Op-Ed: Reform’s nomination of Jacobs means a victory for J Street ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Carol Greenwald - (Opinion) May 2, 2011 - 12:00am The nomination of Rabbi Richard Jacobs to head the Union for Reform Judaism is the latest coup for J Street. Less than three years after its founding, a member of J Street's rabbinic cabinet is being appointed to head the largest branch of American Judaism. With the nominee to head the Reform movement supporting the goals and visions of J Street, it will be impossible for mainstream American Jewry to continue to marginalize J Street and its profoundly anti-Israel positions. » Read more

Jordan says U.S. role fundamental to revive peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Jordanian foreign minister said Tuesday the United States plays a major role in pushing the peacemaking efforts forward and pressuring Israel to stop unilateral measures to resume the peace talks with the Palestinians, the state-run Petra news agency reported. At a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh said the regional developments should not divert the attention away from the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which is the core issue in the region. » Read more

Palestinian official: U.S. not oppose reconciliation deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 4, 2011 - 12:00am The United States has not notified the Palestinian leadership of any objection to a national agreement that rival Palestinian groups will sign Wednesday in Cairo, a Palestinian official said. On Tuesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked over the phone and there were no U.S. signs that the agreement between Hamas and Fatah is rejected, said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee. » Read more

Blair: Palestinians must recognize Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak, Amy Teibel - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Mideast envoy Tony Blair says the international community supports Palestinian reconciliation but will demand that the new unity government recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence. Wednesday's announcement could signal trouble for the new alliance between the Islamic militant group Hamas and the Western-backed Fatah movement. Hamas says it will never recognize Israel. » Read more

Fayyad, driver of Palestinian statehood reforms, may miss party ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority prime minister, a former IMF economist and political independent, is perhaps best known for fathering the institutional reforms and economic growth necessary to sustain a Palestinian state. But when his colleagues ask the United Nations to recognise Palestinian independence in September, the bespectacled, soft-spoken technocrat may not be around to see the two-year project that he largely engineered come to fruition. » Read more

Compromise behind Fatah-Hamas deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Their unity pact signed yesterday is being called surprising, historic and controversial, but neither Fatah nor Hamas, the rival Palestinian faction with which it is making amends, have offered much in terms of details. Analysts have described the Egyptian-brokered agreement, which will be celebrated in a ceremony today in Egypt's Nasser city, as a tactically beneficial compromise for both in light of popular calls for reconciliation, regional political upheaval and attempts at earning international recognition for a Palestinian state. » Read more

The days of Bin Laden…and Ismail Haniyeh ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali Ibrahim - (Opinion) May 3, 2011 - 12:00am The death of Bin Laden comes at a time when history is turning the page on al-Qaeda's ideology, and currents similar to it. The vibrant transformation taking place in Arab countries has highlighted the weakness of such ideas, and revealed that this trend and its supporters are merely on the sidelines of the wider movement for change. We did not see any pro-democracy demonstrations chanting the name of Bin Laden or al-Zawahiri. » Read more

Fatah, Hamas proclaim landmark reconciliation pact ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Maggie Michael - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have proclaimed a landmark, Egyptian-mediated reconciliation pact aimed at ending their bitter four-year rift. The ceremony took place Wednesday at the Egyptian intelligence headquarters in Cairo. Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the accord ends "four black years" that hurt national Palestinian interests. He also said at the ceremony that he would soon visit Hamas-held Gaza Strip. The pact provides for the creation of a joint caretaker Palestinian government ahead of national elections next year. » Read more

Amr Moussa: Palestinian reconciliation will pressure Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian reconciliation leaves Israel with no excuse for not engaging more seriously in peace negotiations, outgoing Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said Wednesday. In an interview published in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, a London-based newspaper, Moussa said the Arab League will support the implementation of the Palestinian reconciliation on the ground. Palestinian factions yesterday signed a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah that Hamas had signed last week. Egypt helped broker the agreement, which was signed in Cairo. » Read more

Gaza government executes spy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Gaza's Ministry of the Interior announced the death Wednesday of a man convicted of collaboration, identified only as A.S., and said to have been found guilty of spying. It is the sixth execution that has been carried out by the Gaza government, in contradiction to a Palestinian law that necessitates the approval of the president before death sentences are carried out. The ministry said in a statement that the death sentence was carried out after all means of appeal had been completed, and after obtaining the approval of the Gaza government. » Read more