May 28th

Pressure on Abbas rises before visit to US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, might be forgiven for thinking he is in a rare position of strength as he prepares for his first visit with Barack Obama, the US president, today in Washington. There is certainly unusual agreement between Mr Abbas, who is also president of the Palestinian Authority, and Mr Obama on what, at least in the short term, is required to relaunch a serious peace process. » Read more

Obama should lay the parameters down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am The inconclusive meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, has confused rather than assuaged their audiences in the US and overseas. The interpretations have been varied, ranging from one end of the political spectrum to the other. It was surprising, but probably intentional, that the meeting which lasted two-and-a-half hours, more than double the originally allotted time and a good part of it limited to the two leaders, had no joint statement. » Read more

Obama Draws Line on Israeli Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat May 28, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama has drawn a line on Israeli settlement expansion before he meets with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of his urgent quest to revive peace talks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Obama made it clear, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited here last week, that he wants "no natural growth exceptions" to his call for a settlement freeze. » Read more

May 27th

Encountering Peace: Partner or pariah? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - May 25, 2009 - 12:00am There is no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict other than "two states for two peoples." Any other proposal guarantees the continuation of the conflict and the end of the Zionist enterprise, the State of Israel. » Read more

Ya'alon: 'Palestinian entity cannot be formed' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - May 26, 2009 - 12:00am Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon, who is very close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ruled out the creation of any "Palestinian entity" at a conference at the Knesset on Tuesday entitled "Alternatives to the Two-State Outlook." » Read more

Police evacuate 2 huts, tent in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Erfat Weiss - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am Evacuation continues, bit by bit: Police and Civil Administration forces destroyed two hits on Hill 18 (Mitzpe Avihai), near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, on Tuesday night. Six teenagers were present at the place at the time of the operation, but no unusual incidents were recorded. » Read more

Welcome to Realistan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo will give voice to a turning point in U.S. foreign policy - not because of what he is expected to say about the peace process, but because of the change in direction. He aims to maintain order and stability, not educate the world and spread liberty and democracy. The choice of the stage is no coincidence: Obama will express support for President Hosni Mubarak's regime and tell the world that he has buried the doctrine of former president George W. Bush, who wanted to transform the Arab states into democracies. » Read more

Peres: 'Jordan is Palestine' plan is baseless hallucination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yuval Azoulay - May 27, 2009 - 12:00am President Shimon Peres on Wednesday criticized a rightist lawmaker's suggestion that Jordan should serve as the Palestinian state. National Union MK Aryeh Eldad's proposal that Jordan take responsibility for the Palestinians' welfare is a "baseless hallucination," the president told Israel Radio. Peres said Eldad had flagrantly intervened in Jordan's internal affairs and that his suggestion was a provocation that was made merely for the sake of arousing a commotion. » Read more

Settler youth clash with leftists after trying to rebuild outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 27, 2009 - 12:00am Border Police officers on Wednesday were forced to dismantle for the second time in less than 24 hours an illegal West Bank outpost. Settler youth had tried in the afternoon to rebuild structures in the Givat 18 outpost near Kiryat Arba, one of two settlement outposts razed overnight. After the troops left, a quarrel broke out between the youth and Palestinian and left-wing Israeli activists. There were no casualties reported. » Read more

'US against all W. Bank building, including for natural growth' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 27, 2009 - 12:00am Despite remarks made by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in which the premier emphasized his position that settlements should expand to provide for natural growth, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that the United States was opposed to any construction in the West Bank. "The president [Barack Obama] was very clear when Netanyahu was here - not settlements, not outposts, not natural growth expansion," she told reporters at the White House. » Read more