June 20th

The PA's historic mistake, and opportunity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Jeff Halper - (Opinion) June 20, 2011 - 12:00am No one knows the precise plans of the Palestinian Authority vis-a-vis September: Will Mahmoud Abbas declare a Palestinian state within recognized borders and ask that it be admitted as a full member of the UN – or not? Perhaps Abbas himself does not know. » Read more

Palestinian economic boom unsustainable without overseas donations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - June 20, 2011 - 12:00am How nice it would be if statistics and events on the ground would line up in a logical, orderly manner, without any inconsistencies. How easy it would be to report then. » Read more

For Gaza, but not against Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Sun-Times by Esther Cepeda - (Opinion) June 20, 2011 - 12:00am In a few days, slightly more than a year since a flotilla of ships attempted to breech Israel’s naval blockade to call attention to the plight of the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, 50 passengers, including three from the Chicago area, will sail to the Gaza Strip on a boat named “The Audacity of Hope.” As part of the second international “freedom flotilla,” they’ll attempt the same feat to deliver humanitarian aid in the form of letters of support and friendship. » Read more

Peres: Need to strike peace with PA 'urgent' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews June 19, 2011 - 12:00am President Shimon Peres said Sunday that there was an "urgent" need to reignite the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and an even more urgent need to finalize a peace deal – as both sides were "running out of time." "It is very urgent," Peres said in an interview with CNN. "I think neither side has much time. We have to act dynamically." » Read more

Israeli arms industry a major economic engine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - June 20, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli defense sales in 2010 totaled 7.2 billion U.S. dollars, making the small nation the world's fourth largest exporter. Defense officials released the figure in an official report ahead of the Paris Air Show, which is scheduled to open on June 26. A bevy of Israeli firms hope to garner even more sales at the show, after a string of recent successes. Most of the sales are from four leading companies: Elbit Systems, Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, and Israel Military Industries, a Defense Ministry statement said. » Read more

Mofaz: Israel must prevent UN Palestinian state bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Lahav Harkov - June 20, 2011 - 12:00am Foreign Affairs, Defense C'tee chair says Israel must look like a leader, act wisely with a plan to prevent unilaterally declared Palestine. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) warned on Monday that Israel must initiate a plan to combat a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood in the UN this September. "This is a historically significant time, and we must act wisely and responsibly," Mofaz said. "Israel has to look like a leader, like a country that takes initiative and has what to offer." » Read more

Why is Obama so tough on Israel and timid on Syria? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) June 19, 2011 - 12:00am One of the hallmarks of the Arab Spring has been the emergence of a new and more modest American foreign policy. The Obama administration has insisted on not taking the lead in promoting democratic change; it has declined to act unless not just the French and British but the Arab League go first. It still can’t bring itself to say that Bashar al-Assad, a dictator and implacable U.S. enemy who is using tanks and helicopter gunships to slaughter his people, is not qualified to lead Syria to democracy. » Read more

Israelis and Palestinians have equal right to a home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) June 20, 2011 - 12:00am I'm going to try to put something into words, something that I've felt with precision for a very long time, but something which, I've found, words tend only to obscure, not to illuminate. Like most attempts at this, it probably won't work. But here goes. People need a home. People need to know where they come from. People need a place where they feel they belong, a place where, for reasons which may elude all understanding, they feel profoundly and uniquely rooted. A part of things, rather than simply and permanently apart. » Read more

Israel as a ‘Jewish state’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) June 19, 2011 - 12:00am I am fed up with all this nonsense about recognizing Israel as the “Jewish State.” It serves many different purposes, almost all of them malign. Benjamin Netanyahu uses it as a trick to obstruct the establishment of the Palestinian state. This week he declared that the conflict just has no solution. Why? Because the Palestinians do not agree to recognize etc. etc. » Read more

Hamas: Mash'al, Zahhar feud 'behind us' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 19, 2011 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A spat between Hamas officials in Gaza and Damascus "is behind our backs," Hamas politburo Osama Hamdan told Ma'an on Thursday. Speaking with Ma'an Radio, the official commented on a slew of comments that went back and forth from Hamas leader in exile Khalid Mash'al and party leader in Gaza Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, over comments the Mash'al made during the signing of a unity accord with Fatah leaders in Egypt on 4 May. » Read more