April 1st

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

Obama has hit the ground running in the Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Abdel-Moneim Said - April 1, 2009 - 12:00am The Obama administration has hit the ground running in the Middle East by virtually reversing all the traditional positions of the Bush administration: from neglect to activism, from clash of civilizations to dialogue of civilizations, from believing that the Arab-Israel conflict cannot be resolved to believing that despite difficulties the hope is there. » Read more

Fasten your Seat Belts, Bibi is Back ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - March 31, 2009 - 12:00am [The news of] Bibi Netanyahu's election to the position of Prime Minister of Israel was a piece of bad news, but something that nevertheless must be dealt with. Netanyahu's victory has aroused fear and disappointment that even US President Barack Obama has not hesitated to express. And now the question is; where will the man with the most notorious reputation in modern Israel lead the region? Will he change, in the same way that the Butcher [of Beirut] Ariel Sharon, and before him the extremist Menachem Begin, changed? » Read more

March 31st

Draw the Line on Israel's Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Lara Friedman, Hagit Ofran - (Opinion) March 31, 2009 - 12:00am From the earliest days of the peace process, it was clear that Israel's settlements would be one of the most contentious issues on the Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli domestic agendas. Conventional wisdom has held that serious Israeli action on settlements must be put off until a deal is ready to be signed. This is based on the logic that given the huge amount of political capital it will cost any Israeli government either to freeze settlements or to pursue peace, no Israeli government can do both at the same time. » Read more

Worries over Netanyahu team ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Layelle Saad - March 30, 2009 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu will present his right wing government tonight to the Israeli Knesset sparking international worries over the possibility of a future peace process. With over 30 ministerial positions, Netanyahu's shaky coalition government between the right-wing Likud party and the Centre-Left Labour Party will be among the largest cabinets in Israeli history. » Read more

Leave East Jerusalem alone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 31, 2009 - 12:00am On the eve of the new government's swearing-in, right-wing elements in the new coalition and among the settlers are preparing to heighten Israeli control in East Jerusalem. In the coalition negotiations, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to promise to carry out the large (E1) plan to create Jewish urban contiguity between Ma'aleh Adumim and the capital. » Read more

Settlers step up construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - March 31, 2009 - 12:00am Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank have stepped up the illegal construction of roads and housing in the past three months, taking advantage of the government’s distraction by the recent onslaught in Gaza and the national elections, an Israeli human rights group said yesterday. Yesh Din, based in Tel Aviv, claimed that the projects were probably funded by the government. » Read more

Abbas to Arab summit: Israel chose settlement instead of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - March 31, 2009 - 12:00am "Our experience in the aftermath of the Annapolis conference has proven that Israel is still a ways off from abandoning its settlement policy and choosing the path of peace," Mahmoud Abbas said Monday. Speaking at the Arab summit in Doha, Qatar the Palestinian president said that at the same time it was conducting negotiations on a permanent peace agreement Israel "continued to establish facts on the ground in accordance with its ambitions of expansion." » Read more

Two Palestinian gunmen said killed by IDF in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press March 31, 2009 - 12:00am Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed two Palestinian militants and wounded three in violence along the Gaza-Israel border, a Gaza health official said, in one of the worst flare-ups since Israel's ended its offensive in the territory more than two months ago. An IDF soldier was lightly wounded in the fighting, the military said. Palestinian witnesses reported hearing two explosions from the border area in the central Gaza Strip, after which Israeli helicopters hovered over the fence and fired at targets inside Gaza. » Read more