Clinton’s Mideast Pirouette ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - April 26, 2009 - 12:00am The sparring between the United States and Israel has begun, and that’s a good thing. Israel’s interests are not served by an uncritical American administration. The Jewish state emerged less secure and less loved from Washington’s post-9/11 Israel-can-do-no-wrong policy. » Read more

New Bil'in barrier route reduces Modi'in Illit expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Dan Izenberg - April 26, 2009 - 12:00am It took the death of a Palestinian at Bil'in last week and the threat of another contempt of court petition to the High Court of Justice, but the state has finally come up with a new proposal for the route of the West Bank security barrier that apparently complies with the original court decision of 19 months ago, attorney Michael Sfard said on Sunday. Last week, the state submitted a new proposal to the High Court to change the original route of the fence in the area of Modi'in Illit, which was proposed by the Defense Ministry and rejected by the court on September 4, 2007. » Read more

Defense sources: PA security forces step up fight against Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Amos Harel - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am Defense and security sources in Israel have noted an improvement in recent weeks in the performance of the Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank. In conversations with Haaretz, the security sources said that the Palestinians have stepped up their activities against militant groups, primarily Hamas. » Read more

Israel's secret plan for West Bank expansion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Ben Lynfield - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am Israel has taken a step towards expanding the largest settlement in the West Bank, a move Palestinians warn will leave their future state unviable and further isolate its future capital, East Jerusalem The Israeli Peace Now group, which monitors settlement growth, said it had obtained plans drawn up by experts that the interior ministry had commissioned which call for expanding the sprawling Maale Adumim settlement near Jerusalem southward by 1200 hectares, placing what is now the separate smaller settlement of Kedar within Maale Adumim's boundaries. » Read more

No such thing as a free lunch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 27, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is busy developing his policy proposals before his upcoming White House meeting with United States President Barack Obama. From statements that the Israeli premier has made, it is apparent that he is seeking to bring to a halt the peace process that his predecessors pursued, which aimed at the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories and reaching a peace agreement with Syria. » Read more

Abbas won't be pressured into talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Dalia Nammari - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinians won't be pressured into resuming peace talks with Israel as long as construction in Jewish settlements continues, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday. Abbas said a complete construction freeze is a prerequisite for resuming talks. Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, supports settlement construction and has not committed to the idea of Palestinian statehood. In his speech Monday, Abbas said he would not give in to possible Israeli or international pressure on the Palestinians to resume negotiations even if settlement construction continues. » Read more

The ball is in Obama's court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Beilin - April 26, 2009 - 12:00am The new government in Israel does not give priority to Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Syrian peace agreements. From its standpoint, the economic crisis requires more intensive care, the Iranian threat is real and immediate and is linked to Israel-hatred rather than to the Middle East conflict, and the price of peace is too high. In PM Binyamin Netanyahu's eyes, full descent from the Golan Heights will endanger Israel while giving up the West Bank is no less dangerous. Hence it is preferable to play for time until the world accepts that these territories remain in our hands. » Read more

Keeping the Palestinian Solution Separate from the Nuclear Dispute with Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) April 24, 2009 - 12:00am The most important test for US President Barack Obama in his efforts to reach peace in the Middle East will not be the test of intentions, resolve and belief in the ability to achieve the two-state solution, i.e. to establish the state of Palestine alongside a secure Israel. » Read more

Numerous Odds against a Lebanese Model for Palestinian Unity Government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Joyce Karam - (Opinion) April 26, 2009 - 12:00am The Lebanese Model that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to last week as a possible mechanism to work with a Palestinian unity government is becoming less likely due to the numerous odds against Hamas and Fatah in reaching an agreement. » Read more

Palestinians return to Cairo for ‘difficult’ unity talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) April 27, 2009 - 12:00am Rival delegations from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fateh Party and the Islamist Hamas movement were in Cairo on Sunday for a new round of reconciliation talks already deemed “difficult”. The two delegations were expected to meet separately with Egyptian security officials ahead of three-way talks on Monday with intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, the state-owned Al Akhbar daily said. The Fateh team was headed by former prime minister Ahmed Qureia, while the Hamas delegation was led by politburo member Musa Abu Marzouk. » Read more