April 20th

US rejects Netanyahu’s peace talks condition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Mohammed Mar’i - April 20, 2009 - 12:00am The United States rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people as a condition for renewing peace talks between the two sides, a report said yesterday. The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the US State Department as saying in a press statement, during special envoy George Mitchell’s visits over the weekend to Ramallah and Cairo, that Netanyahu’s demand is unacceptable to the US and that the Palestinians need not recognize Israel as Jewish state before talks. » Read more

Mitchell Cites '02 Arab Plan For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am White House envoy George J. Mitchell ended two days of talks here with little visible progress between Israelis and Palestinians, but with apparent assent from both sides to pursue peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. » Read more

April 17th

Lieberman: Israel still forming its foreign policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am Lieberman: Israel still forming its foreign policy Foreign minister meets with Russian deputy minister for Middle Eastern affairs, asks for clarifications on Russian weapons supply to Iran, Syria Roni Sofer Israel's foreign policy has yet to be determined, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a meeting Friday with Russian Deputy Foreign minister for Middle Eastern Affairs Alexander Saltanov. The remark was made on the backdrop of Lieberman's firm declarations that the Annapolis peace process is no longer valid. » Read more

Palestinian killed in Bilin protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian sources reported Friday that a local demonstrator was killed after being hit in the chest by a tear gas canister during a protest against the separation fence in the West Bank village of Bilin. The man, 30-year-old Bassem Ibrahim Abu-Rahma from Bilin, was evacuated to a Ramallah hospital in serious condition, where he then died of his wounds. The army confirmed the report of Abu-Rahma's death. Representatives of the IDF and the Coordination and Liaison Authority met with Palestinian officials later in the day as part of the joint investigation into the incident. » Read more

Settler council: Peace talks with Palestinians perpetuate terror ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nadav Shragai - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am The Yesha Council of Settlements on Friday said that Israeli cooperation in the efforts to create a Palestinian state were to blame for the attempted terrorist attack on the West Bank settlement of Beit Haggai earlier in the day. A knife-wielding Palestinian infiltrated Beit Haggai Friday morning, and was shot dead by local security guards, preventing his apparent plan to carry out a terror attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces. One Israeli civilian was lightly wounded in the incident. » Read more

Netanyahu demands Palestinians recognize 'Jewish state' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting U.S. envoy George Mitchell on Thursday that his government would condition talks over Palestinian statehood on the Palestinians first recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. "Israel expects the Palestinians to first recognize Israel as a Jewish state before talking about two states for two peoples," a senior official in Netanyahu's office quoted the new prime minister as telling Mitchell, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East. » Read more

Fair journalism must brave the crossfire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service by Khaled Diab - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am Although the Israeli-Palestinian media battlefield is bitter and deeply entrenched, journalists have a responsibility to venture into the no-man's-land between the two sides, even if it means getting caught in the crossfire. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most protracted and bitter in the world. The acrimony and polarization associated with the conflict has transformed media themselves into a veritable battlefield. » Read more

Deeper than the Tunnels of Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat April 16, 2009 - 12:00am There is no more prominent sign to the new chapter in Arab collapses than the Israeli spitefulness at the struggle between a major Arab country, Egypt, and Hezbollah, which considers itself the head of the resistance in the region. This is a prominent chapter in the struggle between the legitimate regimes and the resistance movements. No matter what explanation each side uses to justify its stance, this spitefulness doesn't cost the Israelis anything. » Read more

Calls for a Plan from Obama to Break the Stalemate in the Peace Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Joyce Karam - April 17, 2009 - 12:00am The stalemate in the Middle East peace process generated by the deepening divisions among the Palestinians, and most recently the diverging policy agendas of the Israeli government and the White House, is renewing calls by experts to the Obama administration to draft a "new comprehensive peace plan" to salvage the two-state solution. » Read more

Netanyahu 'no partner for peace' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News April 17, 2009 - 12:00am Saeb Erekat was speaking after US envoy George Mitchell met Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, a day after talks in Israel. He said Mr Netanyahu's new demand that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state was meant to stall talks. Mr Netanyahu has not endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state. Mr Erekat also urged the administration of US President Barack Obama to act as an "even-handed" broker. Mr Mitchell is on his first visit to the region since Mr Netanyahu's right-leaning coalition took office. » Read more