April 16th

Illegal outposts marked for destruction got millions in state funding ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - April 16, 2010 - 12:00am Residents of Hayovel, an illegal outpost whose homes are due to be razed, received NIS 77,000 per family from the state when they settled the site, according to documents Haaretz received. The status of Hayovel came before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak asked the court to give the state another six months to respond to the question of when it plans to raze 12 illegal homes at Hayovel and six others in Horsha. For their part, the settlers and politicians on the right have began lobbying to legalize the outpost. » Read more

Israel envoy hosts J Street chief in bid to end rift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - April 16, 2010 - 12:00am J Street founder and executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami met Israel's U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren for the first time on Wednesday as as Israel sought to heal a high-profile rift with the Jewish lobby group. Oren invited Ben-Ami the Israeli embassy in Washington for talks that lasted around an hour and covered topics including the peace process, U.S.-Israel relations and Iran. Wednesday's meeting builds on months of discussions between the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby and the embassy to clarify Israel's understanding of J Street's views. » Read more

Israeli actions are turning Jerusalem into a settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zeev Sternhell - (Opinion) April 16, 2010 - 12:00am Thanks to an attempted settler takeover of the Sheikh Jarrah quarter, that quiet neighborhood of East Jerusalem has turned into a kind of microcosm of the illnesses that are poisoning relations between Jews and Arabs. The worst of these is the refusal to recognize the finality of the situation that was created at the end of the War of Independence. It is possible to understand the settler right, whose existential aim is the continued conquest of the land. But how is it possible that state institutions will lend a hand to an act that destroys the very land under our feet? » Read more

Palestinians see return of Israeli military rule in eviction order ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 15, 2010 - 12:00am A senior Palestinian official on Thursday said the recent Israeli decision to evict people from the West Bank aimed to exert Israeli military rule on the Palestinian- controlled territory again. "The real context of the decision is the return of the Israeli military rule, which has ended according to Oslo peace accords between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993, " said Tayeb Abdul Rahim, secretary general of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). » Read more

Gaza executions condemned ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 16, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups have denounced Thursday's executions of two collaborators in Gaza. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reiterated in a statement its position rejecting the death penalty, which it called "a grave and unjustified violation of the right to life and a form of torture and cruel and inhumane treatment." The Ministry of the Interior in Gaza executed by firing squad Nasser Salama Abu Fraih, 35, from Jabaliya and Mohammed Ibrahim Isma'il (As-Sabe), 36, from Rafah. » Read more

Israeli fire kills 1 east of Gaza City ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 16, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian operative in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, Palestinian and Israeli security sources said, following witness accounts of heavy fire. Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades said its operatives clashed with Israeli forces along the Gaza-Israel border on Friday. In a statement, the armed wing reported that at 6am, its forces acted defensively against an undercover Israeli force that entered Gaza. Israeli forces reportedly opened fire at the Al-Aqsa fighters, killing one. Another affiliate remained missing Friday afternoon, the group said. » Read more

'Collaborator' executions heighten political tensions in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - April 16, 2010 - 12:00am The Gaza Strip's Hamas-led government on Thursday executed two Palestinians convicted of aiding Israel in the assassination of Palestinian militants, a move that highlighted the deep divisions that endure between the two main Palestinian political factions. » Read more

King Abdullah II of Jordan with Chicago Tribune Editorial Board ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Chicago Tribune April 16, 2010 - 12:00am King Abdullah II of Jordan visited the Tribune's editorial board Thursday to discuss challenges in the Middle East and the peace process. Excerpts: Tribune: What should the United States be doing to advance the Middle East peace process? » Read more

April 15th

Israel's intransigence undermines Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu has done it again. The Israeli prime minister dug his head deep into the sand on the eve of the international conference on nuclear security held in Washington, for fear that Turkey, Egypt and others would raise the issue of Israel's unmonitored nuclear arsenal. » Read more

Israel defies international law, again ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli amendments to standing military orders that took effect last Tuesday were fresh punitive measures in a long line of destructive and illegal acts designed to deny Palestinians their basic human rights. The orders, signed by Major General Gadi Shamni, former commander of Israel's armed forces in the West Bank, broaden the interpretation of "infiltrator" to mean anyone who does not have a valid Israeli residence permit, and expand the powers of Israeli forces to deal with anyone they decide is a "security threat". » Read more