April 5th

How to Break the Mideast Deadlock ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am The Arab-Israeli peace process is frozen solid. A breakthrough would require something far bolder and more imaginative than the president articulating another set of sterile American policy positions. But a bolder proposal — outlined below — has a high risk of failure and may be well beyond the will or capacity of the United States to achieve. Given the current turbulence in the Arab world, the smart money on such a risky venture — or on any peace initiative — would be to wait at least until after U.S. elections in November 2012. » Read more

J Street Lauds Goldstone for Retracting War Crimes Claims ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - April 5, 2011 - 12:00am The dovish Jewish-American lobby J Street on Monday lauded South African Judge Richard Goldstone’s op-ed in The Washington Post I which he voiced regret about blaming Israel for the intentional targeting of civilians in the report he authored on the Gaza war. » Read more

Returning to our references ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians look at the approaching September deadline as a very critical and decisive crossroads. It is the end of the one-year time-frame for the bilateral negotiations that started upon the initiative of the United States last September. It is also the end of the two-year plan of the Palestinian government for achieving national readiness for statehood. » Read more

Returning to our references ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians look at the approaching September deadline as a very critical and decisive crossroads. It is the end of the one-year time-frame for the bilateral negotiations that started upon the initiative of the United States last September. It is also the end of the two-year plan of the Palestinian government for achieving national readiness for statehood. » Read more

Israel Indicts Gaza Man on Terror-Linked Counts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - April 4, 2011 - 12:00am Israel on Monday handed down an indictment against Dirar Abu Sisi, the Gaza engineer who vanished from a train in Ukraine in mid-February, then surfaced in an Israeli prison. He stands accused of developing rockets and missiles on behalf of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, for use against Israeli civilians and soldiers. In a rare public appearance in court last week, Mr. Sisi, 42, told reporters that he had been kidnapped “for no reason.” His relatives, who said they believed that he had been snatched by Mossad agents, insisted that his arrest was a mistake. » Read more

Returning to our references ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians look at the approaching September deadline as a very critical and decisive crossroads. It is the end of the one-year time-frame for the bilateral negotiations that started upon the initiative of the United States last September. It is also the end of the two-year plan of the Palestinian government for achieving national readiness for statehood. » Read more

The wages of Palestinian ambiguity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am "I'll speak in vague sentences," stated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week at a meeting in Ramallah when asked to discuss Palestinian plans for the period beginning September 2011. That is when the United Nations General Assembly reconvenes, with a request to recognize a Palestinian state probably high on its agenda. » Read more

Prominent Israelis Will Propose a Peace Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - April 4, 2011 - 12:00am A group of prominent Israelis, including former heads of Mossad, Shin Bet and the military, are this week putting forth an initiative for peace with the Arab world that they hope will generate popular support and influence their government as it faces international pressure to move peace talks forward. » Read more

April 4th

PM green lights West Bank settlement expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yair Altman - April 4, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, it what seems to be a move inspired by right-wing pressures, agreed Sunday on a new zoning plan for the West Bank settlement of Nofim. The rare move effectively enables further developments of the settlement. Meanwhile, President Shimon Peres is expected to meet with US president Barack Obama later this week in Washington. So far the defense minister and other senior officials have abstained from altering the sensitive status-quo surrounding the settlements. » Read more

PA: Goldstone caved under pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - April 3, 2011 - 12:00am While Israel is overjoyed with Richard Goldstone's change of heart vis-à-vis the report that blamed the Jewish State of committing war crimes during the Gaza war, the Palestinian Authority is furious at the South African judge. In a press release published on Sunday, Nabil Abu Rodeina, the spokesperson to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that Goldstone's comments "do not change the fact that Israel committed a massacre and war crimes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, leaving more than 1,500 Palestinians dead." » Read more