May 19th

Shin Bet chief: Peace unlikely while Hamas rules Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Amnon Meranda - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin went before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday and briefed its members on various matters concerning the fragile armistice with Hamas, terror threats and the Iranian threat. "If the Palestinian Authority were to hold general elections now, it is highly likely that Hamas would win," he said. Shifting his attention to the PA's efforts to fight terror, Diskin noted that despite recent achievements, "Most of the (terror) preventions are ours." » Read more

Obama to Netanyahu: New Mideast initiative soon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 19, 2009 - 12:00am President Barack Obama told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. will soon present a new peace initiative to include Arab nations alongside Israel and the Palestinian Authority in peace negotiations. The two met at the White House yesterday, including one hour and 45 minutes with no one else present. Obama pressed for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict, but failed to win a public commitment from Netanyahu on Palestinian statehood. » Read more

Kerry tells Netanyahu: Mideast peace is not a one-way street ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn, Natasha Mozgovaya, Mazal Mualem, Barak Ravid - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ending a three-day trip, met Tuesday with U.S. lawmakers who were expected to question him on his refusal to endorse the cornerstone of international Mideast policy, the creation of an independent Palestinian state. U.S. Senator John Kerry, a Democrat and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, said following talks with Netanyahu that he was encouraged by a number of things the Israeli leader said. Kerry said he had stressed to Netanyahu the importance of Israel moving » Read more

Obama, Netanyahu, and two states for spoiled brats ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the Obama White House, the first such meeting since both men came to power, has been widely billed as a key indicator of the Obama administration's intentions in the realm of Mideast policy. "What may be Israel's most intransigent government ever elected," The Economist suggested this week, "is scared stiff that an American administration may squeeze it until its pips squeak." Fevered conjecture over the talks has tended to center on whether and how the prime minister will say aloud five of the world's most anemic magic words: two states for two peoples. » Read more

Polarized region, elusive peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) May 19, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama may be the right man to facilitate Middle East peace, but given the current climate, achieving anything of worth toward that goal would be nothing short of a miracle. Obama strongly backs a two-state solution and is proactively reaching out to the Muslim world. Moreover, unlike his predecessor, he’s not an ideologue who has to nurture a right-wing evangelical base and he has displayed a willingness to listen to all sides. Of course, it is almost a given that any American president is going to lean in Israel’s favor and Obama is no exception. » Read more

Middle East status quo likely to remain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Mohammad Akef Jamal - (Opinion) May 18, 2009 - 12:00am On face value, US-Israeli relations appear to be at an all-time low. Strong points of disagreement between the two countries are threatening to rise to the surface. The two new administrations do not seem to agree about which issue needs to be dealt with first in the Middle East - the Palestinian conflict or the Iranian nuclear controversy. The US has urged the new Israeli far-right government to accept a 'two-state' solution and work for the creation of a Palestinian state, which is a continuation of the former Bush administration's agenda that was not put into practice. » Read more

Bibi gets his first date thrill, but what about the relationship? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - (Analysis) May 19, 2009 - 12:00am With a presidential pledge to hang tough on Iran under his belt, Benjamin Netanyahu could be forgiven for thinking Barack Obama was an easy first date. Wait until he hears about what happens when the relationship gets serious. The Israeli prime minister walked away from his first leader's summit with the U.S. president with a tangible prize: a commitment to a timetable on Obama’s bid to use diplomacy to persuade Iran to end its nuclear weapons program. » Read more

Palestinians end talks in Cairo without deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Rival Palestinian factions ended talks in the Egyptian capital Monday without bridging internal rifts that have undermined prospects for peace negotiations with Israel, participants said. Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has mediated for nearly a year now without visible success, had expressed frustration at the continuing impasse, they added. » Read more

Obama presses Netanyahu over two-state plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 19, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama has urged visiting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Palestinian state. After their first talks since both took office, Mr Obama restated his support for a two-state plan and said the US would be "engaged in the process". He also said Israel had an obligation under the 2003 "roadmap" to stop Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Mr Netanyahu said he was ready to start peace talks "immediately" but refrained from endorsing a Palestinian state. » Read more

Emphasis Differs for Obama, Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu yesterday outlined the shared goals of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and of achieving a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. But within those broad areas of agreement were significant differences in tone and terminology that exposed their divergent approaches toward achieving peace in the Middle East. » Read more