Israel seals West Bank as security precaution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press April 18, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has barred the entry of nearly all Palestinians from the West Bank as a security measure because of observances for Memorial Day and Independence Day. The closure is to be lifted at midnight Tuesday. Israel is always on a heightened state of precaution during national observances. Memorial Day begins on Sunday night and is followed by Independence Day, which begins Monday night and lasts through Tuesday. » Read more

Israel's Barak concerned by rift with U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - April 19, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak voiced concern on Monday over a deep rift with the United States over settlement policy and said Israel should do more to try to achieve peace with the Palestinians. "The alienation that is developing with the United States is not good for Israel," said Barak, head of the centre-left Labour Party in right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition. » Read more

New Gaza Salafist faction numbers 11,000 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Ibrahim Qannan - April 19, 2010 - 12:00am "We, the Salafists, count more than 11,000 members who carry with them jihadist teachings from both Ayman At-Thawahri and Osama Bin Laden," said Abu Al-Hareth, leader of the Jund Ansar Allah, during an interview in his poorly lit Gaza home. "Of this number, 70 percent are members of the Jaljalat, a group made up of former Al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas affiliates," he explained. » Read more

Scion of Israel political dynasty begs to differ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - (Interview) April 17, 2010 - 12:00am Avinadav Begin, 36, comes from one of Israel's most famous political families. His grandfather Menachem Begin, as prime minister, signed the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt; his father, Benny Begin, a minister without portfolio in the current government, opposes a Palestinian state. » Read more

A Mideast opportunity Obama shouldn't ignore ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jackson Diehl - April 19, 2010 - 12:00am "Timing is everything in life," George Mitchell said this year while discussing his daunting job as a Middle East envoy. It's a piece of wisdom that applies perfectly to the Obama administration's troubles in the region -- and one that, curiously enough, Mitchell and his boss have willfully ignored. » Read more

A peaceful strategy for Palestinian independence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinians have recently been developing a peaceful multilevel strategy to achieve their national goals of a negotiated peace agreement with Israel, an end to the occupation, and the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. » Read more

Israeli defense minister says occupation must end ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - April 19, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel must recognize that the world will not put up with decades more of Israeli rule over the Palestinian people, the country's defense minister said in unusually frank remarks Monday. Ehud Barak's comments came against the backdrop of severe friction between the U.S. and Israel's hawkish government over an impasse in peacemaking. » Read more

Fayyad sets out to fulfill vision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - April 19, 2010 - 12:00am As Palestinian prime minister advances his plan for independent state next summer, even his greatest opponents find it difficult not to give him credit for recent calm and order in West Bank » Read more