May 8th

'Lieberman sees Europeans as cowards' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 8, 2009 - 12:00am A day after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman wrapped up his first diplomatic trip to Europe with a meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, German lawmakers on Friday said the visit left them somewhat disappointed. "It was a swan song of soft power in every way," Werner Hoyer, a foreign policy expert for the pro-business Free Democrats told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, according to a translation provided by the German English language Web site The Local. "Lieberman sees us Europeans as a pile of cowards." » Read more

Netanyahu can be a peacemaker, says Quartet emissary Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am Quartet emissary Tony Blair on Thursday offered a strong endorsement of Binyamin Netanyahu's capacity to achieve peace, backing the prime minister's focus on fostering West Bank economic growth and bolstering the Palestinians' security capacity. Netanyahu "most certainly can play the role of peacemaker," Blair told The Jerusalem Post in an interview, adding that there was now "a moment of opportunity" that required both negotiation from the "top down" and improving the economy and security realities from the "bottom up." » Read more

Good cop, bad cop ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - (Analysis) May 8, 2009 - 12:00am Under the auspices of AIPAC’s annual conference this week, we got the first hints as to what is going through the minds of President Obama and his aides. At a time when Pakistan is burning and the economy is slumping, White House officials went to great lengths in order to free up precious time for three meetings between Peres and the American president, his VP Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. » Read more

UN says Israel gnawing at Bethlehem sovereignty ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am Only 13% of the Bethlehem area is under the control of the Palestinian Authority – a new report released by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Thursday said. The report was issued less than a week ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Middle East. The pontiff is scheduled to travel to Bethlehem during his time in the West Bank. » Read more

Fayyad calls for end to land expropriation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am Battle over east Jerusalem lands heating up: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Friday took part in a prayer held on disputed lands in the Abu Dis area, where protest tents have been set up following the Israeli demand to expropriate lands. Fayyad participated in the prayer held by Kadi Taysir Tamami, head of the Palestinian Authority's Sharia courts, near Area E1, which is the focus of a dispute between the Palestinians and Israel, which seeks to build the community of Keidar and connect between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim. Hundreds of Jerusalem residents attended the prayer. » Read more

U.S. incorporating Livni's ideas into peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am The United States has adopted some of former foreign minister Tzipi Livni's recommendations about enlisting the Arab world into the peace process and have incorporated them into its Middle East policy, American and Israeli officials have told Haaretz. Livni's recommendations, which she passed on to U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell during his visit to Israel a few days before she left her post, deal with enlisting the Arab world to take part in the peace process and to advance gradual normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel as part of a regional process. » Read more

Peace Now petitions court to stop settlement construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviad Glickman - May 7, 2009 - 12:00am Peace Now petitioned the High Court of Justice on Thursday, demanding that court instruct Defense Minister Ehud Barak and head of the IDF Central Command, Major-General Gadi Shamni, to order the immediate cessation of construction activities in the West Bank settlement of Halamish – Neve Tzuf. The organization further demands to know why no stop-work orders were issued, why the existing construction has not been demolished and why the necessary steps have not yet been taken to investigate and begin legal proceedings against those responsible for the illegal project. » Read more

Jerusalem worried over breakdown of U.S.-Israel cooperation under Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid - May 8, 2009 - 12:00am Senior officials in Jerusalem expressed concern recently over the sharp decline in the coordination between Israel and the United States on security and state affairs since President Barack Obama's entered the White House and especially since the formation of Israel's new government. Senior White House officials told their Israeli counterparts that Obama will demand Netanyahu completely suspend construction in the settlements, the officials said. » Read more

Where Will Israel Respond? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) May 7, 2009 - 12:00am Every time it finds itself cornered, Israel resorts to a balance-shattering violence that deflects attention away from the main problem at hand by depicting it as less important than reaching a ceasefire for example or ending the torture of civilians or the destruction of their economy - as has repeatedly happened with Lebanon and the Palestinians. » Read more

Damascus Deporting Mishal is a Good Step ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) May 7, 2009 - 12:00am I ask readers not to judge this commentary by its title, and hope they will read it to the last line. » Read more