Partial West Bank pullout can't stop Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is assimilating too slowly the possibility - he calls it a danger - that come September, the world will recognize an independent Palestinian state. » Read more

Hamas split on resuming Gaza fire against Israel, top IDF officer says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas' diplomatic leadership is interested in maintaining relative calm along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, a top Israel Defense Forces officer said on Wednesday, while the group's military commanders are bent on resuming attacks. The remarks by GOC Southern Command Tal Russo come as international mediators brokered a respite to the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. The cross border conflict escalated dramatically last week, becoming the most intense confrontation between the two since Israel's war in the Palestinian territory in late December 2008. » Read more

Abbas calls on Israel to stop settlement activities to resume peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 12, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on Israel to cease settlement constructions in the occupied territories to resume peace talks. He also said that Israel should commit itself to the references of the peace process, including the recognition of the goal that the negotiations should lead to a Palestinian statehood on the lands that Israel has occupied in 1967. Abbas made the remarks as he received Spain's Crown Prince Philip, his wife and Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez in the West Bank city of Ramallah. » Read more

Israel reopens Gaza's only commercial crossing after week-long closure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Israel on Wednesday reopened the only commercial crossing point with the Gaza Strip after a week of closure, a Palestinian official said. About 250 trucks carrying cooking gas, diesel and aid for commercial and agricultural sectors will enter Gaza Wednesday and two truckloads of flowers would be exported through the Kerem Shalom crossing, said Ra'ed Fattouh, a Palestinian coordination official. Israel cited security concerns when it closed the crossing last week. » Read more

Palestinians urge U.S. to take clear positions on Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 13, 2011 - 12:00am The United States shout take clear attitudes when it resumes efforts that aim at reviving stalled peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel, a Palestinian official said Wednesday. America's position regarding Jewish settlement constructions in the occupied Palestinian territories should be more resolute, said Nabil Abu Rdineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian leadership. » Read more

Israel keeps Gaza goods crossing shut despite truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am Israel kept a commercial crossing with Hamas-ruled Gaza shut for a seventh day on Tuesday although a truce had stopped cross-border fighting, and a UN official said he was "extremely worried" essential supplies may run out. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides aid to more than two thirds of Gaza's population of 1.5 million, said 172 truckloads of oil, sugar and flour were waiting to cross into the impoverished coastal territory. » Read more

Israel minister: US will veto Palestine declaration ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 13, 2011 - 12:00am An Israeli official said Tuesday that the US will use its veto if the UN Security Council decides to vote on approving an independent Palestinian state. The US supports negotiations rather than unilateral steps, Israeli minister Uzi Landau said in an Israel radio report. Israel should announce the annexation of several huge settlement outposts and the Jordan Valley if the Palestinians announce statehood at the UN, he continued. Israel must put also an end to the "war of attrition" that Hamas is waging against Israel, according to Landau. » Read more

Ashton, Blair meet Fayyad at Brussels donor meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 13, 2011 - 1:00am The annual spring meeting of Palestine's donor coordination group kicked off in Brussels Wednesday, the day after UN officials came out in support of an independently functioning Palestinian state. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is hosting the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting, also attended by caretaker West Bank Prime Minister Fayyad, and Quartet Envoy Tony Blair. » Read more

US plans new push on Arab-Israeli peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Arshad Mohammed - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am The United States plans a new push to promote comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday, suggesting a stronger U.S. hand in trying to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Barack Obama will lay out U.S. policy toward the Middle East and North Africa in the coming weeks, Clinton told Arab and U.S. policy makers in a speech that placed particular emphasis on Israeli-Palestinian peace. » Read more

U.N. report: Palestinian Authority ready for statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is ready for statehood, according to six key criteria, although urgent action is needed to bolster its progress in state-building, the United Nations said Tuesday. The declaration, contained in a report prepared for a meeting Wednesday in Brussels of donors to the authority, is an important boost to Palestinian efforts to obtain international recognition of a Palestinian state in September. » Read more