April 22nd

Rockets fired at Israel fall in Jordan-source
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 22, 2010 - 12:00am


Two rockets were fired from the Jordanian port of Aqaba towards Israel on Thursday but landed on an empty warehouse in Jordan, a Jordanian security source said. Jordanian Minister of State for Information Nabil al-Shareef told the state news agency Petra: "A limited explosion took place in the early hours of the morning at a refrigration warehouse at the northern edge of the city that caused minor damage." Aqaba is adjacent to the Israeli city of Eilat.


US Mideast envoy launching new mission--officials
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am


A White House envoy planned to begin a new Middle East peace mission on Thursday that could determine whether Israel and the United States sink deeper into discord over Jewish settlement policy. George Mitchell's visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank will be his first since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned a month ago from low-profile talks with U.S. President Barack Obama that underscored a rift between the two leaders.


PA: Palestinian work in settlements will stop this year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 22, 2010 - 12:00am


By the end of the calendar year there will be no Palestinians working in Israeli settlements, Ramallah-based Minister of Labor Ahmad Majdalani announced Thursday. The move comes amid a government campaign to boycott settlement products, following the prohibition of such goods in Palestinian markets, and the implementation of a ban on the sale of phone cards and SIM chips for Israeli cellphone providers with mobile towers in settlements.


Israeli army to investigate human shield report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 22, 2010 - 12:00am


The Israeli army said Wednesday it would investigate allegations that a 14-year-old boy was used as a human shield by Israeli forces in Beit Ummar, a Hebron village, following a Ma'an inquiry. The Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) said at 11am on Friday 16 April four jeeps entered the main street of Beit Ummar as local children responded by throwing stones.


Palestinian official denies report that President Mahmoud Abbas is ailing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - April 21, 2010 - 12:00am


President Mahmoud Abbas has undergone weeks of medical treatment after a fall in the bathroom left him with a "major bruise" on his back, says Palestinian peace negotiator and PLO member Saeb Erekat. He denied a report in Arabic daily Al Quds Al Arabi and also in Israeli media that Mr. Abbas is in declining health.


New peace campaign uses version of Israeli flag; not everyone's happy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - (Blog) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am


Tired of hearing only Avigdor Lieberman? It's time to sound another voice, says Peace Now, the veteran left-wing NGO. In a campaign timed for Israeli independence day starting Monday evening, the organization invites people to "wave the flag of peace" this year and call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "change direction and say 'yes' to the diplomatic process." The "peace flag" has replaced the Star of David with the word "peace." Not everyone's happy.


Attacking Richard Goldstone
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Daniel Terris - (Opinion) April 21, 2010 - 12:00am


The worldwide Jewish community can be thin skinned about criticism of the policies of the state of Israel, but the vitriol reached a new low last week. After members of the South African Jewish community threatened to disrupt the ceremony if he attended, Justice Richard Goldstone, author of a controversial United Nations report on the conflict in Gaza, canceled plans to attend his grandson's upcoming bar mitzvah ceremony in Johannesburg.


U.S.: Israel-Palestinian peace failures strengthening Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am


U.S. President Barack Obama's administration said on Wednesday that progress toward Middle East peace would help thwart Iran's ambitions by preventing it from "cynically" using the conflict to divert attention from its nuclear program. Drawing an explicit link between Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and Washington's drive to isolate Iran, Obama's national security adviser, Jim Jones, urged bold steps to revive long-stalled Middle East negotiations.


April 21st

Martin Indyk says PM Netanyahu must choose between confronting his right wing or the US president, and that when Israel can go it alone, it can decide things on its own. FM Lieberman says an "imposed solution" would provoke violence. Hamas burns recreational drugs, taxes cigarettes. The PA denies reports of an upcoming peace summit. US officials strongly criticize an ad saying Jerusalem is beyond politics. Bradley Burston says Israel must be freed of the occupation. YNet interviews PM Fayyad on state-building and nonviolent protests. The Israeli military complains about settler violence, prepares for a West Bank pullback. The New Israel Fund gets more donations in the wake of intense criticism. American Jewish leaders are criticizing the administration in public, but defending it in private. Israeli and Palestinian villagers build relationships across the Green Line. Rahm Emanuel says there is no US peace plan. The UN says Palestinian armed factions in Lebanon are a threat to regional stability. Bret Stephens says the US should leverage Israeli concerns about Iran for progress on settlements. Rashid Khalidi says Israel is acting in bad faith in Jerusalem.

Bad Faith in the Holy City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs
by Rashid Khalidi - (Opinion) April 21, 2010 - 12:00am


The Israeli government’s announcement in March that it would further expand East Jerusalem settlements was just the latest in a decades-old series of calculated slights to the United States.



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