Peace and Change
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

We have been waiting for President Obama to lay out his vision of the promises and challenges of the upheaval in the Arab world. His speech on Thursday did not go far enough — there was no game-changing proposal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — but he did promise strong support to those yearning for freedom and goaded American allies, including Israel, to take the political risks that are essential for peaceful change and the only way to build a lasting peace.

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Abbas says UN support essential for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that the UN has an essential role to help the Palestinians establish their statehood. "We will go to the UN to get the recognition of our independent state," Abbas said after meeting Tony Blair, the envoy of the Middle East Quartet, in Ramallah. He added that an end to Israel's occupation and the creation of the Palestinian state will enable the Palestinian people to live in peace and stability with their Israeli neighbors.

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Israel can't detach the Palestinian issue from Syria and Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

In May 2000, while the Israel Defense Forces was preparing for two diametrically opposite scenarios, one of which was expected to unfold in September - either a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians or violent confrontation - the security zone in southern Lebanon went to pieces, with some prodding from Hezbollah. The South Lebanon Army collapsed, and Israel hastened to evacuate its soldiers to the border. Four months later, in the wake of the reverberating failure of talks with the Palestinians, the territories ignited in violence.

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Mideast middleman quits _ but does it matter?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Dan Perry - (Opinion) May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The question of whether mediators matter took on acuity this weekend with the resignation of U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, a move that came exactly as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict he was asked to help resolve seems about to retake center stage. For all the hand-wringing in diplomatic circles, reaction on the ground in the Middle East itself, was uncharacteristically muted. That reflected the fact that peace talks have been largely frozen since 2008, with the exception of a brief span in September, a Mitchell-mediated effort that quickly ran aground.

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Israel’s border bloodshed: Will Syria be held accountable?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

THE SYRIAN regime of Bashar al-Assad on Sunday made a desperate effort to distract attention from its continuing, bloody assaults on its own people. Hundreds of Palestinians were bused from refu­gee camps near Damascus to the de facto border with Israel in the Golan Heights, where they broke through a fence and invaded a nearby town. Surprised and badly outnumbered, Israeli troops eventually opened fire, killing at least one person.

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Italy upgrades Palestine's diplomatic status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said Monday that Rome would upgrade Palestine's representation to a full diplomatic mission. During a visit to Bethlehem, Napolitano said the head of the mission would have the status of an ambassador. At a joint press conference, President Mahmoud Abbas thanked his Italian counterpart for upgrading Palestinian diplomatic status and for Rome's commitment to a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. France, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Spain and Ireland have all elevated Palestine's diplomatic representation in their capitals.

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Egyptian protesters mark Nakba outside Israeli Embassy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
by Ali Abdel Mohsen - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters gathered at the Israeli Embassy early on Sunday to mark the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, commonly known across the Arab world as the “Nakba”, or catastrophe. Among other demands, the protesters called for the “right of return” for Palestinians forced to flee after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The protesters displayed Palestinian flags of varying sizes, some of them hung from nearby lamp posts. They simultaneously called for the removal of the Israeli flag from the embassy.

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Palestinian protests: Arab spring or foreign manipulation?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jim Muir - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am

In a very different position from most Arab nations, the Palestinians had so far been largely left out as the spirit of assertive demands for rights and freedoms swept the region and threatened its dictators. The pent-up frustrations of the Palestinians largely took the form of pressure on their own divided leaderships to unite, something that has now happened.

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'Shooting at Syrian protesters may violate int'l law'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ron Friedman - May 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The breach of the Israeli border by Syrian protesters was an unprecedented act in modern history and a clear violation of Israeli sovereignty as determined by article 51 of the UN Charter, an international law expert said on Sunday. At the same time, Dr. Daphne Richmond-Barak from the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, said that firing on civilians was also a breach of international law, and that once the details of the event were made clear, Israel would have to explain its actions.

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Changing realities in the Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times
by Naava Mashiah, Ghanem Nuseibeh - (Opinion) May 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The uprisings in the Middle East are plunging the region into uncharted territory. But, as international and other regional powers scramble to adjust to the changing realities, they are also an opportunity for Israel and Arab countries to forge mutually beneficial economic ties and to coalesce around common regional interests.

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