June 24th

Solving the Problem of the Old City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Michael Bell - (Blog) June 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Why is the issue of Jerusalem so central to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict?


Egypt Intensifying Pressure For Lull
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am


Egypt is leading an unprecedented effort to bring about an agreement on a lull and a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas and the other Palestinian factions, London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Wednesday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' scheduled visit to Cairo on Wednesday, and a visit to Israel by Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman's assistant, General Muhammad Ibrahim, were said to be part of this effort.


If anyone can handle Bibi’s curveball, it’s Mitchell
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Patrick Granfield - (Opinion) June 24, 2009 - 12:00am


When George Mitchell, the US president Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, sits down with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of a summit in Paris tomorrow, there will be little fanfare – and that may suit Mr Mitchell. He has a reputation for being hard-nosed, but also for humility. He is discreet, understated and rarely departs from his boss’s game plan – virtues that a generation ago in America would have been associated with a “baseball man”.


On a mission to 'reclaim' Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
by Jacky Rowland - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am


Arye King is an Israeli settler on a self-appointed mission from God: to extend Jewish ownership over the whole of Jerusalem. Armed only with a crash helmet and a list of properties which, he says, belong to Jewish owners, he travels by motor scooter around the Jerusalem area, posting eviction orders against Palestinians who believe they are living lawfully in the disputed homes. On the day we join him, his mission takes him to Beit Zafafa, a Palestinian neighbourhood in the south of the city.


Fayyad irks Abbas allies with statehood speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - June 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Critics accused Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday of exceeding his mandate and challenging President Mahmoud Abbas by declaring a goal of statehood within two years. Fayyad, a former IMF economist, is far from popular with many in the Fatah party, the dominant faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which, led by Abbas, is the strongest political force in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.


Migrants boost Jewish settler numbers in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am


Israelis moving to the West Bank accounted for more than a third of settler population growth in recent years, government statistics show, undercutting Israel's argument that it is continuing settlement construction only to accommodate growing families already living there. The so-called "natural growth" rationale for building on land the Palestinians claim for a future state has vaulted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into an unusually vocal and public clash with the Obama administration, which has come out strong against continued settlement expansion.


Russia set to hold Middle East peace summit this year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Russia's president on Tuesday said that Moscow aimed to hold a Middle East peace conference before the end of 2009 - a move backed by Egypt. Russia, which has proposed such a conference in the past, is a member of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators, along with the European Union, the United States and the United Nations. "We paid special attention to Middle East issues. We highly appreciate efforts by the Egyptian president to create an atmosphere of trust and cooperation in the region," Dmitry Medvedev said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.


Netanyahu delays U.S. talks due to settlement debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 24, 2009 - 12:00am


An Israeli official said Wednesday that the government had postponed a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Washington's top Mideast envoy George Mitchell because it wanted more time to iron out differences over West Bank settlements. The meeting with Mitchell was to have taken place in Paris where Netanyahu is visiting. Netanyahu aides said Defense Minister Ehud Barak would instead meet Mitchell next week in Washington. A senior official traveling with Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel sought more professional work before the meeting.


Israeli shackling of detainees 'torture'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 24, 2009 - 12:00am


Israeli security forces' shackling of Palestinian prisoners is frequently cruel and humiliating and in a number of instances constitutes "torture," a rights group said Wednesday. The army and the internal security forces "shackle detainees in painful and humiliating manners that, in a number of instances, rise to the level of torture," the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) said. The group published its findings in a report based on 547 cases of arrests and dozens of interrogations conducted over the past year.


Netanyahu Believes Obama Has Already Backed Down On Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Talking Points Memo
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) June 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu believes that President Obama has already blinked. The way he sees it, Obama made his demand to stop settlements in Cairo. He, Netanyahu, responded with a firm "no" -- but by uttering the phrase "two states" changed the subject suficiently to get Obama off his back. He also thinks the Iran crisis has diverted Obama's focus away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saved him from further pressure.



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