June 23rd

Artists Investigate Identity and Boundaries in Extraterritorial Waters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Alice Pfeiffer - June 22, 2011 - 12:00am The legal term “ex-territory” historically refers to being outside the physical borders of a country and beyond its laws. Today, a project by two Israeli artists has found life in extraterritorial waters off Israel using a floating gallery and conference space as a forum for questions of boundaries and identity. The project was conceived in 2009, when two artists in Tel Aviv — Maayan Amir, 33, and Ruti Sela, 36 — were looking for a neutral space to screen a compilation of films by various artists in the Middle East. » Read more

June 22nd

Israeli military begins to move West Bank barrier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Kevin Flower, Kareem Khadder - June 22, 2011 - 12:00am Jerusalem (CNN) -- Four years after an Israeli high court initially ruled that the path of the barrier separating Israelis from Palestinians around the West Bank village of Bilin needed to be rerouted, the Israeli military Wednesday began to dismantle parts of the controversial fence. » Read more

Obama: U.S., Israel Must Assess Mideast With 'Fresh Eyes' Read more: http://forward.com/articles/138918/#ixzz1Q15JCYRh ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) June 21, 2011 - 12:00am President Obama told Jewish donors to his reelection campaign that Israel and the United States must assess the new Middle East with “fresh eyes.” “Both the United States and Israel are going to have to look at this new landscape with fresh eyes,” Obama said Monday night at an event in Washington that charged a minimum $25,000 a couple. “It’s not going to be sufficient for us just to keep on doing the same things we’ve been doing and expect somehow that things are going to work themselves out. We’re going to have to be creative and we’re going to have to be engaged.” » Read more

Palestinian theatre stages first play without director Juliano Mer Khamis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Conal Urquhart - June 22, 2011 - 12:00am A pioneering community theatre that aimed to replace violence with drama in one of the most battle-scarred Palestinian towns has hosted its first performance since the murder of its director. Israeli and Palestinian police have not identified the gunman who shot and killed Juliano Mer Khamis in April, but on Tuesday students from Jenin's Freedom Theatre performed Shu Kamam, or What Else, as a defiant message that they will continue his work. » Read more

Ross: In changing ME, waiting things out is no option ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - June 22, 2011 - 12:00am The greatest risk at a time of sweeping change in the Middle East is to think that this is the time to sit still and “do nothing," Dennis Ross, the White House's chief Middle East advisor said Wednesday. Ross, speaking at the Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, said that while he understands the impulse to “stand pat" and avoid taking risks, certain realities -- such as demographic trends that will present Israel with the dilemma of being either a Jewish or a democratic state - cannot be “wished away.” » Read more

Amos Oz slams West Bank 'occupation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ronen Medzini - June 21, 2011 - 12:00am Author Amos Oz spoke Tuesday at the Presidential Conference in Jerusalem and criticized the peace process with the Palestinians. Oz said he believes the "ongoing occupation" of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the construction in settlements is in general immoral, as well as bad for Israel's interests. The author, who received intermittent applause as well as a good deal of booing, added that the "expulsion of Palestinians" from their homes in Jerusalem and their "replacement" with settlers is also bad for Israel. "I am saying this as a man who loves the state," he added. » Read more

News Analysis: What's behind the delay in implementing reconciliation pact? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Osama Radi - June 21, 2011 - 12:00am GAZA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Although it has been already three weeks for signing the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation pact, rival Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party are still unable to overcome their differences and start the implementation of the deal. One of the significant events that showed the large gap between the two rival groups was the postponement of Tuesday's meeting between Abbas and Hamas politburo Khaled Meshaal, which was scheduled to be held in Cairo to agree on the formation of the unity technocrat government they agreed to form. » Read more

Fayyad Denounces Media Allegations Denying Saudi Support of Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from WAFA June 22, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, June 22, 2011 (WAFA) – Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in a statement Wednesday condemned the media allegations published Tuesday that denied Saudi Arabia’s support to the Palestinians. Fayyad considered these allegations an attempt to harm the Saudi brotherly relations with Palestinians. » Read more

Israel's deputy FM says ready to sit for talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 22, 2011 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel's deputy foreign minister said Wednesday that "Israel has recognized a Palestinian state and is ready to sit with the Palestinians to reach an understanding on the condition that there will be no outside intervention by the UN." "The Israeli government is ready to discuss all of the details with the Palestinians as long as they don't go to the UN; this is a path that leads toward disaster and will put an end to Oslo Accords," Danny Ayalon said in an interview with Ma'an television. » Read more

A devil’s advocate view of ‘new’ Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ely Karmon - (Opinion) June 22, 2011 - 12:00am In several recent articles I stated that if Egypt and Syria were to follow the “Turkish model,” as proposed by some Arab leaders and Western experts, the real beneficiary of the Arab uprisings would be Turkey, with its Ottoman heritage of control of the Levant and North Africa. If Islamist movements take power in major Arab states, we could witness the emergence of a Sunni Middle Eastern bloc dominated by Turkey – a strong Muslim revisionist state at the edge of Europe with aspirations to extend its influence toward the West. » Read more