Palestinian factions denounce murder of Italian activist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 15, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian factions have condemned the murder of Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni found dead in Gaza early Friday morning. Salafist extremists in Gaza were suspected of kidnapping Arrigoni, an activist for the International Solidarity Movement, last seen alive in a video posted online Thursday. In the video, the kidnappers threatened to kill Arrigoni unless Hamas released Salafist prisoners by Friday evening. Before the deadline passed, however, Hamas said his body was found hanged in a home northwest of Gaza City. » Read more

Will the Arab Spring bring a peace agreement with Israel? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am ONE OF THE MOST remarkable aspects of this year’s Arab uprising has been the absence of the Israeli-Palestinian issue from the agenda of protesters. It turns out that the rising generation of Arabs is preoccupied not with Palestinian statehood but with political freedom and economic opportunity in their own countries. It follows that for the United States and other Western democracies, the most critical challenge in the region in the coming years will be guiding Arab states toward liberal democracy and preventing the rise of new authoritarian or extremist Islamic regimes. » Read more

GAZA STRIP: Kidnapped Italian activist found dead; Hamas condemns rival radical group ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Ahmed al-Dabba - (Blog) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am Hours after an Islamist extremist group announced it had kidnapped an Italian peace activist in the Gaza Strip, the man's body was discovered in the restive seaside territory. It was the first kidnapping of a Westerner in four years and one of the few times such an abduction has ended fatally. » Read more

Crossing thresholds for peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by David Makovsky - (Opinion) April 15, 2011 - 12:00am As the Obama administration grapples with the many implications of the Arab spring in the Mideast, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been relegated to the sidelines. But history has shown that it does not stay dormant for long — as demonstrated in the latest uptick of violence. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reflected this Tuesday in her a speech about Arab democratic reform. She suggested that Washington would soon be making a new push for peace. » Read more

Crossing thresholds for peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by David Makovsky - (Opinion) April 15, 2011 - 12:00am As the Obama administration grapples with the many implications of the Arab spring in the Mideast, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been relegated to the sidelines. But history has shown that it does not stay dormant for long — as demonstrated in the latest uptick of violence. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reflected this Tuesday in her a speech about Arab democratic reform. She suggested that Washington would soon be making a new push for peace. » Read more

The Palestinians’ mistake in seeking statehood from the U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am In almost two decades of working on Arab-Israeli negotiations as a State Department adviser and negotiator, I’ve come up with more than my fair share of dumb ideas. But the notion Palestinians are cooking up, for U.N. action on Palestinian statehood this fall, takes dumb to a new level. » Read more

Hamas Says It Found Body of Italian Activist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - April 15, 2011 - 12:00am An Italian activist found dead here early Friday was strangled with a plastic cord, apparently by abductors from a radical Islamic organization inspired by Al Qaeda that said it had kidnapped him a day earlier, according to a physician who performed an autopsy. Vittorio Arrigoni taking part in March in a protest against gainst an Israeli decision to tighten the border area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza strip. » Read more

Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Indictment on Corruption Charges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Israel’s attorney general on Wednesday announced his intention to indict the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on corruption charges, but said he would allow Mr. Lieberman a hearing to contest an indictment before issuing a formal charge sheet. Charges against the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, involve accusations that while in the private sector he used a company to funnel illicit gifts and contributions. » Read more