April 30th

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

100 days on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) April 30, 2009 - 12:00am Yesterday marked President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office. An entirely arbitrary construct to evaluate a leader’s performance, it is nevertheless irresistible when it comes to Obama, of whom expectations are so high. His first priority was always going to be the global financial crisis. The massive stimulus package has yet to work its way down and out and it is impossible to say anything other than that Obama has tackled the crisis immediately and with enthusiasm. » Read more

In Israel, Jews and Arabs aim to bridge 'independence' and 'catastrophe' narratives ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - April 29, 2009 - 12:00am Bet Oren, Israel - It happens every year around this time: Israelis celebrate the founding of their state in 1948 while Palestinians solemnly mark the same period in history they call the Catastrophe, and never the twain shall meet. » Read more

West Bank: Death Penalty for Land Sale ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) April 28, 2009 - 12:00am A Palestinian court sentenced a man to death on Tuesday for selling land in the West Bank to Israelis. The court in Hebron sentenced the man, Anwat Breghit, 59, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of treason and of “selling Palestinian land to Israelis.” The indictment says he sold property in the village of Beit Omar to Israelis from the Jewish settlement of Karmei Tzur. The sentence requires the approval of President Mahmoud Abbas in order to be carried out.

Two killed in Gaza-Egypt tunnel collapse: medics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) April 30, 2009 - 12:00am GAZA CITY - Two Palestinians were killed on Thursday when a smuggling tunnel linking the Gaza Strip and Gaza collapsed, Palestinian medics said. Three other people who were in the tunnel at the time of the collapse were still missing, they said. The Palestinians have been using hundreds of tunnels to ferry food supplies and other necessities into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since June 2007. Israel claims the tunnels are also used by the Islamists to smuggle weapons including rockets into the Gaza Strip for use against the Jewish state.

Israeli Arabs arrested for plotting attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press April 30, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (AP) - Police say they have arrested seven Arab Israelis who plotted bomb attacks and kidnappings of Jews in retaliation for Israel's recent military offensive in Gaza. Police superintendent Avid Agarissi told Israel Radio the suspects were charged with contacting "terror groups in Gaza" to train to kidnap civilians and build explosive devices. He said they wanted to carry out attacks to avenge Palestinians killed in Gaza earlier this year. Police said the men were arrested earlier this month but details were only released Thursday for security reasons. » Read more

Members of US Congress sceptical of Palestinian aid plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News April 29, 2009 - 12:00am The Obama administration, already on treacherous domestic political ground with its outreach to Iran, Cuba and others, has opened the door, if only slightly, to engagement with the militant group Hamas. The Palestinian group is designated by the US government as a terrorist organisation and under law may not receive federal aid. But the administration has asked Congress for minor changes in US law that would permit aid to continue flowing to Palestinians in the unlikely event that Hamas-backed officials become part of a unified Palestinian government. » Read more

Israel, EU to postpone summit while Netanyahu makes policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News April 30, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli officials said the European Union has accepted an Israeli request to delay a high-profile summit in order to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu time to formulate his Middle East peace policy. The delay comes ahead of a planned trip to Europe next week by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The minister's critical comments about Arabs and the Middle East peace process have raised international concerns about the new government's intentions. Netanyahu has so far refused to endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state. » Read more

Gazans continue digging lifeline tunnels even as Egypt, Israel scramble to seal them ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - April 30, 2009 - 12:00am Once a profitable business, Abu Abdullah's tunnel under the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip has been out of work for three weeks due to an Egyptian security crackdown on smuggling. The Palestinian network of some 3,000 tunnels, created to thwart Israel's blockade of the coastal territory ruled by Hamas Islamists, was reduced to hundreds by bombing during Israel's three-week offensive in January. Now Egyptian police efforts are also biting into Gaza's underground supply system, which supplements the tightly restricted flow of aid commodities allowed in by the Israelis. » Read more