Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Secretary of State Clinton rejects Israeli claims that the Bush administration secretly agreed to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank (1) (7), as tension continues over U.S. insistence on a full settlement freeze (2) (8) (13). Four Palestinian militants are killed in a clash with Israeli forces near the Gaza-Israel border (5). Special Mideast Envoy George Mitchell says President Obama wants 'immediate' peace talks between Israel and Palestine (6). Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu plans to deliver a 'major diplomatic speech' soon (10) (14). On Ibishblog.com, Hussein Ibish argues that now is the time for a real, effective and mainstream coalition for peace in the Middle East (11).

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Clinton Rejects Israeli Claims of Accord on Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - June 6, 2009 - 12:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton forcefully rejected yesterday Israeli claims that the Bush administration had secretly agreed to expanding Jewish settlements on the West Bank, deepening the impasse between the two countries. "We have the negotiating record, that is the official record, that was turned over to the Obama administration by the outgoing Bush administration," Clinton told reporters after meeting with her Turkish counterpart in Washington. "There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements." » Read more

Obama Pins Mideast Hope on Limiting Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) June 5, 2009 - 12:00am Iran seems to be hurtling toward nuclear weapons capacity, Hezbollah could win Sunday’s election in Lebanon and Hamas is smuggling long-range rockets into Gaza again. So why is President Obama focusing such attention on the building of homes by Israeli Jews in the West Bank? » Read more

The Divisions Among Israelis and Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) June 6, 2009 - 12:00am As President Obama was arriving in Cairo on Thursday to urge the Middle East toward peace, Hamas militants in the West Bank city of Qalqilya were fighting a gun battle against Palestinian Authority forces in which three men were killed. Israel Radio was reporting that settler extremists had sent letters to an Israeli general threatening him and his children, and comparing the forces that remove settler outposts with the Jewish councils obliged to collaborate with the Nazis. » Read more

Davis: Does Israel Need Obama's Tough Love ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Lanny Davis - (Analysis) June 8, 2009 - 12:00am I thought President Obama's speech in Cairo was eloquent and historic and could well be regarded as one of the most important foreign policy speeches ever made by any U.S. president. Some American Jews do not like Mr. Obama in his speech publicly calling out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for refusing to support a two-state solution and a freeze on all settlements. My answer is: Why is this? Mr. Netanyahu is breaking not only with the policies of three prior presidents but of three prior Israeli prime ministers. » Read more

'Militants die' in Israel-Gaza border clash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News June 8, 2009 - 12:00am Four Palestinian militants have died in a clash with Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Gaza border, medics and officials in the Hamas-run Strip say. Up to 10 Palestinian gunmen tried to cross the heavily fortified border into Israel, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military says troops opened fire after being shot at by the gunmen. It is one of the most serious outbreaks of violence between Israel and militants from Gaza since the end of a three-week conflict in January. » Read more

U.S. envoy: Obama wants 'immediate' Mideast talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 8, 2009 - 12:00am United States President Barack Obama wants "immediate" talks between the Palestinians and Israel to forge a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement, U.S. envoy George Mitchell said on Monday. "The President has told me to exert all efforts to create the circumstance when the parties can begin immediate discussions," Mitchell told reporters at the start of a Palestinian donors' conference in the Norwegian capital. » Read more

Clinton: No proof Bush administration approved settlement growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz June 6, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed on Friday reports that administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush had an understanding under which Israel could keep expanding settlements on the West Bank. Dov Weisglass, chief of staff to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, wrote in an op-ed piece published this week in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the Bush administration had secretly agreed to expanding Jewish settlements on the West Bank within their existing boundaries. » Read more

ANALYSIS-Settlements row with U.S. may cloud Israeli economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters (Analysis) June 7, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's economy, unscathed by costly wars in Lebanon and Gaza, faces a new challenge, this time from an ally -- the United States. Differences with U.S. President Barack Obama over Jewish settlement of occupied West Bank land that Palestinians want for a state has some experts predicting a price in terms of U.S. fiscal support and investment for Israel. Some diplomats say Washington could eventually reconsider Israel's receipt of hefty U.S. loan guarantees or $3 billion in annual defence aid. That would scare off foreign investors seeking a buffer against Middle East instability. » Read more

As U.S. Presses Israel, EU May Join Fray ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Adam Entous - June 5, 2009 - 12:00am A day after President Barack Obama told Israel its key ally would no longer tolerate building settlements in the West Bank, the European Union was considering using its trade clout to bolster U.S. pressure, diplomats said. The EU is the Jewish state's biggest trading partner and one option it may have is to crack down on fruit, vegetables, olive oil and other farm produce grown by Israeli settlers on occupied Palestinian land. Some European governments have long suspected such products are entering the EU at low import tariffs reserved for output labeled as coming from Israel proper. » Read more

Netanyahu to Outline Thinking on Peace, Security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) June 7, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a "major diplomatic speech" to outline his government's "principles for achieving peace and security." Netanyahu announced the speech, planned for next week, at the beginning of Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting. » Read more

Time for a Real National Coalition for Middle East Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) June 6, 2009 - 12:00am For years now, my colleagues and I at the American Task Force on Palestine have been arguing that everyone who believes in a negotiated end-of-conflict agreement in the Middle East that allows for two states, Israel and Palestine, to live side-by-side in peace need to form a real, functioning national coalition to support this goal. » Read more

It is in the Interest of Arabs and Muslims to Forge a Partnership with the United States and Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - June 5, 2009 - 12:00am In order for Arab and Muslim leaderships and populations to benefit from the momentum of the new tone in US-Israeli relations, the depth and the meaning of the distance crossed by President Barack Obama, in defining a new framework for this relationship and in promoting this framework before US public opinion, must be carefully examined. » Read more

Israel Ministry Wages Settlement War Against U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Mazal Mualem - June 8, 2009 - 12:00am Interior Minister Eli Yishai has begun to make good on a pledge to exploit all the resources of his ministry, "its branches and its influences over local government" to expand settlements in the territories. Yishai, who is also chairman of Shas, made the promise last Thursday to the heads of the Yesha Council of settlements. His party is concerned by the freeze on construction that has been in effect since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office, which Yishai said is "drying out" the settlements. » Read more

Netanyahu 'determined to show world he is not against peace' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - June 8, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lay out his political stance on peace with the Palestinians in a speech at Bar Ilan University next week. The speech comes as a response to the historic address delivered by US President Barack Obama in Egypt last week, officials close to the prime minister said on Sunday. » Read more

Poll: Obama's Policies Bad for Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - (Analysis) June 8, 2009 - 12:00am A majority of Israelis believe that the Middle East policies of US President Barack Obama are not good for the Jewish state, according to a Dahaf Institute poll taken ahead of Obama's speech to the Muslim world. The poll of 501 Israelis, sponsored by Yediot Aharonot and representing a statistical sample of the population, found that 53 percent believed Obama's policies were not good for Israel and just 26% said they were good. The rest did not respond. » Read more

US Envoy Calls for 'Immediate' Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - June 7, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama wants "immediate" talks between the Palestinians and Israel to forge a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement, US envoy George Mitchell was quoted by Reuters as saying on Monday. En route to the Middle East, Mitchell said such talks were aimed at reaching "a comprehensive peace and normalization of relations" between Israel and its neighbors, which would also serve "the security interests of the United States." » Read more

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