May 1st, 2009

Interview of U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am

DERGHAM/AL HAYAT: Let me start Ambassador, this May 11 meeting organized by the Russians on the Middle East at the Ministerial level here at the Security Council. Will you be representing the United States or will it be Secretary Clinton? AMBASSADOR RICE: Washington has not made a formal determination as to who will represent us, but either way we will be represented at the Ministerial level. DERGHAM/AL HAYAT: Meaning, because you are a cabinet member, obviously? AMBASSADOR RICE: Yes

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King Abdullah’s Cri de Coeur
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times
by Claude Salhani - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am

Of all the countries involved in varying degrees in the Middle East conflict Jordan has always been one of the most moderate voices calling for peace. And of all the Middle East’s leaders, Jordan’s King Abdullah, much like his father King Hussein before him, has always offered a clear, crisp, intelligent analysis of the situation. It must be said that Jordan benefits from one of the better intelligence services in the Arab world.

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Hezbollah is Paving the Way for a New War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

What awaits Lebanon and the Lebanese if the opposition wins the coming parliamentary elections? The answer came in the form of a "notification" distributed by the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc to participants in this week's national dialogue session. In it, the party warns of all-out military maneuvers that Israel will carry out at the end of next month, or a week before the elections, with the participation of all of its agencies, institutions and weapons.

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Is this the Palestinians' Last Chance?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Will the Palestinians seize the slim chance of statehood offered by President Barack Obama's pledge to work for a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Or will they throw it away because of unresolved inter-Palestinian conflicts? These unspoken questions lay behind the talks which Fatah and Hamas held in Cairo this week, in a last ditch attempt at reconciliation. Three earlier rounds of talks under Egyptian sponsorship ended in failure. This week's negotiations fared little better, so wide is the chasm between these rival Palestinian factions.

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The Muslim Brotherhood and the Shia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - April 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Controversy within the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] is never-ending; as one storm dies down, another begins. The most recent of these odd disputes between leading figures of the Egyptian Brotherhood movement, internally and externally, politically or financially, is related to the [MB] position towards the Shia.

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April 30th

ATFP Senior Fellow Addresses Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 29, 2009 - 12:00am

On April 22, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish addressed the question of Israeli-Palestinian peace at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Ibish said that the Gaza war had again proven that neither Israelis nor Palestinians could achieve their fundamental aims or secure their national interests through the use of violence, and that a decent future for both peoples depends on an end-of-conflict agreement that allows a Palestinian state to live alongside Israel in peace and security.


ATFP Senior Fellow and Israel’s Consul General in “Mock Peace Summit” on NPR
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

On Tuesday, April 28 2009, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish and Jacob Dayan, the Consul General of Israel to the Southwest US, took part in a “mock peace summit" at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The program was broadcast on KPCC-FM’s AirTalk show and was hosted by the noted radio journalist Larry Mantle. The event was co-hosted by Community Advocates Inc., a nonprofit organization that advocates innovative approaches to human relations and race relations in Los Angeles.


The Jewish Daily Forward discusses Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's probable choice for U.S. ambassador (1). Members of Congress express skepticism over President Obama's recently proposed amendments to the Palestinian aid plan (2). The Christian Science Monitor looks at a joint Israeli-Palestinian event to mark the anniversary of the founding of Israel (3). Despite recent crackdowns , smuggling tunnels continue to run between Gaza and Egypt (4) as two Palestinians are killed in a tunnel collapse (6). Palestinian officials say that President Mahmoud Abbas may form a new government before he meets with President Obama in late May (9), while Hamas warns that they will reject any new government if it does not gain approval by the Palestinian Legislative Council (10).

Views on Country’s Direction Shift in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor
April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A third of Israelis appear satisfied with their country’s direction right now, according to a poll by Keevoon and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 33 per cent of respondents feel this way, up 17 points since 2007. Conversely, 46 per cent of respondents believe things in Israel are going in the wrong direction, down 20 points in two years.

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Amman, Riyadh seek peace within regional context
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

DAMMAM (Petra) - His Majesty King Abdullah held talks with King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on efforts to launch serious and effective negotiations to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution within a regional context. His Majesty briefed the Saudi leader on his talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington last week, which tackled the need for immediate action to launch negotiations in accordance with the agreed-on terms of reference, especially the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

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