Abbas to EU: lead Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Euronews
(Interview) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made clear that he intends to take the question of statehood to the United Nations this September, unless there is progress on the issue before then. Abbas spoke with euronews in Tunis, before arriving in Europe. Mohammed Shaikhibrahim, euronews: “President Abbas, the US has failed to bring about an end to Israel’s settlement-building policy in the West Bank. The Americans have brandished their veto when questions over censure of Israel came up in the UN Security Council. Do you still count on the US to advance the peace process?”

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Netanyahu owes speech to Israelis, not Americans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uri Avnery - April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Here is a sensational news item: Next month, the prime minister will deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress. In all probability, this will be a polished, excellent address, one crafted in Benjamin Netanyahu's characteristic style and language.

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EU role vital to resume Palestinian-Israeli talks: Jordan's king
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday said Romania and the EU play a fundamental role in supporting efforts to attain lasting peace and security in the Middle East, the state-run Petra news agency reported. The Jordanian leader underlined the need for intensified efforts to help the Palestinians and the Israelis resume peace talks that address all final status issues leading to the creation of an independent Palestinian state that lives in peace and security along with Israel.

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Abbas seeks 'advice' from France on declaring Palestinian statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Danna Harman - April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will travel to Paris on Thursday seeking support for the expected declaration of statehood this September. "We are friends, so he can be sincere with us and to talk to us openly," Abbas said to the AFP last week, talking about French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who he is expected to meet in the afternoon. Abbas said he was planning to ask Sarkozy for “advice,” on the best approach to seeking recognition for an independent Palestinian state.

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Past Holds Clue to Goldstone’s Shift on the Gaza War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Jennifer Medina - April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Two decades ago, Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African judge, played a vital role in reconciling his country’s white minority government and rising black majority movement by leading a fact-finding mission into black violence that offered a Solomonic conclusion. The violence, he found, was endemic, but a covert government campaign was sponsoring black killings to undermine the opposition. Heads rolled, hands were shaken and Mr. Goldstone was hailed as the most trusted man in the country, going on to a distinguished international career.

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More process than peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 18, 2011 - 12:00am

After eight months of no negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, it is useful to clarify that recent experience has demonstrated that the existence of a peace process does not necessarily mean moving towards peace. The peace process that was launched in Madrid in 1991 included declared objectives of reaching a peace settlement between Israel on the one hand and Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Jordanians on the other hand.

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Abbas arrives in Tunis for three-day visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived on Monday in Tunis for a three-day work visit, the official press agency TAP reported. Abbas was met at the airport by senior Tunisian officials including Interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi and Foreign Minister Mouldi Kefi. It is Abbas' first visit to Tunisia since former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on January 14.


‘Irvine 11’ plead not guilty in Oren incident
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Marcy Oster - April 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Eleven Muslim students arrested for disrupting a speech by Israeli U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California, Irvine pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges. The students were arraigned April 15 in Orange County Superior Court on charges of conspiracy to disturb a meeting and misdemeanor disturbance of a meeting.

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Netanyahu concerned new Egypt government will be anti-Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - April 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Three months into the Egyptian revolution, Israel is concerned that the new government's policy toward Israel could become hostile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told European Union ambassadors last week in Jerusalem. "I am very concerned over some of the voices we've been hearing from Egypt recently," Netanyahu told the envoys. "I'm especially concerned over the current Egyptian foreign minster's statements."

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America’s Partnership with the Arab People
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) April 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Barack Obama Administration has drafted the features of its new strategic policy resulting from the “Arab Spring” with an effaceable pencil, as it is still at the stage of reacting and responding to events. There is not yet what would be called a “blueprint” for a strategic framework for broad American policy towards the Middle East, since ‘using permanent ink’ would tie down the hands of President Barack Obama at a time when he needs flexibility for electoral reasons.

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