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. » Read more

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. » Read more

Poll: 56% of Israelis back settlement construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press June 12, 2009 - 12:00am Nearly six of every 10 Israelis think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resist U.S. demands to completely freeze construction in Jewish West Bank settlements, according to a new poll released Friday. The poll by the Maagar Mohot Polling Institute comes just ahead of Netanyahu's major policy speech on Sunday that is expected to address a growing divide with Washington. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he wants to aggressively pursue Mideast peacemaking, and the halt of all building on land the Palestinians claim for their future state has been a key U.S. demand. » Read more

Palestinian boy 'hanged for collaboration' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News June 12, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian police say a 15-year-old boy has been found hanged near the town of Qalqilya in the West Bank. They said several family members had confessed to involvement in the killing, accusing the boy of collaborating with the Israeli army. Collaboration is viewed as a serious offence in Palestinian society. Suspects are often summarily killed. However, police said it was unlikely that such a young boy would have been recruited as an informer. He has been named in the Palestinian press as Raed Sawalha. » Read more

Netanyahu cornered by hawks and Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Steven Gutkin - (Analysis) June 11, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to narrow a growing divide with the Obama administration when he delivers a major policy speech in the coming days, his aides say — perhaps even endorsing the concept of a Palestinian state at the risk of alienating his hawkish coalition. In one curious twist, Netanyahu's message — and his room to maneuver — could be at least partially linked to the outcome of Friday's election in Iran. » Read more

US calls for more Arab concessions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News June 12, 2009 - 12:00am Egyptian officials said yesterday that America’s Mideast envoy has urged Arab countries to reopen Israeli diplomatic missions and take other steps to normalize relations immediately as incentives for the Jewish state to revive the peace process with Palestinians. » Read more

Jerusalem plan nixed over too much zoning for Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Mohammed Mar’i - June 12, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai has instructed his ministry staff to nix a master plan for Jerusalem on the grounds that it allocates too much territory for Palestinian construction, the daily Haaretz reported yesterday. In recent days Yishai instructed Ruth Yosef, tapped as the ministry’s new supervisor for Jerusalem, to shelve the program - the fruit of several years of labor by dozens of Israeli architects. » Read more

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. » Read more