Learning to trust our neighbors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Leon Wieseltier - (Opinion) June 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The stability that Hosni Mubarak conferred upon Israeli-Egyptian relations could not last forever, and Israel's security policy cannot be premised on an eternity of Arab tyranny; but still it is not hard to understand the anxiety that the turbulence in Egypt, and elsewhere in the Arab world, has provoked in Israel. What seems to rattle Israel is not only the prospect of Arab instability, but also the prospect of Arab democracy. The only democracy in the Middle East looks as if it wishes to remain the only democracy in the Middle East. This is not altogether attractive.

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EU: Palestinian state vote could be ‘dangerous’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Las Vegas Sun
June 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The president of the EU parliament says a unilateral Palestinian move toward statehood could be "dangerous." Frustrated by a long-standing impasse in peace talks with Israel, the Palestinians have mounted a campaign for international recognition at the U.N. General Assembly in September. European support would be critical, but EU parliament chief Jerzy Buzek sounded cool to the idea on Tuesday. Speaking in Ramallah, Buzek said he "understood" the Palestinian position but added it could complicate peace efforts.

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Head to Head: Why does France want a peace conference now?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Adar Primor - (Opinion) June 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Valerie Hoffenberg, 47, a French Jew and a Zionist of Algerian-Tunisian descent, has for the past two years or so been serving as the French president's special envoy to the Middle East. "Sarkozy's turbo engine" is the term used to describe her. Hoffenberg, a lawyer by training, was asked by the president to help bring about Mideast peace "from the bottom up": to break through by means of the economy, education, culture, commerce and the environment. She is behind numerous regional projects and collaborative efforts, the pinnacle of which is creation of the industrial park in Bethlehem.

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Under no illusions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jerzy Buzek - (Opinion) June 12, 2011 - 12:00am

I am a friend of Israel. These are not cheap words. As a Pole growing up in the shadow of Auschwitz, and as a European, I am all too aware that the fates of Europe and Israel hang together. Europeans have a special responsibility toward Israel: to remember what has gone before, and to act on these memories – to secure the right of existence for Israel at a time of tumultuous change. We take this moral duty very seriously. The European Union – whose citizens are represented in the parliament of which I am president – was created to prevent the recurrence of the nightmare of war.

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Haaretz exclusive: Secret cables show Israel's battle plan over Palestinian UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - June 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel has started mobilizing its embassies for the battle against UN recognition of a Palestinian state in September, ordering its diplomats to convey that this would delegitimize Israel and foil any chance for future peace talks. Envoys are being asked to lobby the highest possible officials in their countries of service, muster support from local Jewish communities, ply the media with articles arguing against recognition and even ask for a call or quick visit from a top Israeli official if they think it would help.

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AP Exclusive: Hamas considers hands-off approach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am

After four years of turbulent rule in the Gaza Strip, the Islamic militant group Hamas is weighing a new strategy of not directly participating in future governments even if it wins elections — an approach aimed at avoiding isolation by the world community and allowing for continued economic aid.

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The conflict's new players
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - June 9, 2011 - 12:00am

Naksa Day, 11 am. Tensions are already palpable near the Qalandiya checkpoint. IDF soldiers equipped with crowd dispersal means are confronted by dozens of Palestinians including a small group of youngsters with gas masks and Palestinian flags. Two tall European-loking girls suddenly emerge from the crowd and approach the photographers standing in between the parties. Behind them, and unknown to the two, two Palestinians emerge and hurl bottles full of foul-smelling material at the soldiers and escape. The soldiers respond by firing shock grenades. The conflict begins.

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The end of the media's Israel fixation?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Carmel Gould - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab spring has had a remarkable effect on the media's appetite for Middle East news which doesn't revolve around Israel. Over the first three months of this year, correspondents usually engaged full time in counting Israeli bricks going down in the West Bank were dispatched to Tahrir Square and Tripoli, because something even bigger was happening.

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The French connection
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas has a penchant for climbing out on limbs and expecting others to get him down. The first time wasn’t all his fault. When newly minted President Barack Obama demanded Israel freeze settlements as a path to the peace table, Abbas, who had never set such conditions previously, could not agree to less. Trouble is, Israel rejected it and Obama soon walked away, leaving Abbas hanging.

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Abbas agrees to peace talks based on 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas has told France he is ready to attend a Paris peace conference if Israel accepts talks based on the 1967 borders, an aide told AFP Sunday. Nimr Hammad, a political adviser to Abbas, said the president had told French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that he agreed officially to a French proposal to host a peace conference in Paris before July. Juppe raised the possibility of the conference during a visit to Israel and the West Bank this week.

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