Palestinian leader: There will be no new uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Bouazza Ben Bouazza - April 20, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian president said Wednesday he is opposed to another armed uprising against Israel, even if faltering peace efforts fail later this year. Mahmoud Abbas told reporters in Tunisia that he remains committed to the U.S.-backed target of reaching a negotiated peace agreement with Israel by September. But with talks stalled for months, he repeated his plan to unilaterally seek U.N. endorsement of Palestinian independence in the absence of a deal. » Read more

Clinton: Resumption of negotiations an 'urgent need' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 21, 2011 - 12:00am US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume the peace talks immediately, Israeli Radio reported Thursday morning. In a television interview, Clinton said that the US administration did not support a unilateral Palestinian step to ask the UN for recognition. Her statement followed assertions by President Mahmoud Abbas indicating he believed the US would back him in the move for recognition. » Read more

Tanks enter Gaza City industrial zone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 21, 2011 - 12:00am Several Israeli tanks penetrated Gaza's border on Thursday morning, entering the Gaza City industrial zone where they demolished an unknown number of factories, all which had been closed since 2005. The industrial zone, near the now-closed Karni crossing, is less than a kilometer away from the border, and was set up near the crossing to facilitate exports. » Read more

New political parties in Palestine - when? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am Fateh, Hamas, PFLP, DFLP, Jihad Islami - these are some of the names of guerrilla movements that have dominated the Palestinian political scene. The modern Palestinian liberation movement began with various PLO factions; en route, it picked up Islamic anti-occupation movements. Each of these groupings has a military and a political wing. The public at large is often unable to distinguish between individuals and positions of the military and political wings. » Read more

New settlement founded, dismantled ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 21, 2011 - 12:00am The newest illegal settlement in the West Bank was dismantled overnight on Wednesday, hours after hundreds of settlers had gathered to announce the land grab. Settlers had arrived Wednesday afternoon at a patch of land east of Itamar, and named the outpost "Regev", according to reports in the Israeli press. The newest illegal settlement, however, was dismantled by Israeli forces overnight, a spokesman for the country's Civil Administration told Ma'an. » Read more

Parochial aims mar Palestinian elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Basem Ezbidi - (Opinion) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am Rumors of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks – whether in Cairo, Gaza or Istanbul – are once again rife. Driven by demonstrations calling for unity in Gaza and the West Bank, leaders of the two movements feel compelled to show readiness to break out of the cycle of contention that has held Palestinian politics hostage since 2007. » Read more

WEST BANK: Palestinian development plan looks at period after state creation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) April 20, 2011 - 12:00am When Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met the donor coordination group for the Palestinian territory, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), on April 13 in Brussels, he presented them with his new National Development Plan (NDP) 2011-2013, titled Establishing the State, Building our Future. In the foreword of the report, Fayyad wrote: “We stand today on the verge of national readiness for the birth of the State of Palestine. … The journey has been long and arduous, but the end is now in sight –- we are now in the homestretch to freedom.” » Read more

Invitation to Israeli Leader Puts Obama on the Spot ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - April 20, 2011 - 12:00am A Republican invitation for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to address Congress next month is highlighting the tensions between President Obama and Mr. Netanyahu and has kicked off a bizarre diplomatic race over who will be the first to lay out a new proposal to reopen the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. » Read more

The Revolution’s Missing Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Abdullah Gul - (Opinion) April 20, 2011 - 12:00am THE wave of uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa is of historic significance equal to that of the revolutions of 1848 and 1989 in Europe. The peoples of the region, without exception, revolted not only in the name of universal values but also to regain their long-suppressed national pride and dignity. But whether these uprisings lead to democracy and peace or to tyranny and conflict will depend on forging a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and a broader Israeli-Arab peace. » Read more