April 11th

Arab League calls for no-fly zone over Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters April 10, 2011 - 12:00am The Arab League called on the United Nations on Sunday to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza and lift an Israeli siege of the territory after a flare-up of violence that is stoking fears of a wider escalation. The death toll since Israel launched retaliation for an attack on a school bus that critically wounded a teenager on Thursday has climbed to 19 Palestinian militants and civilians. Condemning what it called Israel's "brutal" aggression in Gaza, a gathering of the Arab League's permanent delegates chaired by Oman called on the U.N. to convene its Security Council. » Read more

Israelis and Palestinians, Particularly the Youth, Grow Apathetic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - April 7, 2011 - 12:00am A generation ago one of the most popular Israeli songs was You and Me Can Change the World. Today’s youth are more likely to be anxious over who’s going to win the Big Brother reality television show. A recent poll of Israeli youth, both Jews and Arabs, has shown that they are becoming more ambivalent and alienated and, when they do express themselves, tend to be more intolerant than their elders, if not holding downright undemocratic views. » Read more

Gaza City officials: Weekend strikes targeted water facilities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 11, 2011 - 12:00am Officials in the Gaza Strip's northernmost municipality on Monday accused Israeli forces of striking drinking water sources and infrastructure, during a weekend of violence that saw at least 18 dead in the coastal enclave. Gaza's municipality released a report cataloging damage to the water infrastructure from artillery shells over the weekend, which included damages to the Al-Mintar water tank in Al-Quba area of Gaza City, which gives water to the eastern areas of Ash-Shuja'iyeh neighborhood. » Read more

The “Arab Spring” and the Palestinian Cause ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - April 8, 2011 - 12:00am While the U.S. President Barack Obama may want to dedicate his time to domestic affairs, in order to secure a second term in the White House, he must prepare himself for foreign policy issues intruding into his reelection campaign, especially Middle Eastern issues. This is because the “Arab Spring” may soon be followed by summer, autumn and winter, before it becomes clear whether it will blossom in the manner envisaged by Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. » Read more

PA: State will be ready by September ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 11, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority's Minister of Planning and Development announced Monday the government's "national readiness to establish an independent Palestinian state during September." Minister Ali Al-Jerbawi said the announcement came in line with the successful implementation of the 13th government's plan, "Ending the Occupation, Establishing a State," put out by the now caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in August 2009. » Read more

Lieberman: Israel should topple Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 11, 2011 - 12:00am Israel should not settle for a truce with Hamas in Gaza, and should instead seek to topple the Islamist rulers of the coastal strip, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday. "The goal that we have settled on, of seeking a return to calm, is a grave error because it will allow Hamas to reinforce along the lines of Hezbollah," Lieberman told public radio, referring to the Lebanese militia with which Israel fought a 2006 war, killing 1,200, mostly civilians. » Read more

Gaza: Goldstone's recantation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) April 10, 2011 - 12:00am First there was a veritable storm of fury when the original Goldstone Report was issued. » Read more

Time running out for Israel and peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) April 8, 2011 - 12:00am In the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, it has worked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s advantage to play for time. It has kept him in power and his conservative coalition government together. But time is no longer on Mr. Netanyahu’s side. A wave of change is coming in the Middle East and at the United Nations, where the Palestinians are building support for a September bid to win UN recognition of a Palestinian state. Far better for the Israeli prime minister to ride this wave, than to be battered by it. » Read more

Arabs yearn to move on and enjoy genuine peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) April 11, 2011 - 12:00am Probably the most important clause in the Arab Peace Initiative, first adopted by the Arab League at the Beirut summit in 2002 and reaffirmed on several occasions including in 2007, is its commitment to “establish normal relations with Israel in the context of [a] comprehensive peace.” This clause represented the culmination of decades of evolution of Arab thinking regarding relations with Israel, and the final repudiation of the Khartoum resolution of 1967, which insisted the Arabs would allow “no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it.” » Read more

Israel and Hamas Consider Cease-Fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - April 10, 2011 - 12:00am Israel and Hamas signaled on Sunday that they were willing to restore calm after days of intense fighting, and while militants in Gaza fired about 10 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, most fell in open areas close to the border and Israel did not immediately respond. » Read more