January 14th

Fatah fears Israel to renounce security agreements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - January 13, 2010 - 1:00am Fatah activists fear Israel will renounce security agreements signed with the Palestinian Authority, as part of which many Palestinian gunmen were granted amnesty. The concern was raised following the assassination of three organization members involved in the shooting attack that killed Rabbi Avshalom Meir Hai near the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron. Two of those killed were gunmen pardoned by the Jewish state. » Read more

No entry for Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avirama Golan - (Opinion) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Anyone observing Israel these days - and the hazing to which the Turkish ambassador was subjected is only the latest example - sees the neighborhood bully. Anyone who cares about self-preservation will stay away from this hard-hearted, dull-witted madman whose sole guiding principle is "national honor" - or in other words, sowing strife and dissension that undermines the state's interests. » Read more

Israel restricts Palestinian lawyers' access to West Bank detainees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Israel is prohibiting Palestinian lawyers and the relatives of Palestinian detainees from reaching a military tribunal via the Beitunia checkpoint west of Ramallah. » Read more

ATFP Original Translation: “Not through a narrow prism!” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam by Hassan Al-Battal - (Opinion) January 9, 2010 - 1:00am One can excuse the Palestinians for viewing the problems of Middle East and terrorism through their own narrow prism. This is precisely the same prism they are using to view the recent events of Rafah and Al-Arish. » Read more

January 13th

Resumption of Mideast talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am In normal circumstances — but then what’s normal in the Middle East — one would receive news of recent US efforts to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians with relief, even jubilation. After weeks of deliberate disengagement from mediation, maybe to punish the main parties or as a sign of frustration, anger or all of the above, Washington is once again stepping into the quicksands of the elusive peace process, which it had helped launch and nurture and eventually monopolized for more than 15 years. » Read more

Apply American decency to Mideast policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am I am often asked why I maintain the slightly naive expectation that the United States will one day pursue policies in the Middle East that are fair to all in the region, and also comply with international law and core American values. My answer is, in part, Denise Horn’s Globalization and International Affairs class INTL 1101 at Northeastern University in Boston. » Read more

Pope calls for two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am ROME (JTA) -- Pope Benedict XVI called for "universal recognition" of both Israel's right to exist and the rights of Palestinians to an independent state. In his traditional New Year's address Monday to world diplomats accredited to the Vatican, the pope recalled that during his trip to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority last May, he had "urgently appealed" for dialogue and respect between Israelis and the Palestinians. » Read more

'Large majority in favor of peace talks' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Haviv Rettig - January 13, 2010 - 1:00am Both Jewish and Arab Israelis support peace talks with the Palestinian Authority by a large majority, but also trust the government's handling of Israel's security challenges, according to the latest Tel Aviv University "War and Peace Index" survey. 72.5 percent of Israelis support negotiations toward peace, with just 20.9% opposing it. This support for negotiations, however, did not translate into optimism that the efforts would result in peace in the near term. » Read more

Lieberman-style diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alon Liel - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am The humiliating meeting held by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon with Turkey’s ambassador to Israel attests to a new kind of diplomacy invented by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The content of the conversation was barely mentioned, but rather, only its style was: Seating the ambassador on a low seat, refraining from shaking his hand, pummeling him, and later stressing this was about pulverizing him – these are all new rules of diplomacy. The incident made the Foreign Ministry look ridiculous internationally, and not only in the context of our ties with Turkey. » Read more

Hamas wants rocket fire halt to avoid Israeli retaliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - January 12, 2010 - 1:00am Hamas in Gaza tried to ease tension with Israel and Egypt on Tuesday, urging other Palestinians to stop firing rockets into the Jewish state and promising Cairo answers over the shooting of an Egyptian soldier at the border. Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Islamist movement's government in the coastal enclave, said other armed groups in the Gaza Strip should observe what has amounted to a ceasefire since Israel's major offensive a year ago. That, Haniyeh said, was in the interests of protecting Gazans from Israeli attacks. » Read more