Bibi Needs Tzipi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) July 1, 2009 - 12:00am The dispute with the United States over the settlement freeze is a futile controversy serving only one purpose: to bolster the status of the administration of President Barack Obama as an honest broker in the eyes of the Palestinians and the Arab states, in contrast to that of his predecessor, which was seen in Ramallah, Cairo and Riyadh as serving Israel. Obama wants to show that he can bend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is not necessarily bad for Netanyahu. » Read more

Fatah, Hamas to miss unity deadline set by Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - June 30, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas Islamists and the rival Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been given three more weeks to seek a reconciliation deal after it became clear they would miss a July 7 deadline set by Egypt. Palestinian officials said on Tuesday that Cairo had now given the factions until July 28 to agree to resolve their political divisions and end bickering marked by clashes and security crackdowns in Gaza and the West Bank. The sides will leave Egypt and return for a final negotiating round on July 25. » Read more

One Gaza fisherman's tale of tribulation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Mel Frykberg - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's naval blockade of the waters off Gaza – part of a wider Israeli effort to seal off the tiny coastal strip controlled by the Islamist militant group Hamas – is devastating a key Gazan industry and source of food: fishing. » Read more

How Israel's naval blockade denies Gazans food, aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Mel Frykberg - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Bringing fresh attention to its blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israel on Tuesday turned back a boat attempting to deliver three tons of medical supplies to Gazans. After a radio message asking the small ferry to turn back was ignored, the Israeli Navy boarded the boat and redirected the vessel to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Reuters quoted a police source as saying that the activists aboard, members of the US-based Free Gaza movement, would "likely be deported." » Read more

How hard will Obama press Israel on settlements? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News by Cliff Churgin - (Opinion) July 1, 2009 - 12:00am The unresolved dispute between the United States and Israel over Israel's refusal to halt building Jewish homes in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank has created a pivotal dilemma for President Barack Obama: How hard should he push one of America's most important allies in the Middle East? So far, Obama has limited his pressure to calculated public comments, calling Israeli settlement construction illegitimate and a roadblock to a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians that would include a Palestinian state. » Read more

As Violence Subsides, Concrete Pours in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America by Luis Ramirez - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israel has said it wants to boost the economy of the Palestinian territories as a way to bring peace. The Israeli leadership has not implemented any specific plan to improve economic conditions, yet the territories are experiencing a marked economic upturn as a halt in violence leads to increased trade and investment. West Bank's economy » Read more

Israelis intercept Gaza aid ship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News June 30, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli forces have boarded a ship trying to carry aid and pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's blockade of the territory. The 20 passengers include former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Prize winner Mairead Maguire. The activists also include some Britons, campaigners said. Ms McKinney described it as "an outrageous violation of international law", as the boat was on a humanitarian mission and was not in Israeli waters. The Israeli military said the boat was trying to enter Gaza illegally. » Read more

No change in Jerusalem, yet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Mick Dumper - (Analysis) July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Something is moving in the Middle East but it has not yet arrived in Jerusalem. A new chess game has started in the region: the US ambassador is returning to Damascus, the Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, made a speech welcoming the new tone set by Barack Obama in his speech in Cairo, there are leaks of an imminent deal between the Israelis, Egyptians and Hamas over a prisoner exchange and pressure is being brought to bear on Fatah and Hamas to reconcile so that credible negotiations for a Palestinian state can begin. » Read more

Barak, U.S. Envoy Discuss Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak huddled for four hours yesterday with former senator George J. Mitchell, the Obama administration's special envoy for Middle East peace, seeking to resolve an impasse between their two governments over the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. » Read more

'No commitment to settlement freeze' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon, Hilary Leila Krieger - July 1, 2009 - 12:00am Israel is considering what it can do to enable a full-fledged Mideast peace process and Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to take off, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday after talks with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell in New York. But after the four-hour meeting, Barak would not commit to a temporary settlement freeze. Asked whether Israel would agree to a freeze of perhaps three to six months, Barak replied: "I think it's a little bit too early to predict." » Read more