April 7th

US envoy to return to region next week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

US special envoy George Mitchell will return to the Middle East next week on his first trip since Israel's new conservative government took office, the State Department said on Monday. Mitchell will travel to the region starting April 13 and meet officials from Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, the Gulf and North Africa. The former US senator and veteran negotiator aims "to advance the goal of the two-state solution and comprehensive peace in the region", State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

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Israel fears US pressure to continue Annapolis process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer, Ali Waked - April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

In the wake of US President Barack Obama's speech before the Turkish parliament, Jerusalem is preparing for the possibility of increased tensions with the American administration ahead of special envoy George Mitchell's visit to the region next week and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled trip to Washington in about a month.

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Obama saying Israel still bound to two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Analysis) April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Dialogue between Jerusalem and Washington over the past week has been done via speech-making. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman swept aside the Annapolis process, and U.S. President Barack Obama swept it right back. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the two-state solution and Obama "clarified" that the United States not only "strongly" supports it, but he himself intends to advance it.

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Lieberman grilled for third time since becoming foreign minister
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Police questioned Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday morning for approximately five hours as part of a corruption probe against him for the third time since he took office as Foreign Minister. Police believe the Yisrael Beiteinu leader will need to be questioned once more before fraud squad detectives can complete their work and hand over material from the investigation to the State Prosecutor's Office. The site of Lieberman's questioning has been kept secret by police, in an effort to prevent the media from covering the minister's arrival for questioning.

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Police kill Palestinian motorist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli police have shot dead a Palestinian motorist in East Jerusalem who tried to run over officers guarding the demolition of a home. The house belonged to a Palestinian man who killed three Israelis with a bulldozer last year. A police spokesman said officers shot the man after his car hit three guards, injuring them lightly. Police responded by firing more than 20 bullets into the windshield, killing the man in Sur Baher village. Clashes erupted in the area after the shooting, as about 50 Palestinians threw stones at police, who fired back with tear gas and stun grenades.

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In Turkey, Obama Presses for Mideast Accord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

ISTANBUL, Turkey — President Obama continued to use his bully pulpit on Tuesday to call for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises necessary to reach a Middle East peace accord. During a question-and-answer session with university students here, Mr. Obama said that he still believes that “peace in the Middle East is possible. I think it will be based on two states side by side,” he said. “What we need,” Mr. Obama said, “is political will and courage on the part of the leadership.”

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April 6th

The Washington Post reports that Israel expected a stronger military performance from Hamas during the Gaza War (1). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Iraq for the first time since the 2003 U.S. invasion (2). The WHO warns that feuding between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is putting the lives of critically ill Gaza patients at risk (3). The Times examines the controversial planned E1 settlement corridor in the West Bank (4). Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups say they have evidence that Israeli troops attacked Palestinian medical workers during the Gaza war (6). Israeli forces shoot and kill a 16 year-old Bedouin girl after she opens fire on a police base in southern Israel (8).

Rights groups: Israel harmed Gaza medical workers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups said Monday they have collected evidence that Israeli troops attacked Palestinian medical workers and delayed the evacuation of wounded people during the recent offensive in Gaza. The Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights, along with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, called for an independent investigation. The groups said they collected evidence from 44 people in Gaza. The testimonies were gathered by five international medical experts commissioned by the groups.

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Israel pledges to work with US for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Steve Weizman - April 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration pledged on Monday to work with the United States for Mideast peace, but pointedly avoided any reference to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks or President Barak Obama's goal of a Palestinian state. On Monday in Turkey, Obama said his administration would push for Palestinian state, underlining that Israel and the Palestinians agreed on that goal under the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and during a 2007 conference in Annapolis, Maryland, that were supposed to revive the plan.

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West Bank refugee camp swaps guns for greasepaint
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by James Hider - April 3, 2009 - 12:00am

In the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, political points are traditionally made with guns and beatings. So when the actors of the Freedom Theatre decided to stage George Orwell's classic satire Animal Farm they knew that they were taking a risk. Putting on a play in which the protagonists subvert the glorious revolution and collaborate with the enemy was dangerous enough in a part of the world that brooks little criticism of its leaders. That these same protagonists are pigs was unlikely to make things better before a Muslim audience.

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