June 14th

PA denies report Abbas maintaining Gaza siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 14, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority denied Israeli media reports on Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas asked his US counterpart for a continuation of Gaza's blockade, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh told reporters on Sunday. "President Abbas had raised the issue of the necessity of lifting the blockade as a matter on a par with the fate of the peace process," Abu Rudaineh told the Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news agency about a Wednesday meeting between the two heads of state, where the request was allegedly made. » Read more

Gaza plight a crisis with a difference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - June 13, 2010 - 12:00am Don't ask Hatem Hajaj whether there's a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Four months ago, the unemployed salesclerk's son was born with a heart blockage. Doctors told Hajaj that the baby's only hope was transfer to a Jerusalem hospital because Gaza lacked a pediatric surgery unit. While his son, Mohamed, fought to breathe on a ventilator, Hajaj spent a week gathering the transfer documents needed under Israel's strict border rules. Then there was another agonizing week, watching as his son's tiny body began to bloat as he waited for an answer. » Read more

Turkey: No confidence in Turkel committee ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) June 14, 2010 - 12:00am Turkey has "no confidence" that a commission of inquiry set up by Israel to probe the Israel Defense Forces raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla will conduct an impartial investigation, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday. The government plans to approve the members elected to the Turkel committee Monday morning. » Read more

Gaza, Through Fresh Eyes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - June 11, 2010 - 12:00am For some, it’s the relative modernity — the jazzy cellphone stores and pricey restaurants. For others, it’s the endless beaches with children whooping it up. But for nearly everyone who visits Gaza, often with worry of danger and hostility, what’s surprising is the fact that daily life, while troubled, often has the staggering quality of the very ordinary. » Read more

Israel Backs Panel to Examine Raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - June 13, 2010 - 12:00am In an effort to dampen international criticism and stave off calls for an international inquiry, Israel’s cabinet unanimously approved a government-appointed commission with foreign participation to investigate the circumstances surrounding its deadly commando raid on a flotilla bound for Gaza in late May. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move to set up an inquiry would demonstrate clearly “to the entire world that the state of Israel acts according to law, transparently and with full responsibility.” » Read more

ICRC says Israel's Gaza blockade breaks law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Imogen Foulkes - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am In a statement, the ICRC describes the situation in Gaza as dire, saying the only sustainable solution is a lifting of the blockade. It says Israel is punishing the whole civilian population of Gaza. It also urges Hamas movement to allow ICRC delegates to visit a detained Israel soldier Gilad Shalit. The ICRC, a traditionally neutral organisation, paints a bleak picture of conditions in Gaza: hospitals short of equipment, power cuts lasting hours each day, drinking water unfit for consumption. » Read more

Israeli arrested over Hamas assassination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli alleged to be a Mossad agent involved in the assassination of a Hamas militant in Dubai and obtaining a German passport under a false name has been arrested in Poland. Germany is seeking the extradition of the man, said to be using the name Uri Brodsky, and believed to be the first Israeli arrested in connection with the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January. » Read more

Learning to live like neighbors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am On Tuesday, just after midnight, Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai’s cellphone rang. On the line was Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, who was calling to inform Mordechai , head of the Civil Administration in the West Bank, about intelligence that had just been received according to which an Israeli had been kidnapped in the Kalandiya refugee camp near Jerusalem. Mordechai immediately made a few phone calls to a number of top officials in the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

Who is afraid of a real inquiry? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) June 14, 2010 - 12:00am If a real commission of inquiry into the Israeli attack on the flotilla had been set, here are some of the questions it should have addressed: 1. What is the real aim of the Gaza Strip blockade? 2. If the aim is to prevent the flow of arms into the Strip, why are only 100 products allowed in (as compared to the more than 12,000 products in an average Israeli supermarket)? 3. Why is it forbidden to bring in chocolate, toys, writing material, many kinds of fruits and vegetables (and why cinnamon but not coriander)? » Read more

ATFP Senior Fellow Tells NCUSAR Students US Perspective on Middle East is Evolving Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am On June 8, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish spoke at a seminar for approximately 30 students at the Elliott School at George Washington University, hosted by the National Council on US-Arab Relations. Ibish spoke about evolution of US perspectives on Middle Eastern regional dynamics and peace, and about the present strategic situation with regard to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Read more