Israeli and Palestinian youth 'imagine' a peaceful region
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Stephanie Rubenstein - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am

"If peace were made in 2008, what would the region look like 10 years later?" That was the question posed to Israeli and Palestinian youngsters by One Voice, a grassroots organization that aims to promote the voices of moderate Israelis and Palestinians who are working toward a two-state solution.

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Palestinian Premier Sets 2-Year Statehood Target
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - June 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday called for the establishment of a Palestinian state within two years, a timeline he said is possible if Israel upholds its existing commitments and Palestinians "roll up their sleeves" and concentrate on building government and civic institutions. In comments directed as much at the Islamist Hamas movement as at Israel, Fayyad said competing Palestinian factions need to take advantage of international support for the creation of a Palestinian state, something the Obama administration is pushing as a priority.

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Encountering Peace: Dressing up the Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

OK, Binyamin Netan-yahu said the magic words "Palestinian state," now what? I want to give our prime minister the benefit of doubt and say that he even meant it; at least that is what he told US President Barack Obama. Where do we go from here? How do those words become transformed into reality? Let's try to imagine.

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Outrage is not a Strategy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) June 21, 2009 - 12:00am

A recent exchange with several people for whom I have respect and affection regarding the question of the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian national strategy and interest raises a crucial point that needs much more serious examination in the conversation among Arab-Americans and their supporters regarding the role of outrage in political life. It boils down to this: being upset is not a strategy, and outrage, however moral, is not a political program.

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Lawsuit brings murky West Bank land deals to light
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - June 20, 2009 - 12:00am

OFRA SETTLEMENT, West Bank (AP) — It reads like a standard real estate contract between a Zionist institution and an Israeli couple. But it offers a rare glimpse into the bureaucratic smoke screen that helps ensure a strong Jewish presence on lands claimed by the Palestinians for a future state.

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How the Palestinians should respond to Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) June 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The response from Palestinian and Arab leaders to Benjamin Netanyahu's defiant foreign policy speech last Sunday has so far consisted mainly of throwing up their hands in despair. While understandable given the prime minister's intransigence on Israel's prior commitment to a complete settlement freeze and other key issues, this approach is not likely to accomplish very much.

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Gideon Levy / Why Netanyahu speech gives us cause for joy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) June 15, 2009 - 12:00am

The gate was not thrown open last night, although a narrow crack appeared, which in itself is noteworthy. Another small brick was removed from the barricades of the occupation: A right-wing leader said he supports Palestinian statehood. "Demilitarized, Demilitarized," he repeated; now all that remains are the utmost margins of the fantasizing, embittered right-wing, a group finally left isolated and abnormal. They are a dangerous contingent, but they are few.

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Netanyahu yields on Palestinian sovereignty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Eli Lake - June 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a major shift, will accept the notion of a Palestinian state -- a policy pushed by the Obama administration but resisted until now by Mr. Netanyahu, Israeli officials and Americans briefed on the Israeli leader's thinking said. The policy reversal, which is expected to go public this weekend, could help restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and allow the Israeli leader to steer a course between Mr. Obama's view and those of his own hawkish base.

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Netanyahu turned Palestinian statehood into bargaining chip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amitai Etzioni - (Opinion) June 12, 2009 - 12:00am

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had walked out of the White House on May 18 and announced that he accepted President Barack Obama's demands to freeze all settlement construction, he would merely have forced the president to demand some other significant concession from Israel. Obama was urged not only by Arab leaders, but also by many so-called progressive Jewish ones to show "even-handedness," to stop the U.S. tilt in favor of Israel in order to become a credible broker for peace in the Middle East.

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Minister Hershkowitz: Netanyahu sticking to national principles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - June 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Right-wing ministers and MKs launch last-ditch efforts to influence PM's upcoming diplomatic speech: "I am under the impression that Netanyahu has not changed his skin and remains devoted to national principles," Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz said Friday morning after meeting with the prime minister.

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