Head to Head: Why does France want a peace conference now? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Adar Primor - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Valerie Hoffenberg, 47, a French Jew and a Zionist of Algerian-Tunisian descent, has for the past two years or so been serving as the French president's special envoy to the Middle East. "Sarkozy's turbo engine" is the term used to describe her. Hoffenberg, a lawyer by training, was asked by the president to help bring about Mideast peace "from the bottom up": to break through by means of the economy, education, culture, commerce and the environment. She is behind numerous regional projects and collaborative efforts, the pinnacle of which is creation of the industrial park in Bethlehem. » Read more

Hamas rejection bodes poorly for unity talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Josef Federman - June 12, 2011 - 12:00am Ceremoniously announced last month, reconciliation between the two rival Palestinian leaderships — the secular Fatah and the Islamist Hamas — hit a serious snag Sunday, another sign that the effort is not going well. In the latest blow, Hamas on Sunday rejected Fatah's proposal that internationally respected economist Salam Fayyad remain prime minister. "Hamas will not agree to grant Salam Fayyad the confidence to run the national unity government," said Salah Bardawil, a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israeli, Palestinian businessmen to deepen ties via new arbitration arrangement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Despite a lingering freeze in the Mideast peace process, Israeli and Palestinian businessmen hope to strengthen working ties via a new forum, Israeli business daily TheMarker reported on Sunday. A draft underlining the terms of establishing a joint Israeli- Palestinian forum to arbitrate business disagreements was signed in Jerusalem last month under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the report said. » Read more

Fatah: Dahlan voted out of party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 12, 2011 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Fatah on Sunday said it had ousted former party strongman Muhammad Dahlan from the movement over "criminal acts." President Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of Fatah, has approved the decision of the committee, the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera reported. Details remain scant on the investigation into Dahlan. Fatah affiliates in Gaza, however, said an emergency meeting had been called to "discuss the consequences of the decision of the central committee of freezing the membership of Mohammad Dahlan." » Read more

Palestinian PM supports Israel's Stanley Fischer for IMF top job ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz June 12, 2011 - 12:00am Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer has a new and unexpected supporter in his bid to head the International Monetary Fund: the Palestinian prime minister. Salam Fayyad says Stanley Fischer would make a "great managing director" for the world financial body and is a "superb human being." The Palestinian Authority does not participate in the selection process, but Fayyad said if he had a vote, he would cast it for Fischer. » Read more

Israel, White House send signals on new peace talks plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yahoo News by Laura Rozen - June 10, 2011 - 12:00am In a call with Jewish leaders today, new White House Middle East adviser Steve Simon laid out the state of play in the current U.S. effort to re-launch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks along the principles President Obama laid out in a series of speeches last month. According to notes from the call provided to The Envoy, the United States has received a mostly positive response to the U.S. proposal from the Palestinians and the Europeans, but is still waiting to see whether Israel will accept the framework for negotiations. » Read more

Israel, White House send signals on new peace talks plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yahoo News by Laura Rozen - June 10, 2011 - 12:00am In a call with Jewish leaders today, new White House Middle East adviser Steve Simon laid out the state of play in the current U.S. effort to re-launch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks along the principles President Obama laid out in a series of speeches last month. According to notes from the call provided to The Envoy, the United States has received a mostly positive response to the U.S. proposal from the Palestinians and the Europeans, but is still waiting to see whether Israel will accept the framework for negotiations. » Read more

Is the Palestinian Authority doing enough to stop honor killings? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - June 12, 2011 - 12:00am On May 7, the remains of a woman's body were found in a well, three kilometers from the village of Surif, northwest of Hebron. A quick examination by Palestinian police found that the victim was Ayah Barad'iyya, a 21-year-old English major at Hebron University. Her parents had complained to the police about her disappearance 13 months earlier. » Read more

Berlusconi receives Netanyahu, rejects unilateral solutions in Middle East peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post June 12, 2011 - 12:00am ROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Monday that Middle East peace can only be reached through negotiations, keeping to Italy’s position rejecting any unilateral actions such as recognition of a Palestinian state by the U.N. General Assembly. Berlusconi spoke at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in Italy to rally opposition to Palestinian plans to have the General Assembly recognize a Palestinian state in September. » Read more

Alleged 'spy' in Egypt is US citizen, IDF paratrooper ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - June 13, 2011 - 12:00am Ilan Grapel, the alleged Mossad agent arrested on Sunday in Egypt, is an American citizen who served in the IDF Paratrooper’s Brigade during the Second Lebanon War and interned last summer at the Israeli Supreme Court. Grapel, originally from New York, moved to Israel after graduating from John Hopkins University in the US and enlisted in the IDF. » Read more