June 8th

Turkey seeks strong regional pressure on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tulay Karadeniz - June 7, 2010 - 12:00am Turkey will seek the backing of its Middle Eastern and Asian neighbours at a regional summit on Tuesday to step up pressure on Israel over the killing of nine Turks on an aid ship bound for Gaza. Israel has already rejected a United Nations call for an international inquiry into its seizure of the ship last week, but Turkey, flexing its diplomatic muscle as one of the biggest military and economic powers in the region, is not giving up. » Read more

Israel awaiting U.S. green light for internal Gaza flotilla probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer, Barak Ravid - June 8, 2010 - 12:00am The Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that it will conduct its own internal investigation into last week's botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has appointed Maj. Gen. (res. ) Giora Eiland to head the probe. The panel is charged with analyzing the failures of, and learning lessons from, the commando raid on a Turkish-flagged ship, which left nine Turkish passengers dead and several dozen people wounded. » Read more

Analysis: The flotilla dynamic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) June 8, 2010 - 12:00am Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted recently as saying the Mavi Marmara episode marked a turning point in the Middle East. Assad, as is his wont, was exaggerating. As bleak as things now seem for Israel – and they do indeed seem bleak – there is a need here for perspective. » Read more

ANALYSIS-UN rebukes of Israel permitted in US policy shift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Louis Charbonneau - June 8, 2010 - 12:00am Under President Barack Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation. The subtle but noticeable shift in the U.S. approach to its Middle East ally comes amid what some analysts describe as one of the most serious crises in U.S.-Israeli relations in years. Under Obama, the United States seeks to reclaim its role as an impartial Middle East peace broker which critics say it lost during the previous administration of George W. Bush. » Read more

Israel’s Gaza policy has strengthened Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) June 8, 2010 - 12:00am The recent attempts to break the naval blockade of Gaza are the strongest evidence that the occupation over Gaza has never ended. When the Sharon government completed the disengagement from Gaza in 2005, foreign minister Tzipi Livni planned to announce to the UN General Assembly in September 2005 that Israel no longer occupied Gaza and that the international body is now responsible for the welfare of its people. The Legal Department of the Foreign Ministry informed her that she could not make that claim. » Read more

Abu Libdeh participates in Tel Aviv seminar on PA boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libdeh arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon to participate in a seminar on the PA's boycott of settlement goods. Organized by the German Friedrich Ebert Fund, Tel Aviv University, and the Peres Center For Peace, Abu Libdeh said his attendance was meant to inform Israel that the settlement enterprise and its economy in the West Bank "are obstacles to the peace process and the establishment of a Palestinian state." » Read more

Challenger I passengers: Commandos shot first ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Mya Guarnieri - June 8, 2010 - 12:00am Alex Harrison, a British activist who participated in the Freedom Flotilla, was on the neighboring Challenger I when the Israeli army overtook the Mavi Marmara, leaving at least nine activists dead and dozens injured. An eyewitness to the takeover, Harrison told Ma'an what she saw in the moments before the Israeli army boarded the Mavi Marmara. "I was on the Challenger I, on the upper deck," Harrison said. "We were very close to the Marmara. We actually thought [the Israeli navy] was coming for us first." » Read more

Egypt keeps border with Gaza open ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National June 8, 2010 - 12:00am After three years of co-operating in the Israeli blockade of Gaza, Egypt said that it will leave its border with the Palestinian territory open indefinitely for humanitarian aid and restricted travel. With international pressure building to ease the blockade, an Egyptian security official said on Monday that sealing off Hamas-ruled Gaza has only bred more militancy. » Read more

Challenger I passengers: Commandos shot first ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Mya Guarnieri - June 8, 2010 - 12:00am Alex Harrison, a British activist who participated in the Freedom Flotilla, was on the neighboring Challenger I when the Israeli army overtook the Mavi Marmara, leaving at least nine activists dead and dozens injured. An eyewitness to the takeover, Harrison told Ma'an what she saw in the moments before the Israeli army boarded the Mavi Marmara. "I was on the Challenger I, on the upper deck," Harrison said. "We were very close to the Marmara. We actually thought [the Israeli navy] was coming for us first." » Read more

PA welcomes international positions for ending siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian ministers cabinet officially welcomed several international moves to lift the siege on Gaza during its weekly cabinet meeting Monday, calling for action to ensure recent moves to aid Gaza continue. » Read more