July 22nd

Hamas: We won't stand in way of PA-Israel deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - July 22, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshal told a Russian diplomat a few days ago that his group would not stand in the way of a peace deal brokered between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel. Meshal reportedly told Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov in Damascus that if Abbas comes to an agreement on a final settlement of the conflict with Israel, and if the agreement is approved in a Palestinian referendum, Hamas would not try to derail such an accord. » Read more

Is Israel serious about closing 23 fringe settlements? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am A reported Israeli plan to forcibly evacuate 23 unauthorized settler outposts in a single day could finally fulfill a promise that successive Israeli governments have made to Washington, while minimizing the violence and bad public relations that have marred previous evacuations. » Read more

EXCLUSIVE: U.S., Israel at odds over 2003 settlements accord ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Eli Lake - July 22, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli officials Tuesday accused the Obama administration of failing to abide by an agreement allowing settlement construction, but a key Israeli negotiator said the deal was never implemented. The unfinished negotiation between the administrations of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President George W. Bush has contributed to rising tensions between the two allies since the Obama administration took office. » Read more

July 21st

US repeats opposition to J'lem project ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed Monday that a new housing development in east Jerusalem had been a topic of conversation last week during a meeting between senior US diplomats and Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Crowley said US opposition to construction in east Jerusalem and settlements in the West Bank had not changed. "We have made our views known to Israel," he told reporters. "Our views are not new either: that this kind of construction is the type ... of issue that should be subject to permanent-status negotiations." » Read more

Mitchell heads to Mideast after new spat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Matthew Lee - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am The special U.S. envoy for Middle East peace departs for the region this week amid new signs of tension between the Obama administration and the Israeli government over settlement construction. Former Sen. George Mitchell plans to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and several neighboring countries, including Bahrain, an itinerary still being worked out Monday. » Read more

An unholy row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times (Editorial) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The Obama administration has made clear its demand for a freeze on illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has declined to demonstrate any willingness to accede. The US cannot afford to ignore this new round of colonisation in occupied East Jerusalem. » Read more

A temporary Mideast deal could break the stalemate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Globe and Mail by Shira Herzog - (Opinion) July 21, 2009 - 12:00am The latest Israeli-U.S. clash over construction in east Jerusalem indicates again how difficult it's going to be to shape the regional reality Barack Obama desperately wants. That's why there's a new deluge of policy proposals - not least of which is Israeli President Shimon Peres's trial balloon: a Palestinian state with provisional borders, leading to a permanent Israeli-Palestinian deal. Both parties officially reject the idea. But if properly formulated, it just might be a way of satisfying key Israeli and Palestinian needs. » Read more

Israel deploys cyber team to spread positive spin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems. Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel. Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilised soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict. » Read more

Settlements, and the California connection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National July 20, 2009 - 12:00am ‘I will not cave in” announced the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “since this is a matter of 20 units only.” Mr Netanyahu’s curt response to the US government’s demand that Israel discontinue plans to build 20 apartments for Jewish settlers in Palestinian East Jerusalem underscores how this dispute has touched a nerve, and is of far greater significance than “20 units only”. » Read more

A desperate move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am It’s hard to avoid an impression that Palestinian politics is possibly beyond repair. The latest aspect of Palestinian political fragmentation and lack of strategic vision transpired when Farouk Kaddoumi, a senior PLO leader, accused President Mahmoud Abbas of playing a role in Yasser Arafat’s death. Kaddoumi has yet to substantiate his claim with hard evidence. » Read more