Israel rejects Qatar bid to restore diplomatic ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has rejected two proposals from Qatar to restore diplomatic relations and let Israel reopen its office in the capital of Doha. A senior source in Jerusalem said that in return for renewed diplomatic relations, the Qataris demanded that they be allowed to carry out a series of reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip and to import the necessary construction materials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were unwilling to agree to this, he said. » Read more

Palestinians, Israelis remain skeptical as peace talks begin Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Xinhua - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am It is now one year four months and 21 days since the last official talks between Israelis and Palestinians. During those 506 days the parties have repeatedly blamed one another for that breakdown and the failure to reboot negotiations. Indirect peace talks are expected to resume on Wednesday but Israelis and Palestinians alike are still expressing serious reservations about the chances of their success. » Read more

Palestinians, Israelis remain skeptical as peace talks begin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am It is now one year four months and 21 days since the last official talks between Israelis and Palestinians. During those 506 days the parties have repeatedly blamed one another for that breakdown and the failure to reboot negotiations. Indirect peace talks are expected to resume on Wednesday but Israelis and Palestinians alike are still expressing serious reservations about the chances of their success. » Read more

Palestinian PM slams Israel for denying entry of U.S. professor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad lashed out at Israel on Monday for denying entry of Jewish American professor Noam Chomsky into the Palestinian territories. According to the official Palestinian Wafa news agency, Fayyad phoned Chomsky after he was barred from entering the West Bank and updated him on the latest developments in the Palestinian territory. The academic was invited by Birzeit University, near Ramallah, to lecture at a number of its faculties. He was also supposed to meet with Fayyad and other Palestinian officials. » Read more

How to tell if there's progress in Israeli- Palestinian talks? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Indirect talks between Palestinians and Israelis are to kick off on Tuesday with the visit to Ramallah of United States special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell. Later in the week he is slated to hold talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem. These initial indirect or proximity talks will first tackle border issues and security. For some regional analysts, this is the best way to begin the process, while others see this approach as doomed to fail. » Read more

PNA to start boycotting campaign on settlement products ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 18, 2010 - 12:00am A senior Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official on Monday announced that the PNA would start soon a new activity of boycotting products made at Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Hassan Abu Lebda, the PNA minister of economy, told the weekly media program "Face the Press" organized by the Information Ministry, that the new activity of boycotting the products is called "from home to home." "The campaign will be launched on Tuesday, The campaign's representatives will move from one house to another to explain how important the boycott of settlements products is," said Abu Lebda. » Read more

Gaza's Hamas rulers execute 3 convicted killers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Rizek Abdel Jawad - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Gaza's Hamas rulers executed three convicted killers and dropped off their bullet-riddled bodies at a hospital Tuesday, despite appeals by human rights activists to halt the practice. The U.N.'s top human rights official has said fair trials demanded under international law before the death penalty can be imposed are virtually impossible in Gaza. The Islamic militant group seized the Palestinian territory by force in 2007 and has established a regime that allows little dissent. » Read more

Palestinian girls win award for sensor cane at Intel fair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Three Palestinian teenagers from the UNWRA school in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus were the first Palestinians to win an award on Monday at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose in California. Aseel Abu Aleil, Noor Alarada and Aseel Alshaar picked up a special award in applied electronics, having competed against 15,000 finalists from around the world, a statement read. » Read more

A Beer for Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Few people vacation on the West Bank, but if they did they might head for Taybeh, a hilltop village clustered around a church whose charm trumps the Israeli checkpoints that have to be negotiated to get there. The air is good, the stones smooth, the light brilliant — and the beer excellent. » Read more

Israel Roiled After Chomsky Barred From West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am A fierce debate broke out in Israel on Monday amid finger pointing and hand wringing over the country’s refusal to permit the linguist Noam Chomsky, an icon of the American left, to enter the occupied West Bank from Jordan. Majed Jaber/Reuters Front-page coverage and heated morning radio discussions asked how Professor Chomsky, an 81-year-old professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, could pose a risk to Israel and how a country that frequently asserts its status as a robust democracy could keep out people whose views it found offensive. » Read more