‘U.S. Can Stop Israeli Settlements’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Ziad Abu Zayyad, Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - (Interview) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am Ziad Abuzayyad was Palestinian cabinet minister responsible for Jerusalem affairs and a member of the Palestinian Legislature. During previous rounds of peace talks with Israel he was a leading member of the Palestinian negotiating team Currently, Abuzayyad is co-editor of the ‘Palestine-Israel Journal’ which seeks to create a platform for exploring tangible ways to advance a peaceful two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. » Read more

Obfuscating through violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from April 19, 2010 - 12:00am It seems that the era of relative peace between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel is over. Ever since Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, secured an amnesty for senior members of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fateh, on condition that they lay down their weapons and join the official security forces, calm has prevailed in the West Bank. » Read more

Thank You Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - April 18, 2010 - 12:00am I do not know how Binyamin Netanyahu thinks as the Prime Minister of Israel, but from what he has done so far it seems to us that this man is either a secret agent for the Arabs or that he is a megalomaniac who believes that he can do whatever he wishes to do! » Read more

Hamas…and Sanitation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) April 18, 2010 - 12:00am According to what was reported by Israeli Army Radio a few days ago, a delegation of experts and engineers affiliated to Hamas's so-called government in Gaza visited Israel in secret around two and a half months ago "with the goal of benefiting from Israel expertise in the field of wastewater treatment and turning this into potable drinking water." For its part, Hamas quickly denied this, which was expected and something that we have gotten used to from previous secret visits to Israel, particularly as there have been many such visits. » Read more

What would happen if Palestinians unilaterally declared statehood? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad recently announced that his government intends to declare an independent Palestinian state in the summer of 2011, even if no agreement is reached with Israel. This statement obviously generated unease in Israel, and not only among supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu's government - especially as it was accompanied by hints that European countries, and even the European Union itself, would recognize such a unilateral declaration of independence. » Read more

This Independence Day, Israel still turning its back on the Arab peace plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am "If I am you and you are me, I am not me and you are not you" - The Kotzker Rebbe. » Read more

An open letter to Netanyahu: Act before it's too late ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) April 18, 2010 - 12:00am Dear Mr. Prime Minister, It isn't every day a journalist writes an open letter to the prime minister. But today is no ordinary day. Nor is this an ordinary hour. This is the hour when the clock is about to strike midnight. A rare confluence of circumstances has created a situation in which on Israel's 62nd Independence Day, the state of the Jews is facing a challenge the likes of which it has not known since May 14, 1948. The year between this Independence Day and the next will be a crucial one. » Read more

Abbas calls on prisoners to press for unity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 19, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on prisoners on Sunday to press the factions to reconcile and achieve national unity. Once again, the prisoners should exert pressure on everybody to make national unity, Abbas said when receiving families of prisoners at his office in Ramallah, a day after Palestinians marked the Prisoners' Day. In 2006, the Palestinian prisoners drafted a plan supporting Saud Arabia's efforts in the formation of a unity government. However, the government collapsed in June 2007 after ruling for three months owing to Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza. » Read more

PNA denies report on possible control of East Jerusalem suburb ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 19, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday denied reports that Israel was going to hand areas in East Jerusalem to the PNA. "We don't have any information about these reports and there is nothing on the ground indicating that the PNA" was going to impose its control on Abu Dies town, said Saeb Erekat, the chief peace negotiator. » Read more

Israeli president says not to lose faith in peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 19, 2010 - 12:00am Israel will not lose faith in peace, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Sunday night at a memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers in wars and terrorist attacks. "It is their (the fallen's) courage that give our people the strength to face the challenges ahead -- not to fear the enemy, not to cease building, not to lose faith in the peace to come. And it will come," Peres said at his speech in Jerusalem on the eve of the country's Memorial Day. » Read more