May 28th

Abbas: Direct talks only after borders solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 28, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmud Abbas told reporters in Malaysia that no second phase of proximity talks would be initiated until mediators had successfully set down borders for a Palestinian state. Speaking during the second leg of his Asia tour, Abbas said Thursday that the current proximity talks focused on borders and security, key elements and confidence measures set up as first points of discussion by Palestinian and Israeli negotiations officials respectively. » Read more

IDF outlines rules of engagement in populated areas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - May 28, 2010 - 12:00am For the first time, the IDF has produced a document defining rules of engagement for the military during combat in areas of civilian population. It incorporates lessons gleaned from Operation Cast Lead, the Goldstone report and reports by human rights groups on IDF activities in Gaza. The document, prepared two weeks ago in the IDF's Concepts and Doctrine Section headed by Colonel Meir Finkel, is the army's first attempt to formulate a theory regarding IDF commanders' expected conduct during combat in a populated area. » Read more

Obama extends White House invite to Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 28, 2010 - 12:00am One day after White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, the same offer was extended to President Mahmoud Abbas. A statement from the White House press secretary released on Thursday morning confirmed that Abbas would sit with US President Barack Obama on 9 June, almost a week after Netanyahu meets with the leader. Netanyahu will head to Canada later in the week on a previously scheduled visit, and from there travel south to the US for his meeting with Obama on Tuesday 1 June. » Read more

Political coup? Israel welcomed into OECD despite criticism over Gaza, settlements. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Erin Cunningham - May 27, 2010 - 12:00am Israel won an important symbolic victory against its international critics today, as it officially joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Membership in the elite, staunchly capitalist 31-member club has long been sought by Israel as a stamp of approval on its efforts to transform itself from a nation of socialist farmers to a high-tech powerhouse that dramatically outperforms its Middle Eastern neighbors. » Read more

Over 100 Palestinian minors reported abuse in IDF, police custody in 2009 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - May 28, 2010 - 12:00am Most Palestinian children arrested by the Israel Defense Forces and police are intimidated, abused and maltreated in custody, according to the sworn testimonies of minors who were arrested last year. This happens both before and during interrogation, and several minors have been sexually assaulted. The Palestinian branch of the non-governmental organization Defense for Children International has asked the United Nations to probe complaints of sexual assaults. » Read more

A sour pickle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) May 28, 2010 - 12:00am Ehud Barak was once asked how he would behave if he were a young Palestinian living all his life under an occupation that refused to go away. I would have joined one of the terror organizations, he said without hesitating. All this happened while Barak's party was still alive and before he became his master's apprentice. Barak, of course, got carried away. No decent person would ever agree to be a terrorist, no matter what the reason for his struggle. My worldview would not allow me to kill random passersby whose bad luck it was to be on a bus during an explosion. » Read more

'Israeli-Arab peace a US priority' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - May 28, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON – Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the top US national security priorities, according to the National Security Strategy released by the White House on Thursday. Along with defeating al-Qaida, leading the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and ending the Iran challenge to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the strategy refers to Arab-Israeli peace as an important American interest. » Read more

Yes, Israel's a democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jacob Dayan - (Opinion) May 27, 2010 - 12:00am The Jewish state of Israel is a diverse nation that has absorbed people from more than 140 countries. Among its population are about 1.5 million Arabs, including Israeli Knesset member Ahmad Tibi, who in a May 23 Times interview lashed out at Israel, using inflammatory words like "racist" and "fascist." As is his style, Tibi failed to back up his white-hot rhetoric with hard facts. » Read more

Gov't to compensate W. Bank settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Rebecca Anna Stoil - May 28, 2010 - 12:00am The government is expected to announce the compensation formula for settlers harmed by the six-month-old new-construction moratorium in the coming weeks, although it is still not certain how much money needs to be budgeted due to ongoing negotiations, sources close to the talks told The Jerusalem Post Thursday. » Read more

West Bank rabbi bans women from local election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 28, 2010 - 12:00am The chief rabbi of a West Bank settlement has prohibited women from standing in a local community election. Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of the Elon Moreh settlement, near Nablus, said women lacked the authority to stand for the post of local secretary. He wrote in a community newspaper that women must only be heard through their husbands. No women have registered for the election due to be held later on Wednesday, Israeli media reported. » Read more