June 8th

Forty-Four Years Later, Liberty Attack Provokes Passions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - June 6, 2011 - 12:00am Some alleged Israeli attack on U.S. Navy vessel was no accident The Six Day War in 1967 saw Israel vanquish its Arab enemies in a stunning defeat on land, sea and in the air. There is one event, however, that remains a blemish in Israel’s victory – the attack on the U.S. Navy ship Liberty on June 8. » Read more

Netanyahu’s conundrum ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Arnaud De Borchgrave - (Opinion) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am When a joint session of the U.S. Congress gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 29 standing ovations - four more than President Obama received for his last State of the Union message - there was little doubt that Israel is an integral part of the American body politic. It was a hard-line speech by an Israeli on the right of the Israeli spectrum that firmly rejected Mr. Obama's proposal for Mideast peace: The pre-1967 war frontier with minor land swaps for both sides. » Read more

New French initiative for Israeli-Palestinian peace faces difficulties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - June 8, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, June 7 (Xinhua) -- France has presented a new plan to break the deadlock in direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but faces opposition from both the United States and Israel. The plan envisions the 1967 lines, which existed before the Six Day War, as the borders between Israel and the future Palestinian state. The French initiative agrees mostly with a recent speech by U.S. President Barack Obama, but goes further to emphasize security for the two states, not only for Israel. » Read more

Time to try a new option ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Editorial) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am The partial opening of the Rafah crossing by Egypt's military rulers, coupled with the anticipation of another Turkish-led naval flotilla seeking to breach the Gaza blockade, provide a timely opportunity to review the logic of Israel's restrictions on movement into and out of the Strip. The Egyptian move also raises the issue of Gaza's future relationship with Egypt, Israel and the West Bank. » Read more

September Knocks on Israeli Gates ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Pierre Klochendler - (Opinion) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am "September 2011 is knocking on our gates," says an Israeli army officer who, under strict operation procedures, would not reveal his name. He was alluding to the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting expected to resoundingly endorse the Palestinian drive for recognition of statehood. » Read more

PNA starts paying salaries after getting Algerian fund ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 8, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will start paying its employees on Wednesday after receiving an Algerian fiscal assistance. Before evening, employees can get their salaries via ATM, and starting from Thursday, they can get it from banks, said Yousef Al- Zomor, PNA's main accountant, noting the 26.4 million-U.S.-dollar Algerian fund reached PNA's treasury Wednesday, according to the Voice of Palestine Radio. The PNA needs 150 million dollars monthly to pay for some 148, 000 employees in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Preventing Israel’s final solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am This year’s marking of the anniversaries of Al-Nakba, the birth of Israel on usurped Palestinian land, and Al-Naksa, the Six-Day War which resulted in the occupation of the remainder of historical Palestine by Israel, have underlined one clear fact; that 63 years since the creation of Israel and 44 years after the fall of Jerusalem and other territories, the Palestinians have not given up on their rights. It’s an important element in the ever-evolving conflict which remains unresolved to this day. » Read more

Netanyahu distorts the refugee problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed his great deception skills again on Sunday. He stated that the clashes on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights that day proved that the Palestinians were not interested in a solution based on 1967 borders, but rather sought a solution based on 1948 borders. For once there was a nugget of truth in his comments, because he correctly mentioned the importance of 1948 in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. » Read more

Rafah crossing re-opens ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 8, 2011 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was re-opened Wednesday morning after a four-day closure. The decision to open was made after Palestinian and Egyptian officials agreed on a set of mechanisms for the passage of Palestinian travelers. From Wednesday onward, Rafah will open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and allow an average of 550 passengers per day to cross. » Read more

Israel-Iran behind the door dealings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Khalaf Al Habtoor - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am A scandal that has recently erupted in Israel concerning a private Israeli shipping and transport group — Ofer Brothers — that sold a tanker to Iran via a well-known Iranian front company and has been transporting petroleum products to and from Iran for a decade, heightens my suspicions that nothing is what it seems in the dirty world of geopolitics. » Read more