April 1st

Palestinian unity talks resume in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas resumed reconciliation talks in Cairo on Wednesday aimed at agreeing a government of national unity acceptable to the international community. The Egyptian-mediated talks between the Islamist Hamas and the Western-backed Fatah of Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas were adjourned on March 19 after failing to agree on a new government. The two factions met on Wednesday in the presence of Egypt's intelligence chief and pointman for Israeli-Palestinian affairs Omar Suleiman, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported. » Read more

Israel not bound by Annapolis understandings: Lieberman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Adam Entous, Jeffrey Heller - April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's new ultranationalist foreign minister said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-leaning government would not be bound by U.S.-backed understandings on a Palestinian state reached in 2007. Avigdor Lieberman's dismissal of the Annapolis conference declaration could swiftly steer Israel and Netanyahu onto a collision course with U.S. President Barack Obama, who last week reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Palestinian statehood. » Read more

Analysis: Israel's new coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English March 25, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's centre-left Labor party has voted at a conference to join a coalition government led by Benyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister-designate and Likud leader. The move provides the parliamentary majority necessary for government, which will include the nationalist Yisrael Beitenu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister-designate, and the orthodox Jewish Shas party. Ehud Barak, the Labor leader, says that his party will provide balance to a right-wing government, while others argue that Labor itself is moving to the right. » Read more

A step away from reality ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews (Opinion) March 29, 2009 - 12:00am Leaders often speak out on certain issues in order to communicate what they are doing for the country, but they sometimes do so simply to remind the public that they exist. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat both spoke of the peace process this past week and seem to have expressed their basic desire to remain relevant in the political sphere. » Read more

MKs spar over Gaza testimonials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sharon Roffe-ofir - April 1, 2009 - 12:00am The controversy surrounding testimonials of conduct unbecoming by the Israeli Defense Forces during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza was the focus of a heated Knesset discussion Wednesday, demonstrating once more the polarity within the Israeli parliament. The military launched an official inquiry into allegations made by soldiers who claimed that innocent people were targeted during the Israeli offensive, but Judge Advocate General Brigadier-General Avi Mandelblit later determined that the accusation had no merit and closed the case. » Read more

Netanyahu government / Who's who in the new cabinet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz April 1, 2009 - 12:00am An introduction to the faces - some old and some new - who make up Israel's new coalition government.

UN: 70% of Palestinian youth oppose violence to resolve conflict with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Nearly 70 percent of Palestinian young adults believe the use of violence to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not very helpful, according to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) study released Tuesday. Only 8 percent believe violence is an important tool, the study, based on interviews with 1,200 Palestinians over the age of 17 in the West Bank and Gaza. The study also found out that more than 80 percent of young Palestinians are depressed, and 47 percent identify themselves as Muslim rather than Palestinian. » Read more

Abbas urges U.S., world to pressure Netanyahu on peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday urged the international community to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, saying the newly sworn-in leader "does not believe in peace," AFP reported. "Benjamin Netanyahu never believed in a two-state solution or accepted signed agreements and does not want to stop settlement activity. This is obvious," AFP quoted Abbas as telling the official Palestinian news agency. » Read more

Indecision causes Palestine to suffer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National April 1, 2009 - 12:00am ‘For I have known them all already, known them all/ Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons/ I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” Ennui as perhaps only TS Eliot can paint it; disappointment as perhaps only Palestinians can feel it. If anyone had hoped that the Arab League summit in Doha might have started to bridge the distance between the various sides in the Arab community over the Palestinian conflict, it didn’t. » Read more

Netanyahu Offers Conciliation, but Not Concessions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 31, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Taking over as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu struck a somewhat conciliatory tone toward the Palestinians in an address Tuesday to Parliament, promising negotiations toward a permanent accord. But Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the hawkish Likud Party, stopped short of endorsing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a potential point of friction with the United States. » Read more