August 18th

Quiet slicing of the West Bank makes abstract prayers for peace obscene ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Slavoj Zizek - (Opinion) August 18, 2009 - 12:00am On 2 August 2009, after cordoning off part of the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem, Israeli police evicted two Palestinian families (more than 50 people) from their homes; Jewish settlers immediately moved into the emptied houses. Although Israeli police cited a ruling by the country's supreme court, the evicted Arab families had been living there for more than 50 years. The event – which, rather exceptionally, did attract the attention of the world media – is part of a much larger and mostly ignored ongoing process. » Read more

Egypt's Essential Partnership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Abdel-Moneim Said - (Opinion) August 18, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama's second meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, scheduled to take place today, presents an opportunity to view this important bilateral relationship from a proper perspective. For too long, U.S.-Egyptian relations have focused, somewhat myopically, on only two things: the state of Egypt's peace with Israel and its progress toward democratization. » Read more

Israelis sour on Rahm Emanuel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Kenneth P. Vogel - August 17, 2009 - 12:00am As the Obama administration presses Israel to cease settlement expansion as part of a renewed push for a Middle East peace deal — a course of action that many Israelis have interpreted as evidence of the president’s favoritism towards Palestinians — Israelis have increasingly focused their disappointment not on Obama, but rather on his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. » Read more

U.S. Jews press Mubarak ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 17, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Jewish leaders urged Egypt's president to take the lead in encouraging other Arab nations to make conciliatory gestures to Israel. Hosni Mubarak is in Washington this week to meet with President Obama and advance plans to revive the peace process. Mubarak met Monday morning with an array of leaders from Jewish groups who told him that conciliatory measures from Arab nations, including allowing Israeli overflights and expanding business ties, would help Israel make concessions. Arab states and the Palestinians first want Israel to commit to a settlement freeze. » Read more

Oren navigates waters among Israel, U.S. government and American Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - August 17, 2009 - 12:00am Tweeted, a diplomat’s job would look something like this: Explain home abroad, explain abroad home. In recent weeks, it’s seemed as if the job description for Israeli envoys would encroach on the 140-character limit: Explain home abroad, explain abroad home, explain Jews abroad home, explain home to Jews abroad, explain, explain, explain. Michael Oren, the new Israeli ambassador to Washington, has had a busy six weeks, and he acknowledges that some of his difficulties have had to do with a debate within his government about whether to even engage with liberal American Jews. » Read more

Report: Obama, Mubarak to discuss compensation for refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his American counterpart, Barack Obama, are expected during their White House meeting Tuesday to discuss "an initiative of leaders" for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, in which the Palestinians will waive the right of return in exchange for compensation, the London-based Arabic-language al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported Tuesday. » Read more

Orly Taitz: Obama policies are 'clear and present danger to Israel' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Benjamin L. Hartman - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. President Barack Obama's domestic and foreign policies pose "a clear and present danger to Israel," says the driving force behind the campaign to prove Obama was not born in the United States and therefore ineligible to serve as president. » Read more

Hilltop Youth push to settle West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News August 18, 2009 - 12:00am While many Israeli teenagers spend the summer hanging out on beaches or in shopping malls, Evyatar Slonam, 17, is sitting on an exposed hillside in the southern West Bank at the Jewish outpost of Mitzpe Avichai. "We want there to be a mall right here," explains his friend Yehoyada, 15, indicating the hilltop surrounded by Palestinian houses and olive groves. "Tel Aviv once looked like this, too." » Read more

Mubarak firm on Arab-Israeli ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News August 17, 2009 - 12:00am Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said Arab states would recognise Israel and normalise ties, but only as part of a comprehensive peace deal. Mr Mubarak is currently in Washington for talks with US officials. The US is asking Arab states to begin normalising ties in return for a proposed temporary freeze in settlement building on the occupied West Bank. But he said states which had trade ties with Israel might consider reviving them if it resumed peace negotiations. » Read more

Growing threat to Hamas: Gazans who think it has sold out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Erin Cunningham - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Two years after its takeover of the Gaza strip, Hamas has faced down its greatest challenger: A militant, Al Qaeda-inspired organization that says Hamas is not Islamic enough. Last Friday, Hamas forces and the Jund Ansar Allah (Soldier of God) movement fought a day-long gun and artillery battle that killed about 30 in the southern Gaza town of Rafah after the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa, declared an Islamic emirate in Gaza and denounced Hamas. Mr. Moussa was killed in the fighting, centered on the mosque where he and his followers had gathered. » Read more