July 2nd, 2009

'U.S. can't get Arabs to commit to normal Israel ties'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Matthew Lee, Cnaan Liphshiz - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am

The U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem said Wednesday. The source said U.S. President Barack Obama's recent meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did not produce a commitment to encourage the other Arab states to begin normalization. "In such a situation, the Americans can't continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction," the source said.

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Growing Gulf Between U.S. And Israeli Jews on Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am

He swept to power with the support of 78% of American Jews. But has Barack Obama become the bane of Israeli Jews? A gulf between American and Israeli Jews was evident even before Obama moved into the White House. Just a third of Israelis would have endorsed him had they been allowed to vote, polling indicated, while almost half would have chosen John McCain.

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Amnesty says Israel ‘wantonly’ destroyed Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
July 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Amnesty International said today that Israel inflicted “wanton destruction” in the Gaza Strip in attacks that often targeted Palestinian civilians during an offensive in December and January in the Hamas-run enclave. The London-based rights group, in a 117-page report on the 22 days of fighting, also criticised movement Hamas for rocket attacks on Israel, which it called “war crimes”.

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July 1st

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in New York yesterday (1) (16), as tension continues over efforts to secure an Israeli settlement freeze (6) (7) (12) (17) (18). As violence in the West Bank subsides, the Occupied Territories experience a marked economic upswing (2). The Christian Science Monitor looks at how the Israeli naval blockade is impacting Gaza (3), as the IDF intercepts another ad hoc aid ship (5). Cairo extends the deadline for an agreement in national accord talks between Hamas and Fatah (9). The first movie theater in twenty years opens in the West Bank town of Nablus (10). The Palestinian Authority accuses Israel of planning to expropriate an additional 2% of the West Bank (13).

Bibi Needs Tzipi
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) July 1, 2009 - 12:00am

The dispute with the United States over the settlement freeze is a futile controversy serving only one purpose: to bolster the status of the administration of President Barack Obama as an honest broker in the eyes of the Palestinians and the Arab states, in contrast to that of his predecessor, which was seen in Ramallah, Cairo and Riyadh as serving Israel. Obama wants to show that he can bend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is not necessarily bad for Netanyahu.

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Fatah, Hamas to miss unity deadline set by Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - June 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Hamas Islamists and the rival Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been given three more weeks to seek a reconciliation deal after it became clear they would miss a July 7 deadline set by Egypt. Palestinian officials said on Tuesday that Cairo had now given the factions until July 28 to agree to resolve their political divisions and end bickering marked by clashes and security crackdowns in Gaza and the West Bank. The sides will leave Egypt and return for a final negotiating round on July 25.

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One Gaza fisherman's tale of tribulation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Mel Frykberg - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's naval blockade of the waters off Gaza – part of a wider Israeli effort to seal off the tiny coastal strip controlled by the Islamist militant group Hamas – is devastating a key Gazan industry and source of food: fishing.

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How Israel's naval blockade denies Gazans food, aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Mel Frykberg - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am

Bringing fresh attention to its blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israel on Tuesday turned back a boat attempting to deliver three tons of medical supplies to Gazans. After a radio message asking the small ferry to turn back was ignored, the Israeli Navy boarded the boat and redirected the vessel to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Reuters quoted a police source as saying that the activists aboard, members of the US-based Free Gaza movement, would "likely be deported."

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How hard will Obama press Israel on settlements?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Cliff Churgin - (Opinion) July 1, 2009 - 12:00am

The unresolved dispute between the United States and Israel over Israel's refusal to halt building Jewish homes in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank has created a pivotal dilemma for President Barack Obama: How hard should he push one of America's most important allies in the Middle East? So far, Obama has limited his pressure to calculated public comments, calling Israeli settlement construction illegitimate and a roadblock to a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians that would include a Palestinian state.

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As Violence Subsides, Concrete Pours in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America
by Luis Ramirez - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel has said it wants to boost the economy of the Palestinian territories as a way to bring peace. The Israeli leadership has not implemented any specific plan to improve economic conditions, yet the territories are experiencing a marked economic upturn as a halt in violence leads to increased trade and investment. West Bank's economy

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