April 23rd

White phosphorus in Gaza: from flat denial to final admission ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Catherine Philp - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am The “media buzz” to which Israel claims to have bowed began on the morning of January 5. The Times broke news that Israel was using white phosphorus against Gaza and carried a photograph of the distinctive white plumes above densely populated civilian streets. The Israeli military was quick to deny the story, but as the days and weeks wore on, the evidence mounted. » Read more

Rights Group Challenges Israel's Gaza War Probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) April 23, 2009 - 12:00am Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli army's investigation of troop conduct during its war on Gaza appeared to be an attempt to cover up "violations of the laws of war." The army defended its conduct during the massive 22-day offensive against the Hamas rulers of Gaza in December and January, saying five military probes found its forces "operated in accordance with international law." But Joe Stork, a deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said: "The conclusions are an apparent attempt to mask violations of the laws of war by Israeli forces in Gaza." » Read more

Israel defies US and destroys Palestinian home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Ben Lynfield - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am Brushing aside international criticism, Israel demolished a Palestinian house in East Jerusalem in the latest in a series of actions that critics say is racheting up tensions in the city, harming chances for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ammar Hudidon, a resident of the Jebel Mukaber neighbourhood and a father of seven children, said a bulldozer flattened his home yesterday after the Jerusalem municipality said he lacked building permits. Palestinians complain that the permits are virtually impossible to obtain. » Read more

Muslim woman's appointment as Obama advisor draws cautious optimism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Noha El-Hennawy - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am Egyptians are cautiously rejoicing over the recent appointment of a veiled Egyptian American Muslim woman as an advisor to President Obama. Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, was appointed this month to Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. » Read more

Hezbollah cell worries Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Jumana Al Tamimi - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am Egypt's arrest of purported Hezbollah operatives marks a dangerous escalation of tension between Iran and the Arab world, analysts say. Egypt's public prosecutor is investigating 49 people it claims planned to carry out "hostile operations" on orders from Hezbollah, the militant Islamist group in Southern Lebanon that bested Israel in a monthlong war in the summer of 2006. The case against the purported Hezbollah cell in Egypt "sums up all the region's issues together," Egyptian analyst Nabeel Sharaf al-Deen told The Washington Times. » Read more

Reading Obama Wrong ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) April 17, 2009 - 12:00am It seems to me that none of the key figures in the Israeli leadership (Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, or Minister of Defense Ehud Barak) "get" Barack Obama. This is no surprise. Israel was one of the only countries in the world that preferred Obama's opponents in the primaries and then in the general election. In fact, if Israelis could have chosen our President, they would have given George W. Bush a third term. (On the other hand, 78 percent of Jewish Americans voted for Obama last November). » Read more

Bibi and Obama: Could a Clash Be in the Offing? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am Are they headed for a diplomatic divorce? Or can this relationship be saved? The growing number of differences between the new Obama administration and the newer Netanyahu government is coming into view at a sensitive time. American envoy George Mitchell seemed, during his recent Middle East visit, to draw attention to the apparent disconnect between his vision and Benjamin Netanyahu’s by making a mantra of the very policy that Netanyahu has declined to support — the “two-state solution.” » Read more

Israeli Military Says Actions in Gaza War Did Not Violate International Law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am The Israeli military on Wednesday presented the conclusions of several internal investigations into its conduct during the war in Gaza and stated that it had operated in accordance with international law, countering widespread international criticism over its actions and continuing accusations of possible war crimes. » Read more

April 22nd

Egypt spy chief to visit Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English April 22, 2009 - 12:00am Egypt's chief of intelligence is to meet Israeli officials in what will be the first high-level talks between an Egyptian official and members of the Israeli government. Omar Suleiman will meet Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, on Wednesday in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Suleiman's meeting with Barak will address Egyptian-Israeli policy on the two countries' border with Gaza, as well as Cairo's recent arrests of men alleged to have acted as agents for Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia group. » Read more

Jordan, US reiterate commitment to two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Interview) April 22, 2009 - 12:00am Following are remarks made by His Majesty King Abdull and US President Barack Obama in their joint press availability following their meeting at the White House on Tuesday: » Read more