was dampened Tuesday night, as officials met over ways to handle the flood of Palestinians seeking to cross the Rafah border terminal. Following the May 28 opening of the Gaza-Egypt border, for almost unfettered access to Palestinians except men between 18-40, floods of would-be travelers arrived prepared to cross, overwhelming the terminal.

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May 31st

Three militants are killed in an explosion at a Gaza training camp. PM Fayyad says the Palestinian state will be in the 1967 borders. Pres. Abbas visits Egypt. Hamas is challenged by more extreme Jihadists. A holy site near Nablus becomes a new flashpoint in the occupied territories. Aaron David Miller says now is not the time for diplomatic action by the US. Activists in Gaza warn Israel not to block an upcoming flotilla, but Israel says its navy is ready to board ships again. A Palestinian artist develops passport stamps. Turkey's foreign minister is highly critical of Israel in an interview with Reuters. Israeli commandos get special training for the flotilla. Hamas' founder is memorialized in a new museum. Controversial archeology continues in Jerusalem. Palestinians are planning their approach to the UN in September. Akiva Eldar says Jerusalem is already divided. FM Lieberman may be charged with corruption. Tensions are rising between Palestinian residents and occupation forces in East Jerusalem. A Knesset bill seeks to change the names of Jerusalem neighborhoods. Israel arrests 12 alleged Palestinian extremists in the West Bank. Gershon Baskin says it's crucial to salvage the two-state solution. Greg Philo says Israel successfully spins images of conflict. A majority of both Israelis and Palestinians expect a third intifada. Israeli towns want to the screen residents for "social suitability," which Palestinians say will be code for ethnic discrimination. Egypt says the opening of the Gaza border doesn't lessen Israel's responsibilities. Egyptian analysts say major changes to the relationship with Israel are unlikely under any new government. Yossi Alpher says PM Netanyahu's strategy is all about popular opinion and Ghassan Khatib says he offered no new ideas in his Washington trip.

No new ideas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech delivered to the US Congress on May 24 held no new ideas or initiatives. Rather, it was a reiteration of the same well-known right-wing positions held by this Israeli government.

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"Other places of critical strategic and national importance"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

In his speech to the United States Congress last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was addressing three target audiences. The least important for him was the Palestinians.

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Israel nervous, but major change in Egypt relations unlikely
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
(Analysis) May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Before Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, bringing the Sinai Peninsula back into Egypt’s possession, Moshe Dayan, Israel’s eye patch-wearing foreign minister, had no doubt about what the deal would mean for his nation’s security. “If a wheel is removed,” he reportedly said, “the car will not run again.” In other words, if Egypt was taken away from the field of battle, the Arab world could never again pose a threat to the Jewish state.

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