May 21st

Palestinians Try to Prune Branches of Core Party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am There is the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council, the Old Guard and the Young Guard. There are the insiders, the outsiders, the cell leaders, branch chiefs and district heads. And there is the Office of Mobilization and Discipline, also known as the Office of Indoctrination. Fatah, the core of the Palestinian national movement for five decades, has the organizational transparency of a Soviet republic and was long run like one by its founder, Yasir Arafat. Talk of reform arose after his death five years ago and again when Hamas defeated it in legislative elections in 2006. » Read more

"Fixation on two-state solution is childish" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am "This idea of two states for two peoples is a stupid and childish solution to a very complex problem," senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu staff said on Wednesday as the entourage made its way back to Israel from Washington. They were determined to emphasize that Israel would continue to build in the larger settlement blocs and Jerusalem despite US President Barack Obama's resolute opposition. » Read more

A friend of Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) May 21, 2009 - 12:00am It's already clear: the U.S. president is a great friend of Israel. If Barack Obama continues what he started this week, he might prove to be the friendliest president to Israel ever. Richard Nixon saved Israel from the Arab states in 1973, and Obama is about to save Israel from itself. Nixon sent us arms and ammunition at a critical time, and Obama is sending us, at a time no less critical, the substance of a complete peace plan, a plan that would save Israel. » Read more

Israel removes West Bank settler outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Baz Ratner - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli police broke up an unauthorized settler outpost in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, bulldozing makeshift cabins, police said. About 40 members of paramilitary border police evacuated five settler families from a hilltop camp called Maoz Esther where they were living in wooden huts with sheet metal roofs. The camp was about 300 meters from the Jewish settlement of Kokhav Hashahar, northeast of the West Bank city of Ramallah. » Read more

Clinton calls on Israel to halt 'any kind' of settlement activity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a hard line against settlement construction in the territories Wednesday, including a call to freeze building for natural growth. Her statement came in contrast to the general terms U.S. President Barack Obama expressed about the issue to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week. "We want to see a stop to settlement construction - additions, natural growth, any kind of settlement activity - that is what the president has called for," Clinton said in an interview with Al-Jazeera. » Read more

Israeli Arabs blast plan for PA to cede Temple Mount sovereignty ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn, Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury, Barak Ravid - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am The northern branch of the Islamic Movement blasted Thursday a proposal for the Palestinian Authority to relinquish sovereignty over the Temple Mount in exchange for international Islamic control of the site. "The proposal to transfer sovereignty to a third state stems from the attempted to internationalize the Al Aqsa Mosque, and actually this is a proposal whose significance is the continuation of the occupation; therefore, such a proposal must be aggressively rejected," the Israeli Arab group said in a statement. » Read more

Mr Abbas and a dangerous gambit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am The reappointment of Salam Fayyad, a respected independent, as the Palestinian prime minister should have been a welcome development. The PLO desperately needs a leader aloof from the cronyism and factional strife that define Palestinian politics. Unfortunately that is not the case. If anything, Mr Fayyad risks becoming a victim of naked partisanship. » Read more

Arabs willing to give Obama a chance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Steven Stanek - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am About half of the Arabs in six countries said in a recent poll they have a favourable view of Barack Obama and were hopeful about US foreign policy. Analysts emphasised, however, that the mood could quickly change based on how the US president deals with a number of upcoming foreign policy challenges in the region, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to withdrawing troops from Iraq. » Read more

Rift deepens between Palestinian factions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am The swearing-in of a new, extended cabinet by Mahmoud Abbas is a “deliberate attempt” to undermine ongoing unity talks in Cairo, Hamas said yesterday. Mr Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, swore in the cabinet on Tuesday evening. The new government, which in effect will rule only over the parts of the occupied West Bank not under direct Israeli control, is headed by Salam Fayyad, who also led the previous Palestinian administration. » Read more

The most effective stick to use with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) May 21, 2009 - 12:00am The most interesting thing about Monday’s allegedly momentous meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is that the two men agreed on nothing. Obama gave precedence to fruitful negotiations for a Palestinian-Israeli deal while Netanyahu continued to insist that the threat posed by Iran’s non-existent nuclear weapons should be given priority. Obama insisted on early Palestinian-Israeli negotiations without conditions, Netanyahu reiterated his demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state before talks could resume. » Read more