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Obama plans address on Middle East after Arab spring, death of bin Laden
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yahoo News by Laura Rozen - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am President Barack Obama plans to give a major speech on the dramatic shifts underway in the Middle East and North Africa, White House officials said today. |
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Amid Syria's turmoil, Israel sees Assad as the lesser evil
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - May 6, 2011 - 12:00am As Syria's Assad regime buckles under mass protests for reform and democracy, neighboring Israel is watching with unease. True, the downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would ostensibly remove a key player in the Iranian-led alliance threatening the Jewish state on several fronts. But Syria under Mr. Assad has been a stable neighbor and maintained a regional balance that officials and analysts fear could crumble – providing an opening for hard-line Islamist groups. |
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Middle East peace: The wrong pact
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) May 12, 2011 - 12:00am The world shared the American people's gratitude for the special forces who rid us of Osama bin Laden, but there was one flagrant exception. "We condemn the assassination of an Arab holy warrior," declared Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas regime in Gaza, who also deplored "the continuing American policy … of shedding Muslim blood." |
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For Jerusalem’s Armenians, 1,600 years of history and an uncertain future
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 12, 2011 - 12:00am One of the four quarters of old Jerusalem belongs to the Armenians, keepers of an ancient monastery and library, heirs to a tragic history and to a stubborn 1,600-year presence that some fear is now in doubt. |
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A Year After Israeli Raid, 2nd Flotilla to Set Sail for Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Susanne Gusten - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am Riding the ripples of the Golden Horn, the Mavi Marmara tugs at its moorings in the shipyard where it is being readied to head back into troubled waters. A flotilla of 15 ships carrying humanitarian aid and activists from 100 countries will sail for Gaza next month, in a second attempt to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, organizers announced this week. |
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FM: Israel will talk with PA, but won’t freeze settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger, Tovah Lazaroff - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to reject the unity deal Fatah made with Hamas and to resume direct talks with Israel – even though Israel has no intention of ceding to Abbas’s demand that it freeze settlement activity. |
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Israel to invest millions in real-time satellite capacity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am The Defense Ministry is set to invest millions to upgrade Israel’s space communication capabilities, to enable reconnaissance and surveillance satellites used by the IDF to provide real-time intelligence. As things stand, Israeli satellites can only download their data when they fly directly over Israel – which can mean a delay of up to 90 minutes, a critical handicap in times of conflict. |
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Barak presents plan for Palestinian accord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews May 11, 2011 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak revealed his plan for an accord with the Palestinians on Tuesday, hinting at the points Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to present in his upcoming speech before the US Congress and President Barack Obama. Speaking at a reception held traditionally for combat soldiers at IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv, Barak said Israel was prepared to take "courageous steps" to bring about peace. "On the eve of this Independence Day, Israel is the strongest country within a radius of 1,500 km from Jerusalem," Barak said. |
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Court protects Palestinian homes, for now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ronen Medzini - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Bustan are not to be demolished until plans are finalized and approved for the park that is to be established in their stead, the Jerusalem District Court ruled Wednesday. Mayor Nir Barkat is promoting the plans, which require the demolition of 22 illegally-built homes. In exchange, the Arabs who reside in these homes will receive permits to build new homes legally on the other side of the neighborhood, at their expense. In addition, the 66 other homes in the neighborhood will be legalized retroactively. |