May 27th

Above the Fray: PM's stance jeopardized Israel's security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am


The supposed controversy over President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East, manufactured by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and enabled by the media, has been disgraceful and dishonest. Obama said nothing new about borders, just the facts – no border will ever be acceptable to the Palestinians that does not carve out a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, the two territories carved out of the “1967 lines.” And no border will ever be acceptable to Israel that does not include the major settlement blocs.


Fragile stability of aid-dependent Palestinian economy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jon Donnison - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am


"I've done nothing wrong," pleads the young offender, in a suspiciously hammed up fashion, as he is handcuffed and patted down. As he is bundled into the back of a police car, the would-be criminal flashes me a wink and a toothy smile. This is a training exercise. "I used to be an actor," he laughs, "before I joined the police." These are Palestinian police receiving training by officers from the European Union. The project was originally set up five years ago by the British government and has since been taken over by the EU.


In helping Palestinians, IDF paramedics defy stereotypes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Linda Gradstein - May 26, 2011 - 12:00am


Yana Kisluk tosses her long ponytail over one shoulder and adjusts her M-16 over the other. The pretty 21-year-old, who wears diamond stud earrings and perfect eye makeup, looks like any other young Israeli doing her compulsory military service. As a paramedic in the Israel Defense Forces, however, Kisluk belongs to a small group of Israeli soldiers whose job is to provide care for Palestinians rather than simply defend against them.


Israel's PM and his US supporters engage in mutual back-slapping
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am


As the first of what would be five protesters heckling the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at a banquet in Washington on Monday night was summarily ejected from the Walter E Washington Convention Centre into a balmy night, the chant erupted in a deep baritone, echoing through the massive hall. "Bibi, Bibi, Bibi", the crowd bayed.


US wilts under Israel pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am


US President Barack Obama's failure to stand up to Israel's land-hungry Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bitterly disappointed opinion in the Arab and Muslim world. It has confirmed the belief that Washington has sold out to Israeli interests. Heralded as an attempt to extend a hand of friendship to the democratic wave in the Arab world, Obama's speech on May 19 was met in the region with indifference or derision. The Arab-Israeli peace process is now thought to be all but dead.


Obama’s half step
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am


Why is Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing Israeli prime minister, so ungracious to the United Nations, which helped create the state of Israel, and to Barack Obama, the American president who is eager to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and who declared that time may not be on the side of Israel, especially when the Arab Spring is still sweeping the Middle East?


Netanyahu and the US congressional yo-yos
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am


It was all rather disgusting. There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the world's only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and distortions of Benjamin Netanyahu.


Saying ‘no’ to the world
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Orly Azoulay - (Opinion) May 26, 2011 - 12:00am


He did not say it provocatively or crudely. It was a superb speech, with all the shticks that the Americans like: He joked in American, he mentioned his killed brother, and he recounted how he himself almost died near the Suez Canal during the war. Yet he said “no!” At the end of the day, Netanyahu left the world with nothing they could hold on to and with a big “no” to Obama, to Europe and to everyone. He gave them nothing to cling to or to work with.


Saying ‘no’ to the world
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Orly Azoulay - (Opinion) May 26, 2011 - 12:00am


He did not say it provocatively or crudely. It was a superb speech, with all the shticks that the Americans like: He joked in American, he mentioned his killed brother, and he recounted how he himself almost died near the Suez Canal during the war. Yet he said “no!” At the end of the day, Netanyahu left the world with nothing they could hold on to and with a big “no” to Obama, to Europe and to everyone. He gave them nothing to cling to or to work with.


Congress Makes the Case for Palestinians’ UN Approach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Matthew Duss - (Opinion) May 26, 2011 - 12:00am


Just in case you were unclear on why the Palestinians have chosen to effectively withdraw from the U.S.-led peace process and try their luck at the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech Tuesday, and the rapturous reception given it by a joint meeting of Congress, should have fixed that.



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