Former West Bank enemies find route to peace the Ulster way ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times April 22, 2009 - 12:00am The night before Shifa Alqudsi was going to blow herself up in a bomb attack on the Israeli town of Netanya she stayed up explaining it all to her seven-year-old daughter Diana, telling her to look for a star in the sky when she wanted to speak to her. Last week she told the story again, this time to the people she had wanted to kill, among them a soldier with a tale of how he once took part in an operation to murder Palestinians. » Read more

Israel Puts Iran Issue Ahead of Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider, Glenn Kessler - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am The new Israeli government will not move ahead on the core issues of peace talks with the Palestinians until it sees progress in U.S. efforts to stop Iran's suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon and limit Tehran's rising influence in the region, according to top government officials familiar with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's developing policy on the issue. » Read more

Lieberman: Right of return makes Arab plan unacceptable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday his opposition to an Arab peace initiative stemmed from its demand for a "right of return" for Palestinian refugees to Israel proper. "The clause on the right of return cannot be agreed to," he declared at a cabinet meeting on the government's diplomatic policy. "This is a subject upon which there is wide agreement in the government and in the public as well." Lieberman's criticism of various peace efforts has stoked consternation in Israel and abroad. » Read more

Hopes for the Pope ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am In a few weeks' time several dozen Catholics, perhaps 100, will travel the checkpoint route from the Gaza Strip to Bethlehem in the West Bank in order to greet Pope Benedict XVI. The pope will not go to them; they will come to him - assuming that Israel keeps its word and permits them to leave the besieged Strip for several hours. In a recent letter to the Vatican 40 prominent Christians from the territories begged the Holy See to add Gaza City to the Pope's itinerary. They want to show him and the dozens of cameras that will record his visit the destruction left by Israel in the city. » Read more

Famed militant tries new tack as Jenin theater director ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am The war being waged in Jenin over the last few days is completely different from the sort the West Bank city has known in recent years. It is a culture war between groups and individuals who wish to advance artistic projects, and those fighting them in the name of Islam. The entrance to the city's Freedom Theater, founded by actor Juliano Mer Khamis, was torched four days ago. Not long before that, a music center run by the al-Kamanjati organization also was set ablaze. An announcement at the city's mosque blasted Mer and theater employees as depraved and immoral. Advertisement » Read more

Clinton: U.S. won't deal with Hamas until it accepts our terms ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz April 22, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday the United States would refuse to deal with or fund a Palestinian government that included Hamas unless it met three international conditions. "We will not deal with nor in any way fund a Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless and until Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel and agrees to follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian Authority," Clinton told the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee. » Read more