May 20th

Hamas detains senior Fatah leader in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 20, 2010 - 12:00am


The security forces of the deposed Hamas government in the Gaza Strip arrested on Wednesday a senior member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, Fatah sources said. The sources told Xinhua that Hamas security forces arrested Osama al-Farra, a member of Fatah's revolutionary council and former governor of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, at his home in Gaza.


Palestinians complain of Israeli actions to US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am


Palestinian leaders on Wednesday complained to a U.S. envoy about what they said were Israeli provocations, as the second round of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks got under way. White House emissary George Mitchell met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and is to hold talks later in the week with Israeli leaders. The negotiations were launched earlier this month, and Mitchell will be shuttling between the sides for up to four months to try to narrow their vast differences on the terms for Palestinian statehood.


US donates $1.4 million to UNRWA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 20, 2010 - 12:00am


US Embassy officials in Damascus, the Syrian government, and UNRWA inaugurated a newly constructed community centre that will benefit some 144,000 Palestinian refugees living in the Syrian capital's Yarmouk refugee camp on Wednesday. A statement issued by the US State Department said America contributed 1.4 million US dollars for the community centre's construction.


Exclusive interview with Gaza's Salafi leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Ibraheem Qanan - May 20, 2010 - 12:00am


"Salafism is not only in Gaza, it is all over Palestine and needs no license to practice in the heart of Tel Aviv or in Washington," Jaish Al-Islam (Army of Islam) leader Omer Al-Ansari told Ma'an during an exclusive interview on Wednesday.


Middle East Plan B
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by Sasha Polakow-Suransky - May 16, 2010 - 12:00am


“I think this is a very big deal,” President Clinton declared to a group of American Jews and Arabs after the legions of photographers left the White House grounds on Sept. 13, 1993. However, Clinton warned, it would take commitment and hard work to guarantee that the historic Israeli-Palestinian Accord signed that day would “truly be a turning point.”


To promote Arab-Israeli peace, Arabs and Israelis argue against it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nicholas Blanford - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am


Most grassroots peace efforts in the Middle East try to build on areas of mutual agreement, but one group of Israelis and Arabs has taken a different tack – looking for arguments against peace between Israel and Syria.


Obama reassured Jewish members on 'Obama plan'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am


President Obama and Jewish members of Congress emerged from an hour-and-a-half meeting yesterday presenting a united front on the touchy subject of Middle East peace, but the meeting itself featured some sharp exchanges as Obama sought to quell concerns that he would impose a peace plan on Israel without the country's consent, two attendees said.


The path to a true peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill
by Lanny Davis - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am


Recently, I had lunch with an Israeli friend who, despite being a strong supporter of a two-state solution (as this writer is), was skeptical that the U.S.’s basic approach to the peace process — emphasizing negotiating the details of a peace agreement — would be enough to bring true peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.


The US may have no Plan B, but the Palestinians do
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Hussein Ibish - May 20, 2010 - 12:00am


The Obama administration was successful in arranging for the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations through “proximity talks,” which began recently. However, expectations in all quarters are understandably low for any near-term breakthrough. Consequently, Palestinians have been systematically developing a new set of peaceful strategies to achieve independence and advance a resolution to the conflict.


The path to a true peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill
by Lanny Davis - May 20, 2010 - 12:00am


Recently, I had lunch with an Israeli friend who, despite being a strong supporter of a two-state solution (as this writer is), was skeptical that the U.S.’s basic approach to the peace process — emphasizing negotiating the details of a peace agreement — would be enough to bring true peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.



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