April 9th

Palestinian lightly wounded after trying to snatch IDF soldier's gun ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - April 8, 2009 - 12:00am An Israel Defense Forces soldier shot and lightly wounded a Palestinian in the West Bank Wednesday after he tried to snatch a soldier's weapon at a checkpoint near Ramallah. Ambulances arrived on the scene and evacuated the Palestinian to a hospital in Ramallah. No soldiers were wounded in the incident. Earlier on Wednesday, at least 17 people were wounded during clashes between dozens of settlers from a settlement where a terrorist killed an Israeli teenager last week and Palestinians in a nearby West Bank village. » Read more

Let's cooperate in the interest of Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) April 8, 2009 - 12:00am The recent call by the US government urging Israel to honour the principle of the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict is encouraging. It is difficult, however, to see how the Obama administration can impose this position on Israel's newly-elected right-wing government. » Read more

Israel’s Arab students are crossing to Jordan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - April 9, 2009 - 12:00am Obstacles to Israel’s Arab minority participating in higher education have resulted in a record number of Arab students taking up places at universities in neighbouring Jordan, a new report reveals. Figures compiled by Dirasat, a Nazareth-based organisation monitoring education issues, show 5,400 Arab students from Israel are at Jordanian universities – half the number of Arabs studying in Israel itself. » Read more

Hope fades for accord between rival Palestinian factions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - April 8, 2009 - 12:00am The Egyptian-mediated Palestinian reconciliation efforts are stuck and prospects for agreement appear distant, even if factions are scheduled to resume their negotiations in Cairo this month, according to sources close to the negotiations. » Read more

No Peace between Israel and the Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Randa Takieddine - (Opinion) April 8, 2009 - 12:00am The Israeli press has announced that US President Barack Obama will visit Israel in June. In Strasbourg, French President Nicholas Sarkozy raised with Obama the necessity of pushing peace forward in the Middle East and not being deterred by Benjamin Netanyahu's becoming prime minister of Israel. Sarkozy told Obama that he should deal with the reality of Netanyahu's election and push the peace process forward under all conditions, quickly and immediately. » Read more

The Journey of Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Kifah Zaboun - April 4, 2009 - 12:00am Even after the death of his three daughters at the hands of Israel in the Jabalia Refugee Camp during Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish has persisted in promoting peace, and has continued in his search for justice and equality, treating any Israelis that need [medical] treatment. This may come as a surprise to many people. » Read more

Palestinian negotiator says peace talks hit deadlock ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 9, 2009 - 12:00am The head of the Palestinian negotiation team, Ahmed Qurei, on Thursday said peace talks with Israel have reached an impasse. "The talks are no longer making anything; they are a waste of time and they hit a deadlock due to the rigid Israeli mentality," said Qurei, who headed the negotiation team since the resumption of the peace talks in November 2007. » Read more

Dead Sea Scrolls stir storm at ROM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Star by Oakland Ross - April 9, 2009 - 12:00am A planned Toronto exhibit of ancient Middle Eastern manuscripts is threatening to plunge Canada, along with the Royal Ontario Museum, into the thick of the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Beginning in June, the ROM will host a six-month exhibit of the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, organized in co-operation with the Israel Antiquities Authority. But top Palestinian officials this week declared the exhibit a violation of international law and called on Canada to cancel the show. » Read more

With ‘Annapolis,’ a Warning to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - April 9, 2009 - 12:00am Watchers of Middle East politics were quick to take note of a line in President Obama’s address before the Turkish Parliament on Monday in Ankara, in which he mentioned “Annapolis.” By bringing up the word, Mr. Obama was sending a warning to the government of new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that reneging on the goals outlined during the Annapolis Middle East peace conference in 2007 would put Mr. Netanyahu on the wrong foot with the Obama administration. » Read more

April 8th

The Economic Piece of the Puzzle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress April 7, 2009 - 12:00am Can you tell us about the work that OPIC and its partners, both on the ground and in the United States, are doing to help develop the Palestinian economy? » Read more