June 9th

Beyond the Turkey-Israel rift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) June 9, 2010 - 12:00am Scores from different nationalities were also injured in the raid, some of them seriously. The angry reaction from Ankara to the notorious commando raid, in international waters, has not subsided. On the contrary, there is a calculated and consistent escalation by Turkey against Israel, which is slowly gathering regional and international momentum. The end game remains uncertain, but the repercussions of the Turkey-Israel crisis could prove costly - for both. » Read more

The Rise of Erdogan and the Fall of the Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Elias Harfoush - June 9, 2010 - 12:00am On the flip side of the picture of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, boarding the Freedom Flotilla, we should observe the fall of the Arabs, in all of their variations. It is no small thing for Turkish flags to fill the space of the rally organized by Hizbullah, and for the party’s secretary general to compare what the “red flag” can do, along with the “yellow flag” of the resistance. » Read more

Israel 'to accept British plan to ease Gaza blockade' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph by Adrian Blomfield, Alex Spillius - June 9, 2010 - 12:00am Britain is understood to have taken a leading role in the negotiations and last week circulated a confidential document proposing ways of easing the blockade, according to Western officials familiar with a draft version of the report. Facing growing international criticism over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli officials said that would agree, in principle, to permit the passage of substantially more aid through Israel's land crossings with the Hamas-controlled territory. » Read more

8 cops, 38 settlers hurt in Beit El clashes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin, Tovah Lazaroff - June 9, 2010 - 12:00am In one of the most violent incidents since the start of the moratorium on new Jewish construction in the West Bank, eight police officers and 38 settlers were lightly hurt at the Beit El settlement Tuesday morning in clashes between the two groups. Settlers claimed that police had attacked them with pepper spray, while police contended that they had been stoned and called “Nazis.” » Read more

Britain: No quid pro quo deal on Gaza blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - June 9, 2010 - 12:00am Britain has denied a report in The Daily Telegraph of a British plan wherein Israel will ease the Gaza siege in exchange for decreased world pressure for an international probe into the events of the Gaza flotilla, the British Embassy in Tel Aviv said in a statement on Wednesday. "We don't know where the idea of a quid pro quo came from… the Foreign Secretary has made clear that the current restrictions on Gaza must be lifted in line with UNSCR 1860," the statement read. » Read more

Obama to offer Abbas fresh aid for Gaza in flotilla aftermath ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 9, 2010 - 12:00am President Barack Obama on Wednesday is expected to offer Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fresh U.S. aid for Gaza as Washington seeks to contain the fallout over Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla. Hosting Abbas at the White House, Obama will also try to ensure that heightened Middle East tensions over last week's deadly Israeli commando operation do not derail sputtering U.S.-led peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. » Read more

Palestine Investment Conference Promotes Private Entrepreneurialism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson, Arieh O'Sullivan - June 9, 2010 - 12:00am A conference of Arab investors, foreign officials and Palestinian businesspeople garnered nearly a billion dollars in pledges to the Palestinian economy, with special focus on boosting small and medium businesses. Meeting in Bethlehem, the second Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) focused on investment opportunities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip where small and medium operations account for some 90 percent of Palestinian businesses. » Read more

'We'll be Back - With Bigger Flotillas' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - (Interview) June 9, 2010 - 12:00am Controversy surrounds the events following the deadly commando raid with survivors from among the 700 activists on board the flotilla giving a very different version of events from that of the Israeli government. Q: Critics have accused FG of deliberately provoking a confrontation with the Israelis and argued that the attempt to break the siege was political and not just a humanitarian relief operation. » Read more

Anxious Gazans trying to leave blockaded territory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Karin Laub - June 9, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian who had to delay graduate school in Malaysia and an elderly man forced to put off eye surgery in Egypt are among thousands anxiously trying to get out of Gaza now that the blockaded territory's gateway to the world has opened just a little. A Hamas-run passenger terminal on the Gaza side of the border was packed on Tuesday with hundreds of Gazans trying to get clearance just to approach the crossing into Egypt. It was a chaotic scene, with stressed passengers arguing with overwhelmed Hamas border officials. » Read more

Gaza tops agenda as Abbas arrives in US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 9, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in the United States on Tuesday with two goals, ending the siege on Gaza and moving the peace process forward, PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said. Abed Rabbo told Palestine TV that the president and his delegation would meet Senator John Kerry and leaders of the American Jewish and pro-Israel lobby in the US in addition to the main meeting with US President Barack Obama. » Read more