Gaza flotilla captain: Activists prepared attack against IDF raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz June 11, 2010 - 12:00am The captain and first mate of the Mavi Marmara, the ship which led the Gaza flotilla raided by Israel Defense Forces special forces last week, had attempted to prevent premeditated violent clashes between activists and the Israeli military, evidence released Friday showed. Late last month, Israeli commandos rappelled onto the deck of one of the ships trying to break Israel's three-year-old blockade of Gaza. The soldiers were intercepted by a crowd of activists, setting off a clash that killed nine men - eight Turks and a Turkish American. » Read more

New Footage Depicts Attack on Mavi Marmara ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Beatrice Paez - June 11, 2010 - 12:00am Blasts from a megaphone accompany the sounding of alarms, a woman's voice repeatedly pleading, "We are civilians, we have no guns...we need help for people...please don't attack." » Read more

U.S. envoy to lead fourth round of Israeli-Palestinian talks soon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 11, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will visit the region soon to lead a new round of indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians, a Palestinian newspaper reported Thursday. The Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam daily quoted Ma'an Erekat, the Palestinian ambassador to Washington, as saying that Mitchell is visiting the region "within days." Erekat said Mitchell informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about his decision following a meeting between the pair in Washington. » Read more

Hamas welcomes PNA's decision to postpone municipal elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 11, 2010 - 12:00am Islamic Hamas movement hailed on Thursday the decision of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to put off the municipal elections scheduled for next month. "It's a positive step to delay the elections," Gaza-based Hamas official Ismail Radwan told Xinhua. Radwan added that "any elections should be held under national consensus" mainly after achieving national unity between the Palestinian factions. Earlier on Thursday, the PNA decided to postpone the municipal elections that were scheduled to take place in July, but no new date for the polls has been set yet. » Read more

Fayyad wants Gaza opened in line with 2005 deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - June 11, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on Thursday for Gaza's borders to be opened in line with an agreement that would restore a role for his West Bank-based government in managing the crossings. Fayyad told Reuters in an interview that opening the crossings in accordance with the 2005 agreement would help reunify the West Bank and Gaza -- which have been ruled by separate governments since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. » Read more

Controversy over elections decision continues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 11, 2010 - 12:00am Justifications and condemnations continue to pour in following the surprise announcement Thursday afternoon that municipal elections set for July would be canceled in the interest of Palestinian unity and an end to the Gaza blockade. Minister of Local Governance Kahled Al-Qauasmy weighed in late in the day, telling Ma’an Radio that the PA cabinet took the decision to delay the elections in light of the "updates on the international arena," and following requests from Arab states. » Read more

Modern Folly, Ancient Wisdom ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) June 11, 2010 - 12:00am I took a short break for my daughter’s bat mitzvah, Israel killed nine activists on a Gaza-bound ship in international waters, and its bungled raid prompted international uproar and Jewish soul-searching. And so the last 10 days of my life were shaped by Middle Eastern rage, churning through 24-hour news cycles, and private joy framed in millennial Jewish tradition. I’ll try to sift through them here. » Read more

A Rising Urgency in Israel for a Gaza Shift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times June 11, 2010 - 12:00am Three years after Israel and Egypt imposed an embargo on this tormented Palestinian strip, shutting down its economy, a consensus has emerged that the attempt to weaken the governing party, Hamas, and drive it from power has failed. In the days since an Israeli naval takeover of a flotilla trying to break the siege turned deadly, that consensus has taken on added urgency, with world powers, anti-Hamas Palestinians in Gaza and some senior Israeli officials advocating a shift. » Read more

Pres. Abbas Speaks at Brookings on Peace, US-Palestinian Relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from June 11, 2010 - 12:00am On June 10, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for an address on the current state of the Middle East peace process and U.S.-Palestinian relations. President Abbas' Washington visit also included meetings with President Barack Obama and other administration officials. Presidents Abbas and Obama met at the White House on Wednesday, June 9, focusing on the Israel-Palestinian proximity talks and possible resumption of direct negotiations. » Read more

Where is Israel taking its occupation? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Hussein Ibish - June 11, 2010 - 12:00am While world attention has been heavily focused on efforts to break the siege of Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank are pursuing a series of new, nonviolent, strategies challenging the Israeli occupation. What they are primarily seeking, and what the Israeli government is desperately trying to avoid, is clarity about the status of the Occupied Territories. » Read more