April 5th

Tourism up 50% in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 5, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Tourism and Antiquities police said tourism in the occupied Palestinian territories increased during March, with a considerable rise in guests registered in local hotels. A police report said 464,000 tourists traveled to the West Bank, 137,000 of whom were international passport holders, while 83,000 were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, living inside the Green Line. » Read more

Islamic Jihad: No promise made to halt projectile fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 5, 2010 - 12:00am Islamic Jihad has not taken a decision to halt projectile fire toward Israeli targets, sources in the movement announced following a news report claiming the contrary on Sunday. Islamic Jihad is "committed to defending our people and committed to resistance in all possible ways," a statement from the movement said. » Read more

Erekat: Mitchell avoiding region over Israel tensions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 4, 2010 - 12:00am The lack of clarity surrounding US Middle East envoy George Mitchell's next visit to the region could be due to tense relations between Israel and the US over Israel's refusal to halt settlement activities, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma'an radio on Sunday. With regard to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's remarks, a day earlier in the West Bank city of Beit Sahour, that a Palestinian state would be established by 2011, Erekat highlighted that the state was declared in 1988 in Algiers and that it had now been recognized by more than 100 countries. » Read more

At odds in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Buffalo News (Editorial) April 5, 2010 - 12:00am The problem that has developed between Israel and the United States is an offshoot of the same problem that divides Israel from the Palestinians: the lack of a two-state solution to the Mideast’s ongoing trauma. A two-state solution is the only possible answer to the bloodshed and privation that have punished Israelis and Palestinians for decades. The only alternative is for people on both sides to continue killing one another, which is not a solution but a failure to adopt one. » Read more

U.S., Israel get back into the ring ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 4, 2010 - 12:00am Don't let this lull in the continuing brouhaha between Israel and the United States fool you. It will get noisy again. Here's why: The recent confrontation between President Barack Obama, fresh from his masterful victory on health care reform, and a more uncertain Benjamin Netanyahu reflects a far deeper problem in the U.S.-Israeli relationship. » Read more

Palestinian, 14, Emerges Unharmed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - April 3, 2010 - 12:00am A 14-year-old boy thought to have been killed either by Israeli gunfire or from internal Palestinian violence last week turned up unharmed at his family’s house after trying to sneak into Egypt via smuggler tunnels and being held by Egyptian security officials, his parents said Saturday. » Read more

Palestinian aspirations are clear, but what does Israel want? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - April 5, 2010 - 12:00am Does anybody know what Benjamin Netanyahu wants? Has anybody ever understood what his predecessors wanted? Where are they headed? And where are they leading us? One after another, Israeli politicians have been asked these questions, only to reply with the standard rejoinders: "You don't expect me to answer this question" or "Let's leave this for the negotiations." Vague answers, obfuscations, evasive and noncommittal cliches - promises, promises. There was one clear, unequivocal answer - none. » Read more

April 2nd

Only an Arab Palestine makes a 'Jewish' Israel meaningful ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) April 1, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting the Palestinians recognize Israel as, in his words, “the nation-state of the Jewish people,” a new and problematic demand that raises serious questions about Israel’s “Jewish character.” The Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, began with the phrase: “His Majesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people …” This declaration introduces the concept of a Jewish national home into international relations in a most decisive manner. » Read more

Journalist on the run from Israel is hiding in Britain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Kim Sengupta - April 2, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli journalist is in hiding in Britain, The Independent can reveal, over fears that he may face charges in the Jewish state in connection with his investigation into the killing of a Palestinian in the West Bank. Uri Blau, a reporter at Israel's liberal newspaper, Haaretz, left town three months ago for Asia and is now in London. Haaretz is understood to be negotiating the terms of his return to Israel with prosecutors, according to an Israeli source, who declined to be identified, because of the sensitivity of the situation. » Read more

Israel says it’s planning new gestures ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz, Hilary Leila Krieger - April 2, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has formulated a new list of potential gestures towards the Palestinians, Defense Ministry sources said Thursday, as a top Palestinian Authority minister visited Washington for talks with Obama administration officials. The office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Defense Ministry recently compiled new proposals for easing restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Defense officials. » Read more