Blair Says Resolving Mideast Conflict Critical to Curbing Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Gwen Ackerman, Jonathan Ferziger - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am Middle East envoy Tony Blair said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would remove a toxic barrier between the West and Islamic nations and help deal with the nuclear threat from Iran. Peace in the region would “hugely help in resolving this bigger problem” and remove an “issue which puts such a poison into the relationship between the West, Israel, if you like, and the world of Islam,” the former British prime minister said yesterday in an interview in Jerusalem. » Read more

UN laments choking of Bethlehem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 7, 2009 - 12:00am The UN has accused Israel of restricting development of the Bethlehem region in the West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said just 13% of land around Bethlehem was open for use by the Palestinian population. It said the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ was hemmed in by Israeli settlements and military zones as well as Israel's West Bank barrier. An Israeli foreign ministry official said the issue was beyond Ocha's remit. » Read more

Arabs work for unified approach ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 7, 2009 - 12:00am Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo to formulate a united approach on the Middle East peace process. The meeting is the first since the election of the right-wing Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It comes ahead of a flurry of diplomatic activity in the coming weeks, focussing on the Middle East. The ministers are also to discuss a report on alleged crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza strip last January. The Arab foreign ministers will be discussing how to restart "serious and direct negotiations" between the Israelis and the Palestinians. » Read more

AIPAC Confronts A New Reality as Obama’s Agenda Becomes Clear ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am Washington — “You’re not going to like my saying this,” Vice President Joe Biden told 6,000 delegates from the podium of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference — a spot that politicians usually vie over vigorously for the privilege of telling the crowd what they want to hear. » Read more

Federal Government May Revise Voluntary Guidelines for Giving Overseas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy by Ian Wilhelm - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am The U.S. Treasury Department wants to work with grant makers to revise its voluntary guidelines that seek to prevent charitable dollars from inadvertently flowing to terrorists, a department official said at the Council on Foundations meeting. Michael Rosen, a policy adviser in the department’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said the office wants to work with foundations “to better refine the guidance.” » Read more

The West Bank Archipelago ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Mackey - (Blog) May 7, 2009 - 12:00am This week, leading Israeli, Palestinian and American officials have agreed that the creation of a Palestinian state on territory in the West Bank and Gaza is essential to peace in the Middle East. But spend any time looking at a map of the West Bank as it is today, or with any of the many different proposals for how that map might be redrawn to accommodate the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians, and it becomes clear why any sensible mapmaker might choose to steer well clear of the challenge of drawing up that state. » Read more