Palestinian Authority warns on dissolution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck, Roula Khalaf - April 1, 2009 - 12:00am The new Israeli government was warned on Wednesday that a refusal to continue serious peace negotiations intended to establish a Palestinian state could force the Palestinian Authority to dissolve itself. The warning, by a senior PA official, came only a day after Israel’s new rightwing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister, took office. It also came as Israel’s new foreign minister said the government did not feel obligated by the commitments made during the US-sponsored Annapolis peace initiative. » Read more

In Israel, Netanyahu and super-sized Cabinet sworn in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Boudreaux - April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu, taking office as Israeli prime minister amid heckling by leftist and Arab lawmakers, offered Tuesday to seek a "permanent arrangement" for limited Palestinian self-rule. "We do not wish to rule another people," the conservative leader declared in a speech to the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Without endorsing the goal of sovereignty for the Palestinians, he said he favored an accord giving them "all the powers necessary to rule themselves, except those that would threaten Israel's existence and security." » Read more

Mr. Netanyahu, Show Us Your Courage and Declare Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times (Editorial) April 2, 2009 - 12:00am Peace is often harder to declare than war. It takes an instant to declare war, but generations to make peace. In the case of Israel and the Arabs it's been three generations. More than enough time. It also takes a brave and strong individual to declare peace. Israel has had many brave leaders, but only two – so far – brave enough to venture on the road to peace: Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon. » Read more

World wants Palestinian state, Peres tells Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli President Shimon Peres told new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday that the world backed the Palestinian quest for a state, a goal the incoming right-wing leader has not endorsed. "The government you lead must make a supreme effort to move the peace process forward on all fronts," Peres said at the state ceremony at which former prime minister Ehud Olmert handed over formally to Netanyahu, who was sworn in on Tuesday. » Read more

In Defense of Genocide: An Arab Summut Embraces the Butcher of Darfur ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) April 1, 2009 - 12:00am FOR DECADES, summit meetings of the Arab League have resounded with rhetoric about the alleged "double standards" of the West in enforcing U.N. resolutions or respecting international law. No communique of the group -- including the one issued from its summit this week in Doha, Qatar -- has been complete without a demand that conflicts be resolved "within the framework of international legitimacy." » Read more

Hamas: We won't stop arms smuggling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - April 2, 2009 - 12:00am Since Operation Cast Lead concluded some 22 tons of explosives and 45 tons of raw materials used to manufacture weapons have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin reported this week. On Thursday Hamas pledged that the smuggling from the Sinai Peninsula will continue. Abu Ubeida, Hamas' military wing's spokesman, said that his group will refuse to sign an agreement with Egypt that calls for the cessation of weapon smuggling, "or any other agreement that might undermine the resistance in Palestine." » Read more

Israeli 13-year-old killed in West Bank ax attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Sebastian Scheiner - April 2, 2009 - 12:00am An ax-wielding Palestinian militant went on a rampage Thursday in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, killing an Israeli 13-year-old and wounding a 7-year-old boy before fleeing the area. The attack posed an important test for Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has promised a firm hand against militants and expressed skepticism about prospects for peace. Government spokesman Mark Regev called it a "senseless act of brutality against innocents." » Read more

Repression campaign ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 2, 2009 - 12:00am The rapid investigation of testimony from Operation Cast Lead veterans who told of the killing of civilians, vandalism of property, and use of phosphorus bombs in Gaza shows that the military justice system can act quickly under public pressure. One week's worth of an expedited probe launched by the Military Police Investigation Department was enough for the Military Advocate General to rule that the soldiers lied and exaggerated their statements during a symposium of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory academy, and to close the case. » Read more

Peace move gains urgency ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Analysis) April 1, 2009 - 12:00am Why does Bibi Netanyahu think that everyone will believe him when he ventriloquates, especially when he is talking about life-and-death issues like peace with the Arabs, particularly the Palestinians? » Read more

Israel's New Leader: Can the U.S. Work with Netanyahu? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tim McGirk - (Analysis) April 1, 2009 - 12:00am A right-wing Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in on Tuesday, and its refusal to accept a two-state solution with the Palestinians has already set it on a collision course with the Obama Administration. » Read more