Fayyad irks Abbas allies with statehood speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ali Sawafta - June 23, 2009 - 12:00am Critics accused Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday of exceeding his mandate and challenging President Mahmoud Abbas by declaring a goal of statehood within two years. Fayyad, a former IMF economist, is far from popular with many in the Fatah party, the dominant faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which, led by Abbas, is the strongest political force in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. » Read more

Migrants boost Jewish settler numbers in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am Israelis moving to the West Bank accounted for more than a third of settler population growth in recent years, government statistics show, undercutting Israel's argument that it is continuing settlement construction only to accommodate growing families already living there. The so-called "natural growth" rationale for building on land the Palestinians claim for a future state has vaulted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into an unusually vocal and public clash with the Obama administration, which has come out strong against continued settlement expansion. » Read more

Russia set to hold Middle East peace summit this year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 23, 2009 - 12:00am Russia's president on Tuesday said that Moscow aimed to hold a Middle East peace conference before the end of 2009 - a move backed by Egypt. Russia, which has proposed such a conference in the past, is a member of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators, along with the European Union, the United States and the United Nations. "We paid special attention to Middle East issues. We highly appreciate efforts by the Egyptian president to create an atmosphere of trust and cooperation in the region," Dmitry Medvedev said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. » Read more

Netanyahu delays U.S. talks due to settlement debate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press June 24, 2009 - 12:00am An Israeli official said Wednesday that the government had postponed a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Washington's top Mideast envoy George Mitchell because it wanted more time to iron out differences over West Bank settlements. The meeting with Mitchell was to have taken place in Paris where Netanyahu is visiting. Netanyahu aides said Defense Minister Ehud Barak would instead meet Mitchell next week in Washington. A senior official traveling with Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel sought more professional work before the meeting. » Read more

Israeli shackling of detainees 'torture' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) June 24, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli security forces' shackling of Palestinian prisoners is frequently cruel and humiliating and in a number of instances constitutes "torture," a rights group said Wednesday. The army and the internal security forces "shackle detainees in painful and humiliating manners that, in a number of instances, rise to the level of torture," the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) said. The group published its findings in a report based on 547 cases of arrests and dozens of interrogations conducted over the past year. » Read more

Netanyahu Believes Obama Has Already Backed Down On Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Talking Points Memo by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) June 23, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu believes that President Obama has already blinked. The way he sees it, Obama made his demand to stop settlements in Cairo. He, Netanyahu, responded with a firm "no" -- but by uttering the phrase "two states" changed the subject suficiently to get Obama off his back. He also thinks the Iran crisis has diverted Obama's focus away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saved him from further pressure. » Read more

Israel sees "hard work" settling dispute with Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am Bridging gaps between Israel and the United States over settlement growth in the occupied West Bank will require hard work, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday, playing down prospects for a swift breakthrough. U.S. President Barack Obama wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare a total settlement freeze. Netanyahu wants to build further within existing blocs to accommodate what he calls "natural growth" in settler families. » Read more