May 23rd

Ramallah is peacefully flourishing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Seattle Times by Kristin R. Jackson - May 21, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH ISN'T your typical tourist spot. The Palestinian town of 25,000 lies within the Israeli-held West Bank, an epicenter of volatile Mideast politics that has endured centuries of occupiers and uprisings. Yet Ramallah has peacefully flourished in the past few years, growing into the de facto political and cultural capital of the mostly Muslim West Bank. » Read more

UK minister 'deeply disappointed' in settlements call ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 22, 2011 - 12:00am UK foreign office minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt on Friday urged Israel to "cease unhelpful and destabilising activity" of settlement construction, in the wake of a decision to build 1,500 new Jewish-only homes in occupied East Jerusalem. "I am deeply disappointed with Israel’s announcement on 19 May to build up to 1500 settlement units in the East Jerusalem settlements of Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev," the minister said in a statement. » Read more

Hamas: Obama will not force Israel recognition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 22, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Sunday slammed Barack Obama's speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, saying the US president's call on the party to recognize Israel would go unanswered. In Washington, Obama addressed the powerful pro-Israel lobby group and elaborated on statements made Thursday in his Mideast policy speech, urging calls to democracy and reform across the region. » Read more

Quartet, EU back Obama plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 23, 2011 - 12:00am Members of the Middle East Quartet and the EU's foreign policy chief came out in full support of statements made by US President Barack Obama this week, urging Israel and Palestine back into direct talks. The Quartet members, including the US, EU, UN and Russia, issued a statement saying all were "in full agreement about the urgent need to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians." The body "expressed its strong support" for the vision laid out by Obama. » Read more

Obama's bold move on 1967 borders for Israeli-Palestinian talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) May 20, 2011 - 12:00am It takes uncommon grit for a US president to tell Israelis and Palestinians how to solve their differences rather than merely mediate between them. But in his speech Thursday, President Obama started down that risky path. He spelled out a few starting points for a peace deal, such as land borders and a nonmilitarized Palestine. » Read more

Obama's AIPAC comments can't conceal mutual mistrust, say Israeli analysts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - May 22, 2011 - 12:00am President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday sought to tone down a fresh crisis after the two clashed in public at the White House two days earlier over Mr. Obama's call for a border between Israel and a Palestinian state to be based on the 1967 line demarcating the West Bank. » Read more

Netanyahu pushes back on Obama's peace plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Christi Parsons, Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - May 21, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly lectured President Obama on the shortcomings of his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during a tense Oval Office appearance that laid bare the strained relations between the leaders. Admonishing a president of the United States on international television, Netanyahu rejected the plan outlined by Obama that would use the borders in effect before the 1967 Middle East War as the starting point for negotiations, saying that doing so would risk Israel's security and force it to negotiate with "a Palestinian version of Al Qaeda." » Read more

Netanyahu aides play down differences with Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - May 22, 2011 - 12:00am After a bruising confrontation with President Obama over his call for a peace deal based on Israel’s 1967 boundaries, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his aides are playing down the dispute, calling reports of a crisis overblown. Their comments came as Obama gave a reassuring speech to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Sunday, and Israeli commentators noted that the boundaries in question have long been considered the baseline for any future agreement with the Palestinians. » Read more

Obama Draws the Line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) May 20, 2011 - 12:00am On the eve of an election year, with Jewish donors and fund-raisers already restive over his approach to Israel, President Obama made a brave speech telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “the dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation” and urging him to accept Israeli borders at or close to the 1967 lines. » Read more

Palestinian Sees Prospects of Deal Receding ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am After President Obama’s high-profile speech on Thursday in which he laid out broad principles for reaching an Israeli-Palestinian deal, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called an emergency meeting at his headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank. He advised his associates not to comment on the speech, according to a senior Palestinian official who attended the meeting, but to wait instead for Mr. Obama’s meeting with the prime minister of Israel in the White House “and see if there are any positive signs.” » Read more