May 24th

Transcript: Shimon Peres
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
(Interview) May 24, 2010 - 12:00am

In an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Peres said Israel's survival as a Jewish state depended on its ability to conclude a two-state peace deal with the Palestinians. Below is an edited transcript. The Wall Street Journal: Where should we begin?

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On being an Arab lawmaker in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - May 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Ahmad Tibi, a member of Israel's parliament, talks about why he thinks democracy in Israel applies only to Jewish citizens, why he'll never accept Israel as a Jewish state and why he'll never leave. Reporting from Jerusalem As one of Israel's few Arab lawmakers, Ahmad Tibi knows how to fight to be heard, even when colleagues don't want to listen.

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No Worries, Israel Insists, Defense Drill Is Just a Drill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 23, 2010 - 12:00am

As Israel embarked on a large-scale civil defense exercise on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassure Israelis and some jittery Arab neighbors that the nationwide drill was not meant to signal a deterioration in security or an imminent war. “This is a routine exercise that has been scheduled for some time,” Mr. Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “I would like to make it clear that it is not the result of any exceptional security development. On the contrary, Israel aspires towards calm, stability and peace.”

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May 21st

Palestinians have reportedly opened proximity talks with a surprisingly generous offer on borders. Israel is blocking official mail between the West Bank and Gaza. PA boycott volunteers say the Israeli army is searching for them. Israel says it is determined to break the boycott. Settlers in occupied East Jerusalem denounce negotiations. Experts say water may not prove a difficult issue. Palestinians accuse Israel of going ahead with planned home demolitions. Palestinian officials deny they are secretly negotiating with NATO. Shaul Mishal and Doron Mazza say Israel should propose a Palestinian state with provisional borders. Israel bombs three Gaza tunnels. The Economist profiles Palestinian state building efforts and Israeli extremists protest against the project. The Jerusalem Post says negotiations are off to a rocky start. Jonathan Power says Israel's policies are self-defeating.

Israel is shooting itself in the foot - and the back
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Jonathan Power - May 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Too many Jews in Israel don’t want a settlement with the Palestinians. At every turn, whatever the compromising rhetoric of those at the top of the pyramid of power, there are enough hardliners with enormous influence that are determined to undermine such a deal. This became abundantly clear when, in 1995, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, in the process of reaching out to the Palestinians, was murdered by an extremist Jewish militant. Although there was an outpouring of grief, there were a good 30 to 40 per cent who thought, and even said, “good riddance”.

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Heat rises in boycott of Israeli settlers' goods
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 21, 2010 - 12:00am

As thousands of volunteers took to the streets of the West Bank to distribute lists of companies whose products the Palestinian Authority wants to ban from shelves in shops and homes, Israeli groups representing settlers and manufacturers mulled their own response to what is quickly becoming a new front in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

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Can Palestinians peacefully build a state?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
May 20, 2010 - 12:00am

A PORTLY official from the office of the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, planted a kiss on Musa Abu Mariya’s right eye, enveloped him in a bear hug and sped off in his sport utility vehicle trailing a cloud of dust. Mr Abu Mariya organises protests in Beit Omar, a town on the West Bank, against Israel’s appropriation of land for settlements and security walls that can cut through Palestinian farms and hurt the villagers’ livelihood. As official visits go, it was better than most. But the kiss left Mr Abu Mariya squirming.

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Proximity talks off to rocky start
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - May 21, 2010 - 12:00am

US envoy George Mitchell left Israel on Thursday afternoon, ending the second round of proximity talks, with each side claiming their contacts with the American mediator focused on something completely different. Following a three-hour meeting with Mitchell, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying the second part of their meeting focused on water issues, while the first part of the talks dealt with a number of issues, including gestures Israel might make to the Palestinians.

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Hundreds protest new PA city
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Hundreds participated in a march on Friday to protest the ongoing construction of a new Palestinian city – Rawabi, by the Palestinian Authority, on land slated by the government for nearby settlements, north-east of Ramallah. The protesters, mostly settlers from the Binyamin region, stressed that their protest was directed at government policy. "This is not a local problem, this is about the tacit agreement and acquiescence of the Israeli government to the laying of foundations for a Palestinian state," the demonstration organizers from the Binyamin Citizens' Committee said.

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IDF attacks 3 Gaza tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
May 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel Air Force jets attacked three tunnels in the Gaza Strip in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet operation on Thursday night, several hours after a Qassam rocket hit the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. Two of the targets attacked were in the southern Strip and one was in the northern Strip. According to the IDF, terrorists were using the tunnels to try to infiltrate Israel.

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