US furious with Hamas over condemnation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews May 3, 2011 - 12:00am The US State Department on Tuesday described Hamas' condemnation of the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as "outrageous." After the Al-Qaeda chief was killed by US forces, the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said: "We condemn any killing of a holy warrior or of a Muslim and Arab person and we ask God to bestow his mercy upon him." Haniyeh said Hamas regards bin Laden's death as "as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood." » Read more

Netanyahu suspends east J'lem construction plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ronen Medzini - May 3, 2011 - 12:00am The Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday decided to postpone plans to build housing units in Jewish neighborhoods beyond Jerusalem's Green Line for the second time in less than a month, Ynet has learned. Discussion on the two projects for the construction of more than 900 housing units in east Jerusalem was taken off the District Planning and Construction Committee's agenda for Thursday. One project is a plan to build 930 homes at the neighborhood of Har Homa, and the other is slated to see the construction of dozens of units in Pisgat Ze'ev. » Read more

Security through peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Matthew Gould - (Opinion) May 3, 2011 - 12:00am Six months is a long time in the Middle East. Since my arrival in September as Britain’s ambassador to Israel, there have been some enormous upheavals in this region. Recent weeks have seen a return of horrendous violence, including a shower of rocket attacks in southern Israel, and horrific attacks in Itamar and Jerusalem. » Read more

Text of the Agreement between Fatah and Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from May 3, 2011 - 12:00am Translated by Al Mubadara, the Palestinian National Initiative, this document is currently in the process of being signed by all of Palestine’s factions and parties. Under the auspices of Egypt, delegations from the Fatah and Hamas movements met in Cairo on April 27, 2011 to discuss the issues concerning ending the political division and the achievement of national unity. On top of the issues were some reservations related to the Palestinian National Unity Accord made in 2009. » Read more

Israel must choose between peace and a racist state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am The slogan that brought Benjamin Netanyahu to power was "making a secure peace." That is no accident. "Peace" has maintained the right-wing government to a much greater extent than the right-wing government has maintained peace. » Read more

Zahar: Hamas will never recognize Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar said on Wednesday that Palestine is "hallowed ground" and that his organization will never recognize Israel. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Zahar said that Palestinians will not give up on their right to Palestine, while recognizing the rule of Poles and Ethiopians in their land. Zahar added that this should not prevent Israel from negotiating with Hamas, pointing out that Israel negotiated for captive soldier Gilad Schalit's release despite the fact that Hamas never recognized "the Israeli enemy." » Read more

PM lands in London to lobby against Fatah-Hamas deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu landed in London early Wednesday in a trip where he is expected to lobby European leaders against a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement. Before departing Israel on Tuesday night, the prime minister called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to drop the unity agreement with Hamas that he is expected to sign in Cairo on Wednesday. » Read more

Gaps between Hamas, Fatah loom large despite unity deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am The reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is to be signed Wednesday morning in Cairo, creating an interim unity government and paving the way to elections in a year. The accord restores relations between the two, which were severed when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007. » Read more

Netanyahu must present new peace initiative in Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am During his visit to Washington in less than three weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet an American administration which is credited by the free world with the killing of the arch terrorist Osama bin Laden. On Barack Obama's watch, the U.S. armed forces managed to kill the murderer of thousands of American citizens who had managed to evade punishment for more than nine years. The successful operation made the president popular among Americans and dampened his image as a soft leader, an image of him encouraged by his rivals on the right. » Read more

State to approve outposts on land not privately owned ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ron Friedman - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am The state will take steps to retroactively approve construction of those houses in the West Bank outposts of Givat HaYovel and Horsha built on state land, but will demolish, within a year, those houses that were built on privately owned Palestinian land. The state announced the plans in its response to a petition submitted to the High Court of Justice by Peace Now over the construction of settler houses. » Read more