May 6th

At Aipac Conference, Biden Calls for Settlement Freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. John Kerry pledged to confront Iran and protect Israel, but called on the Jewish state to freeze settlements. In their addresses Tuesday on the closing day of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference, both said President Obama was committed to removing Iran’s nuclear threat. Biden said Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region needed to take demonstrable steps toward peace. “Show me!” he shouted. The vice president spelled out steps that needed to be taken by the various parties. » Read more

Blair: New Mideast peace plan unveiled in weeks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press May 6, 2009 - 12:00am The Obama administration and international negotiators are drafting a new strategy for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and expect to unveil it within six weeks, said international Mideast envoy Tony Blair. The plan is being devised by the Obama administration, with input from others, the former British prime minister told Palestinian reporters. » Read more

Gaza patients questionings 'rise' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 4, 2009 - 12:00am The number of Palestinians forced to provide information before being let out of Gaza for medical treatment is rising, an Israeli group has reported. In the first three months of 2009 more than 400 patients were interrogated, Physicians for Human Rights says. They say Israeli security services are involved in a systematic attempt to recruit Palestinians as collaborators. Israeli officials say they are carrying out security checks to ensure those entering Israel do not commit attacks. » Read more

U.N. Inquiry Finds Israel Purposely Fired on School in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Colum Lynch - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am A United Nations inquiry into the Gaza conflict earlier this year concluded that Israel intentionally struck a U.N.-run elementary school, killing three young men seeking shelter from the fighting, according to a summary released Tuesday. The incident was one of eight in which the Israel Defense Forces fired on U.N. personnel or facilities that drew scrutiny from a three-member U.N. board of inquiry. The board found that Israel had repeatedly breached the inviolability of U.N. » Read more

Can the Pope Bring the Peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by John L. Allen, Jr. - (Opinion) May 6, 2009 - 12:00am SYMBOLIC gestures are the tools of any leader’s trade, but nowhere do they spell the difference between life and death quite like the Middle East. For example, the visit in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister, to Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the site of two Islamic shrines, helped set off the second intifada. » Read more

Biden urges Israel to work for a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am Vice President Joe Biden called on Israeli officials Tuesday to work harder for creation of a Palestinian state and to halt growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Biden, speaking at a conference sponsored by an influential pro-Israel lobby, said the Obama administration was committed to a new direction in Middle East peace efforts because "the status quo of the last decade has not served the interests of the United States, or Israel, very well." » Read more

Obama, Peres Discuss Israeli-Palestinian Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama's meeting with Shimon Peres this afternoon marked a first step in the new administration's relationship with Israel. But it comes at a time when the two governments disagree sharply over what constitutes the biggest long-term threat to the Jewish state and how best to achieve peace in the region. » Read more

May 5th

Obama gets tougher with Israel on Palestinians, Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington May 17 approaches, the United States is sending strong messages on the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israeli settlement activity. Gen. James Jones, national security adviser to President Barack Obama, told a European foreign minister a week ago that unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be "forceful" with Israel. Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told an AIPAC conference last night that two states for two peoples is the only solution the United States is committed to. » Read more

Netanyahu: Ready for peace talks now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Israel is prepared to resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians without any delay and without any preconditions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday night, speaking from Israel via satellite to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference. The prime minister said he believed that "with the help of (US President Barack) Obama and (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas, we can defy the skeptics, we can surprise the world." » Read more

PA working to root out Hamas, Hezbollah secret agents ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority has established a special counter-intelligence squad in its security services to uncover agents working for Hamas and Hezbollah. To date the Palestinian Authority security services have arrested dozens of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the two radical Islamic groups. Israeli security sources said that the PA has made a focused effort to uncover foreign agents, noting that the new unit involves a large contingent of officers. » Read more