May 23rd

Netanyahu pushes back on Obama's peace plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Christi Parsons, Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - May 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly lectured President Obama on the shortcomings of his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during a tense Oval Office appearance that laid bare the strained relations between the leaders. Admonishing a president of the United States on international television, Netanyahu rejected the plan outlined by Obama that would use the borders in effect before the 1967 Middle East War as the starting point for negotiations, saying that doing so would risk Israel's security and force it to negotiate with "a Palestinian version of Al Qaeda."

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Netanyahu aides play down differences with Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - May 22, 2011 - 12:00am

After a bruising confrontation with President Obama over his call for a peace deal based on Israel’s 1967 boundaries, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his aides are playing down the dispute, calling reports of a crisis overblown. Their comments came as Obama gave a reassuring speech to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Sunday, and Israeli commentators noted that the boundaries in question have long been considered the baseline for any future agreement with the Palestinians.

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Obama Draws the Line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

On the eve of an election year, with Jewish donors and fund-raisers already restive over his approach to Israel, President Obama made a brave speech telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “the dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation” and urging him to accept Israeli borders at or close to the 1967 lines.

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Palestinian Sees Prospects of Deal Receding
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

After President Obama’s high-profile speech on Thursday in which he laid out broad principles for reaching an Israeli-Palestinian deal, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called an emergency meeting at his headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank. He advised his associates not to comment on the speech, according to a senior Palestinian official who attended the meeting, but to wait instead for Mr. Obama’s meeting with the prime minister of Israel in the White House “and see if there are any positive signs.”

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Obama Presses Israel to Make ‘Hard Choices’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - May 22, 2011 - 12:00am

President Obama struck back at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in a speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group on Sunday, defending his stance that talks over a Palestinian state should be focused on Israel’s pre-1967 borders, along with negotiated land swaps, and challenging Israel to “make the hard choices” necessary to bring about a stable peace.

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May 20th

Pres. Obama insists that the 1967 borders must be the starting point of any negotiations. PM Netanyahu calls the borders “indefensible.” New York Times says that the US and its allies need to put a map on the table. Jackson Diehl calls Obama’s Speech a "gaffe". ABC says there has been a subtle but significant shift in the US position on the ‘67 borders. Pres. Abbas calls Palestinian leadership meeting to discuss the speech. The PA is cracking down on “honor killing” mitigation defenses. Israel’s military attaché in Russia is expelled on espionage charges. Palestinians condemn new Israeli settlement plans. Abbas welcomes Obama’s call for renewed negotiations. Hamas condemns Obama’s speech. Abbas says UN support for statehood is essential. Ha’aretz says there may not be a third intifada. Huge files of Haganah reconnaissance on Arab villages in the 1940s are released. Zeev Sternhell warns that Israel is on course to becoming a pariah state. Israeli sources say tensions between Obama and Netanyahu have reached a new high, their meeting is likely to be tense, and opposition leader Livni says Netanyahu is risking the relationship with the United States. An Israeli official admits that the timing of the announcement of new and highly controversial settlements near occupied East Jerusalem is “not coincidental” and intended to send the message that “Jerusalem is not up for negotiations.” State Department statements continue to distinguish between Jerusalem and Israel. Herb Keinon says the Obama speech portends a confrontation and Robert Satloff says there has been a subtle US shift towards the Palestinian position. The ZOA urges AIPAC to withdraw its invitation to Obama. The National says Obama missed an opportunity to lead on peace. Even some of his allies are pushing Netanyahu to negotiate on the basis of 1967 lines. The Arab News says to win Arab trust Obama must deliver on Middle East peace. Hussein Ibish argues that Israelis and Palestinians need to recognize the legitimacy of each other's national narratives and embody them in two states.

Two Narratives for Two Peoples
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Jewish Daily Forward (Opinion) - May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Many Jewish Israelis and their supporters have reacted with outrage to a New York Times Op-Ed on May 17 by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, particularly its invocation of the Palestinian historical narrative. Most troubling to them was Abbas’s description of how his family was “forced” to flee their home in what became Israel in 1948 — a word choice they feel implies that Abbas and his family were evicted by Jewish troops.

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Two Narratives for Two Peoples
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Many Jewish Israelis and their supporters have reacted with outrage to a New York Times Op-Ed on May 17 by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, particularly its invocation of the Palestinian historical narrative. Most troubling to them was Abbas’s description of how his family was “forced” to flee their home in what became Israel in 1948 — a word choice they feel implies that Abbas and his family were evicted by Jewish troops.

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Editorial: Fine words again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Two years ago, President Barack Obama reached out to the Muslim world in Cairo, promising a new beginning to America’s relationship with it. The Muslim world responded enthusiastically. It reached back in hope having heard him say that it was his duty to fight negative stereotypes of Islam and declare solemnly that the Israeli settlements had to stop and that the US would not turn its back on legitimate Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own.

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Even allies say Netanyahu must put 1967 borders on negotiating table
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is coming under pressure to agree to the 1967 borders as the basis for negotiating a Palestinian state ahead of his address to the US Congress next week. Critics and even some allies in Mr Netanyahu's right-wing government have strongly suggested he offer the compromise in the hope of reviving Middle East peace talks. That pressure received a significant boost by the US president, Barack Obama, who endorsed yesterday the idea of brokering a two-state solution with the 1967 lines as the starting point.

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