Remarks by Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations, on the Middle East, in the Security Council Chamber
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations
by Alejandro Wolff - (Opinion) April 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Under Secretary-General Pascoe, for your briefing. Before turning to the subject at hand, let me join my other colleagues in extending our own condolences the government and people of China for the loss of life and injuries suffered by so many as a result of the devastating earthquake.

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Barkat wants to renew razing orders in east Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat demanded recently that the city's police force renew the razing of illegal structures in east Jerusalem on which demolition orders have been issued, Ynet learned Tuesday. The municipality has held off on implementing the orders since October due to political instability and pressure on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer responded to Barkat's orders by calling the mayor "a strategic threat to the stability in the Middle East".

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Jordan on verge of changing policy toward Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Osama Al-Sharif - April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

King Abdallah of Jordan had harsh words for Israel in his statements to the Wall Street Journal last week. The interview received considerable attention in media and policy circles in both Israel and the United States, not least because of the “rebuke” the monarch directed toward his western neighbor. The criticisms, coming from one of the most moderate Arab rulers, were unfamiliar to the Israelis.

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Multiple battlegrounds in fights over eastern Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Marcy Oster - April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

The day that Zacharia Zigelman, 26, moved into a home in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in eastern Jerusalem, he got beaten up, he says. “You get used to it," Zigelman said of the incident, which occurred about six months ago.

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Erekat: World must compel Israel to revoke military order
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat called on US Mideast envoy George Mitchell, among others, to immediately intervene and pressure Israel to revoking a military order mandating the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank defined as "infiltrators." Erekat further issued the same communique to EU Mideast representative Marc Otte, the UN's special coordinator for the peace process, Robert Serry, Russia's special envoy to the region, Alexander Saltanov, and Quartet envoy, Tony Blair.

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Fayyad: New IDF orders threaten to empty West Bank of Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian leadership on Monday protested against Israeli military orders that could see tens of thousands of Palestinians deported from the West Bank. On Sunday Haaretz revealed that a new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison terms of up to seven years.

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Israel’s plan is a shot across the bow
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Outrage is the only appropriate reaction. The revelation that thousands of Palestinians could face forced eviction, separation from their families, and imprisonment – and be expected to foot the bill for it all – beggars belief. If approved, two military orders would broaden who is termed a so-called infiltrator into the Palestinian territories. This cannot be allowed to happen, nor can the international community, and particularly the Arab world, remain silent on the issue.

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Sly maneuver
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli Army’s plan to deport tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank is both inhuman and illegal. It is also highly provocative and could reignite the intifada. This, of course, would suit the Netanyahu government very well, since once more, even the indirect peace talks with the Palestinians would be back on hold and Israel could protest yet again that its security was threatened by “terrorist violence.”

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Hamas in Gaza takes steps to carry out executions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by RIZEK ABDEL JAWAD - April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Human rights activists urged Gaza's Hamas rulers Thursday not to execute Palestinians who spied for Israel, as Hamas officials prepared to resume executions following a decade-long lull. Eleven men are on death row in Gaza, six convicted by Hamas courts of murder and five of spying for Israel, said the Gaza-based Independent Commission for Human Rights. Six others have been sentenced to death in absentia.

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Al Arifi and the Visit to Jerusalem!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) April 7, 2010 - 12:00am

It’s not the controversy surrounding the announcement made by the Saudi preacher Dr. Mohammed al Arifi to visit Jerusalem to film an episode of his weekly program there that bothers me. Rather, what worries me is the following question to al Arifi, his supporters and others; what about the Arab journalists who want to cover the Sheikh’s visit and the moment he enters Israel? Will they be held accountable for normalizing [ties] with the enemy or not? Will the [news] agencies and the press of slogans launch attacks against the journalists?

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