April 15th

Crossing thresholds for peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by David Makovsky - (Opinion) April 15, 2011 - 12:00am As the Obama administration grapples with the many implications of the Arab spring in the Mideast, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been relegated to the sidelines. But history has shown that it does not stay dormant for long — as demonstrated in the latest uptick of violence. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reflected this Tuesday in her a speech about Arab democratic reform. She suggested that Washington would soon be making a new push for peace. » Read more

Crossing thresholds for peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by David Makovsky - (Opinion) April 15, 2011 - 12:00am As the Obama administration grapples with the many implications of the Arab spring in the Mideast, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been relegated to the sidelines. But history has shown that it does not stay dormant for long — as demonstrated in the latest uptick of violence. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reflected this Tuesday in her a speech about Arab democratic reform. She suggested that Washington would soon be making a new push for peace. » Read more

The Palestinians’ mistake in seeking statehood from the U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am In almost two decades of working on Arab-Israeli negotiations as a State Department adviser and negotiator, I’ve come up with more than my fair share of dumb ideas. But the notion Palestinians are cooking up, for U.N. action on Palestinian statehood this fall, takes dumb to a new level. » Read more

Hamas Says It Found Body of Italian Activist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - April 15, 2011 - 12:00am An Italian activist found dead here early Friday was strangled with a plastic cord, apparently by abductors from a radical Islamic organization inspired by Al Qaeda that said it had kidnapped him a day earlier, according to a physician who performed an autopsy. Vittorio Arrigoni taking part in March in a protest against gainst an Israeli decision to tighten the border area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza strip. » Read more

Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Indictment on Corruption Charges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Israel’s attorney general on Wednesday announced his intention to indict the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on corruption charges, but said he would allow Mr. Lieberman a hearing to contest an indictment before issuing a formal charge sheet. Charges against the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, involve accusations that while in the private sector he used a company to funnel illicit gifts and contributions. » Read more

April 14th

Rattling the Cage: We got out of Gaza, didn’t we? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Do people here know that we’ve prevented trucks from delivering cooking oil, flour or sugar to Gaza since last Thursday, when Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at a school bus, gravely injuring a 16- year-old boy? Do people here know or care what we do to Gaza’s civilians? » Read more

Washington Watch: Playing ball at the peace table ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by D. Bloomfield - (Opinion) April 13, 2011 - 12:00am If the Palestinian-Israeli peace process were a basketball game, both sides would be called for stalling. There’s a lot of trash talk going on, but no serious action. But it isn’t a basketball game, it’s a blame game. Neither side seems seriously interested in returning to the peace table, just in going through the motions to impress the fans. It’s a lot like last week’s budget battle between Republicans and Democrats; the real issue wasn’t what good we can achieve for the country, but who is going to get blamed when it all goes south. » Read more

Palestinian says 150 trees cut by settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian villager Ibrahaim Salah faced a rude welcome after arriving at his olive grove Tuesday, claiming that his trees were cut down by settlers. "I arrived at my land Tuesday morning and couldn't believe my eyes," said the Samaria resident, who is allowed to access his grove only a few times a year with a security escort. "We found some 150 olive trees that are dozens of years old cut down." Salah says that only 60 trees remain in his plot of land at this time, yet most of them are too young and do not produce commercial quantities of trees. » Read more

Goldstone report: Statement issued by members of UN mission on Gaza war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Christine Chinkin, Hina Jilani, Desmond Travers - April 14, 2011 - 12:00am In recent days some articles and comments appearing in the press with respect to the report of the United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict of 2008-2009 have misrepresented facts in an attempt to delegitimise the findings of this report and to cast doubts on its credibility. » Read more

The new Christian settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yair Altman - April 14, 2011 - 12:00am About 1,000 Americans have signed a document requesting to convert to Judaism, move to Israel, and settle in Samaria. The group members are seeking to serve in the IDF and later establish communities based on the Kibbutz movement model. The document was presented to Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset Member Lia Shemtov, who met with the group's representative last week and promised to offer her help in facilitating the initiative. The Christian group's representative, Baruch Abramovich, said he was hopeful that MK Shemtov would be able to elicit the government's support for the initiative. » Read more