Gaza war report co-authors reject Goldstone's retraction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The three co-authors of the damning United Nations report on the 2008-2009 Gaza war rejected on Thursday an op-ed by the fourth member and chairman Richard Goldstone in which he retracted key conclusions of the report – in particular saying that Israel had not intentionally targeted civilians during the war.

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Will the Arab Spring bring a peace agreement with Israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

ONE OF THE MOST remarkable aspects of this year’s Arab uprising has been the absence of the Israeli-Palestinian issue from the agenda of protesters. It turns out that the rising generation of Arabs is preoccupied not with Palestinian statehood but with political freedom and economic opportunity in their own countries. It follows that for the United States and other Western democracies, the most critical challenge in the region in the coming years will be guiding Arab states toward liberal democracy and preventing the rise of new authoritarian or extremist Islamic regimes.

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Turkey tells Israel: Gaza flotilla not up to us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Turkey said on Thursday it had received a request from Israel to help stop activists sailing to Gaza on the first anniversary of an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship, but it said the flotilla plan was not Ankara's concern. Turkey, a Muslim former ally of the Jewish state, has scaled back ties, demanding Israel apologise and pay damages for last year's raid, which caused an international outcry.

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Turkey tells Israel: Gaza flotilla not up to us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Turkey said on Thursday it had received a request from Israel to help stop activists sailing to Gaza on the first anniversary of an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship, but it said the flotilla plan was not Ankara's concern. Turkey, a Muslim former ally of the Jewish state, has scaled back ties, demanding Israel apologise and pay damages for last year's raid, which caused an international outcry.

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Ties Remain Strained, But Turkey and Israel Keep on Trading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Just as diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey appear at rock bottom, bilateral trade between Israel and Turkey have reached an all-time high, indicating that commercial interests can trump political differences. Turkey pulled out its ambassador from Israel almost a year ago and when Israel’s current envoy to Ankara leaves this summer it isn’t planning to fill his slot. That is in order to “spare us the embarrassment of having the Turks reject him,” in the words of one Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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'Blair to endorse Palestinian state at Brussels parley'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Quartet envoy Tony Blair was set to present a report in Brussels on Wednesday endorsing a future Palestinian state, the London Times reported.

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Palestinians build support for statehood at Brussels meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians accelerated their drive toward statehood recognition at an international meeting in Brussels Wednesday, but it comes amid worry that Middle East unrest may further complicate prospects for peace by altering the regional landscape. With peace talks with Israel already mothballed, Palestinians are pursuing a United Nations vote on statehood in September – a goal that seems more likely after foreign donors heard upbeat endorsements of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) ability to govern a sovereign state.

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Fayyad claims 'birth certificate' for Palestinian statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Caretaker prime minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday that UN endorsement of his administration's readiness to govern amounted to "a birth certificate" for statehood. Fayyad made the claim after the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said in a report that the Palestinian Authority was "sufficient for a functioning government of a state."

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New U.S. peace push must come soon - Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States must move fast on its planned drive to revive Middle East talks before Palestinians seek recognition as a state, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday. "It's time for the American administration to move before September," the spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said.

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EU grants Palestinian produce duty-free access
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The European Union announced Wednesday it would grant duty-free access to produce from the West Bank and the Gaza strip in a bid to support Palestinian state building. The deal was announced during a visit by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who was in Brussels for a meeting with international donors. "Facilitating Palestinian trade is a crucial element of the state building process which the EU is supporting both politically and financially," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

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