Ours is not to reason why
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

No, no, Egypt can’t open its border with Gaza – the terrorists will come in and threaten our security, our very existence! So last week Egypt opens its border with Gaza, and suddenly it’s no big deal, maybe we’re better off, now the Gazans won’t be able to complain so much that we’re starving them. Never mind.

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Egypt maintains some real restrictions on the Gaza border. Egyptian gas is still not being delivered to Israel. The CSM looks at the importance of Jerusalem to peace. Israeli army arrests several Palestinians in the West Bank. French foreign minister looking for ways to revive the peace process. Hamas already accuses Pres. Abbas of breaking the unity agreement. Palestinians estimate $5 billion is needed for Gaza reconstruction. PM Netanyahu repeats that Jerusalem will never be divided. Donniel Hartman says time is not on the side of peace. Larry Derfner says Israeli security anxieties are overblown. Mohammad Darawish says Israel must do more for its Arab citizens. The US says it will not participate in the upcoming Durban III Conference. Israel considers its options on a Palestinian UN bid. Tariq Alhomayed says Arabs have underestimated Israel’s business dealings with Iran and should not be duped by Tehran’s rhetoric. Randa Takieddine says the French FM should listen carefully to Palestinians, especially PM Fayyad and civil society groups. Daoud Kuttab says Palestinians are going to the UN because they lack other leverage. Ghassan Khatib says polls show consistent support for the Arab Peace Initiative.

Time not on our side
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Donniel Hartman - (Opinion) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The dust has settled on the Obama-Netanyahu summit, speeches, counter-speeches, and instant, predictable analyses. Leaving our politics aside, American and Israeli, we now have an opportunity to go beyond performance analyses and the allocation of blame or praise and reflect on where we stand and where we might go. From the perspective of the majority of Israeli voters, the end result was viewed as a major accomplishment for Prime Minister Netanyahu. An end result was the bringing back of a measure of complexity into the Israeli-Palestinian discussion.

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A word on your Arab citizens
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Mohammad Darawshe - (Opinion) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The prime minister’s mention of Israeli Arabs in Congress last month was a step in the right direction but mere mention, without addressing any of the challenges they face, certainly wasn’t enough. Dear Prime Minister, I would like to congratulate you on your decision to mention the Arab citizens of Israel in your speech to the US Congress last month. Clearly, one of the most significant indicators of the quality of a democracy is the status of its minorities. Like you, I too believe it is important to look at Israeli society and ask: Does the Arab minority in Israel enjoy equal rights?

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PM: Jerusalem will never again be divided
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Wednesday at an official ceremony marking Jerusalem Day that Jerusalem will never be divided again. "We won't go back to the days we had to climb up the Terra Sancta building to watch the Old City; we'll never go back to a divided, lacerated city, because the day Jerusalem was reunified – the wound healed," he said. The event, held at the Ammunition Hill, was attended by President Shimon Peres, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, as well as other officials.

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U.S. won’t participate in Durban III, State Dept. says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States will not participate in the United Nations-sponsored Durban III conference this September, the State Department said. In a letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Joseph Macmanus, acting assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, confirmed that the United States would not attend the conference, which in its previous iterations has been a forum for anti-Semitism and anti-Israel rhetoric. JTA obtained a copy of the letter.

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Interview: Gaza needs 5 bln USD for reconstruction process: official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - June 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Head of Palestinian Contractors Union Osama Kaheil said Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is in need of five billion U.S. dollars for the reconstruction process including the infrastructure and the economical sectors that had been paralyzed for years. Kaheil said in an interview with Xinhua that the Gaza Strip is not only in need of reconstructing what the Israeli occupation had destroyed during the three-week Israeli operation Cast Lead in late 2008, adding "the Gaza Strip is in need of comprehensive reconstruction process that includes all sectors."

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Israel considers options on Palestinian statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Linda Gradstein - June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

While U.S. officials are running a full-court diplomatic press against the Palestinian bid for U.N. recognition of statehood this September and officials at international Jewish organizations are trying to convince foreign leaders to oppose statehood, the Israeli government appears to be taking a different approach: acceptance. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Knesset committee that there is no way to stop the U.N. General Assembly from recognizing Palestinian statehood.

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Hamas strongman accuses Abbas of breaching reconciliation pact
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - June 2, 2011 - 12:00am

A high-ranking Islamic Hamas movement official on Wednesday accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of breaching the reconciliation agreement, which was signed in Cairo and sponsored by Egypt on May 4 between the movement and Fatah party. Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas strongman in Gaza, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that President Abbas has made a mistake " when he tried to make the new government, which should be formed after signing the agreement, as his own government, instead of a government of national accordance."

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The Israelis in Iran!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq al-Homayed - (Editorial) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

We know that pragmatism is a part of politics, and that politicians deal with the public along the lines of "do as I say, not as I do". Yet this is all we know today with regards to the politics of our region, where Israeli ships, commercial or otherwise, have been anchored in Iranian ports for years, and this is another matter altogether!

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