Poll: Mideast change positive for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

The results of a public opinion poll from mid-March showed broad support for protests across the Middle East, and a decline in popularity for both the West Bank and Gaza governments, responding to documentary series run by Al-Jazeera and regional upheaval. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research released the poll findings on Wednesday, which showed 67 percent of Gaza residents, compared to 32 percent of West Bankers, believe protests should be held to change their respective governments.

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Egypt tells J'lem it is committed to the peace accord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Egypt's foreign minister told an Israeli official on Thursday that Cairo was committed to its international treaties, Egypt's foreign ministry said, reiterating that the countries' peace accord is secure. It was the first publicly announced meeting between an Egyptian and an Israeli official since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power on Feb. 11 and handed power to the military.

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We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Conflict
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Foreign Policy (Opinion) - March 23, 2011 - 12:00am

The spread of conflict and violence across the Middle East is dampening widespread hopes of an "Arab Spring" that followed the peaceful ousters of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia. Anti-government demonstrations in Bahrain have taken on an increasingly bitter sectarian character, especially with the military intervention of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the uprising in Libya has degenerated into an all-out civil war compounded by an international no-fly zone intervention.

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Amid violence, pen pals in Congress focus on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - March 23, 2011 - 12:00am

It happens almost like clockwork: Something happens in the Middle East, and it reverberates across the Atlantic with new letters from the U.S. Congress. With so many relatively new members looking to establish their pro-Israel credentials, the reaction in Congress to the recent violence in Israel was particularly swift.

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UN: Both sides need to do more to comply with Goldstone
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jordana Horn, Tovah Lazaroff - March 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Neither Israel nor the Palestinians has made significant progress in investigating claims of war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead, said a United Nations committee in Geneva on Monday. The committee was addressing the 16th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which on Monday debated a report on Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the 2009 conclusions of the UN fact finding mission led by South African judge Richard Goldstone. The Goldstone panel looked into Israel’s military activity during Cast Lead and accused both Israel and the Palestinians of war crimes.

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Israel is blind to the Arab revolution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) March 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Even in its third month, the Arab revolution fails to resonate positively in Israel. The Israeli news media devote a lot of space to dramatic events in the region, but our self-centered political discourse remains the same. It cannot see beyond the recent escalation across the Gaza border, or the approaching possibility of a Palestinian declaration of statehood in September. Israel's leaders are missing the old order in the Arab world, sensing only trouble in the unfolding and perhaps inevitable change.

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Israel US woo Latin America after neglect leads to tilt away
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - March 21, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States and Israel appear to be heading toward increasing their focus on the area following years of neglect that has resulted in closer ties between Latin America and Iran -- and gains for the Palestinians. The shift comes amid Iran’s deepening influence in the region, as well as the successes of a Palestinian diplomatic offensive that has seen eight Latin American nations agree to recognize a Palestinian “state” in recent months.

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Erekat: We will seek UN recognition soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2011 - 12:00am

The United Nations will be asked to recognize a Palestinian state with full membership of the world body, a Palestinian official said on Sunday. The decision to go forward with the plan had been made by the Palestinian leadership and it is the "choice of president Mahmoud Abbas," resigned chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP. However, Erakat said no date had been set for the move, which would request the world body recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, saying only that it would happen "as soon as possible."

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Why the Arab revolt may be good for democracy – and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Fabio R. Fiallo - (Opinion) March 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Concerns have been voiced over the possibility that today’s turmoil in the Arab world might be hijacked by Islamist movements with totalitarian designs, among them the destruction of Israel. The toppling of Iran’s shah in 1979 is given as a salient example of an autocracy being replaced by an even more despotic regime. Legitimate as they undoubtedly are, these concerns should not overlook the fact that the Arab region may be ripe for a democratic turn averse to Islamic fundamentalism.

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What if Arabs had recognized the State of Israel in 1948?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim - (Opinion) March 19, 2011 - 12:00am

When I was attending New York-based SUNY Maritime college (1975-1979), I read a lot of books about Palestinians, Arabs and the Israelis. I have read every article about the many chances the Palestinians had and missed to solve their problem, especially the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel.

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