January 13th

Lieberman-style diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alon Liel - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am The humiliating meeting held by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon with Turkey’s ambassador to Israel attests to a new kind of diplomacy invented by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The content of the conversation was barely mentioned, but rather, only its style was: Seating the ambassador on a low seat, refraining from shaking his hand, pummeling him, and later stressing this was about pulverizing him – these are all new rules of diplomacy. The incident made the Foreign Ministry look ridiculous internationally, and not only in the context of our ties with Turkey. » Read more

Hamas wants rocket fire halt to avoid Israeli retaliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - January 12, 2010 - 1:00am Hamas in Gaza tried to ease tension with Israel and Egypt on Tuesday, urging other Palestinians to stop firing rockets into the Jewish state and promising Cairo answers over the shooting of an Egyptian soldier at the border. Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Islamist movement's government in the coastal enclave, said other armed groups in the Gaza Strip should observe what has amounted to a ceasefire since Israel's major offensive a year ago. That, Haniyeh said, was in the interests of protecting Gazans from Israeli attacks. » Read more

Sharon's real legacy - keeping the Arabs out of sight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am Let's assume the optimistic forecast by special U.S. envoy George Mitchell comes true and in two years the establishment of an independent Palestine is declared at a ceremony. The event will be broadcast on prime time, but most Israelis will opt to view "Big Brother 6," "Survivor 7" or whatever the next television hit is. Viewers will behave this way not because they oppose a Palestinian state but because they are indifferent. Palestine-shmalestine simply does not interest them. » Read more

Fayyad launches settlement good boycott fund ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 13, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem – Ma’an – Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad launched on Tuesday the National Dignity Fund, as part of an initiative undertaken by the Palestinian Authority to rid the Palestinian market of settlement goods at a ceremony in the Red Crescent headquarters in Al-Birreh, Ramallah. The National Dignity Fund aims at increasing the availability of Palestinian produce in local markets, in addition to strengthening their presence in global markets as an alternative to goods made on illegal Israeli settlements, Fayyad said during his speech. » Read more

Abu Al-Gheit: Either 2 states or 1 state for 2 peoples ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 13, 2010 - 1:00am Cairo – Ma’an – Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit asserted on Tuesday evening that Egypt insists on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, Egyptian media reported. Abu Al-Gheit explained that his recent visit to Washington with Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman was undertaken to compel the US administration to exert pressure on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to agree on Egypt's call for renewed peace talks, he said speaking in an interview with Egypt's Channel 2. » Read more

US announces support for Egypt's wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 13, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem – Ma’an – The US administration in Washington announced on Tuesday its support for the construction of an underground steel wall on the Egyptian borders with Gaza, to prevent the smuggling of weapons. Spokesman for the US Foreign Ministry Gordon Duguid said "We have seen that Egypt is carrying out activities which will help stop weapons smuggling into Gaza. We believe that weapons smuggling should stop, and that measures taken to stop that weapons smuggling should be – could be carried out." » Read more

Up next: 'Al Qaeda in Palestine'? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Erin Cunningham - January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Gaza City, Gaza — Militant Islamist groups in Gaza seeking an alliance with Al Qaeda may be planning to carry out a large-scale attack in order to boost their credentials, warns a report released today by the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). » Read more

Mideast peacemakers mull aid to Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Slobodan Lekic - January 12, 2010 - 1:00am BRUSSELS -- U.S. envoy George Mitchell urged European and other international donors on Tuesday to help the Palestinian Authority finance its institution-building program as it prepares to set up a Palestinian state. After meeting with America's partners in the quest for a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Mitchell said President Barack Obama was committed to achieving peace in the Middle East. "Central to the effort is resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of two states," Mitchell told reporters. » Read more

No easy riding for Gaza bikers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Djallal Malti - January 12, 2010 - 1:00am GAZA CITY — When Munzer Diyya wants to get away from it all, he sits astride his motorcycle and takes to the open road -- all 45 kilometres of it. Diyya has the misfortune of being an open road enthusiast living in the Gaza Strip, a tiny territory sandwiched between Israel and Egypt and blockaded by both. So when he and his buddies gun their engines and head out on the highway, they are reduced to riding only the length of the impoverished and overcrowded Palestinian enclave -- a mere 45 kilometres (28 miles). » Read more

Palestinian PM accuses Israel of trying to isolate PNA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from China View January 12, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad accused Israel on Tuesday of trying to isolate the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) through a campaign against President Mahmoud Abbas and Fayyad's government. "The Israeli campaign can be explained only as part of a planned effort that openly aims at isolating us internationally," Fayyad told reporters in Ramallah. Once the PNA is boycotted, "Israel can evade the peace process' requirements," he added. » Read more