June 3rd

An Assault, Cloaked in Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) June 3, 2010 - 12:00am PEACE activists are people who demonstrate nonviolently for peaceful co-existence and human rights. The mob that assaulted Israeli special forces on the deck of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara on Monday was not motivated by peace. On the contrary, the religious extremists embedded among those on board were paid and equipped to attack Israelis — both by their own hands as well as by aiding Hamas — and to destroy any hope of peace. » Read more

Fatalities on Gaza Flotilla Said to Include U.S. Citizen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Michael Slackman, Sabrina Tavernise - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am One of the nine people killed in an Israeli commando raid on a flotilla of ships heading for Gaza this week was a United States citizen of Turkish descent, according to officials in Turkey and Washington. The development added a new diplomatic complexity as Israel struggled to defuse rising international anger over its raid on six ships seeking to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip, where officials from the Hamas movement were reported on Thursday to be resisting Israeli efforts to deliver truckloads of goods seized from the flotilla. » Read more

Spin doctors cannot hide Israel’s actions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National June 2, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli prime minister’s spokesman Mark Regev once explained to an Australian reporter how he could chew and talk at the same time. This week Mr Regev tested his ability to speak with a foot planted firmly in his mouth. » Read more

Don’t Save Israel this Time! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq Alhomayed - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am I preferred to follow the Western visual media’s coverage of the crime that was committed by Israel against the humanitarian aid ships headed for Gaza that caused the deaths of around 20 people from Arab and international organizations rather than following Arab visual media coverage. Our media wants to spread the spirit of provocation instead of presenting information. It wants to increase escalation instead of helping us understand the consequences of what happened and how this battle with Israel should be dealt with so that Israel does not escape the consequences. » Read more

New Israeli Tack Needed on Gaza, U.S. Officials Say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — The Obama administration considers Israel’s blockade of Gaza to be untenable and plans to press for another approach to ensure Israel’s security while allowing more supplies into the impoverished Palestinian area, senior American officials said Wednesday. The officials say that Israel’s deadly attack on a flotilla trying to break the siege and the resulting international condemnation create a new opportunity to push for increased engagement with the Palestinian Authority and a less harsh policy toward Gaza. » Read more

Boycott - for things to change ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am Hopelessness and lack of a political horizon seem to have made the Palestinian Authority (PA) more assertive, even proactive. After years of marking time while negotiations with Israel went nowhere and Israeli colonisation proceeded apace, Ramallah is beginning to stir. One of the engines driving movement is the plan of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to build the infrastructure of a state and then unilaterally proclaim the state in August 2011. » Read more

June 2nd

Gaza flotilla: Why the blockade makes sense for Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by David Makovsky - (Opinion) June 1, 2010 - 12:00am The activists aboard the Gaza flotilla that was raided by Israeli security forces Monday may have believed that breaking the Gaza blockade was at its core forcing Israel to address an issue the activists see as moral blindness. Yet the situation is far more complex than they would like people to believe. The story of the flotilla crisis begins from the time Israel withdrew from Gaza in August 2005. Israelis were told that if they stopped occupying foreign land, they would be more secure. » Read more

Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am Mossad Chief Meir Dagan said on Tuesday that Israel is progressively becoming a burden on the United States. "Israel is gradually turning from an asset to the United States to a burden," said Dagan, speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Dagan said that the U.S. government has recently examined the possibility of coercing a settlement on Israel and the Palestinians, but retreated from the idea after realizing it would not lead to a peace agreement. » Read more

Why Israeli raid on Freedom Flotilla makes Abbas's job harder ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am The diplomatic uproar over a fatal Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla" is likely to complicate the US-mediated peace talks. But not because Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is pulling out. Rather, the flotilla incident has boosted international sympathy for Hamas, the chief rival of Mr. Abbas's Fatah party and a long-time critic of peace negotiations with Israel. » Read more

Israel, Egypt ease Gaza blockade after deadly raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Josef Federman - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am Israel and Egypt signaled a temporary easing of the Gaza Strip blockade Tuesday following harsh international condemnation of the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla en route to the sealed-off Palestinian territory. Egypt said it was freely opening its border with Gaza for the first time in more than a year to allow in humanitarian aid, setting off a mad rush to the crossing by thousands of residents, while an Israeli official said there is an "ongoing dialogue" with the international community on how to expand the amount of goods entering the area. » Read more