Next 6 months crucial for resumption of negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Shefler - March 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Free elections set to take place in Egypt may turn ugly for Israel unless the peace process is resumed, UK ambassador Matthew Gould warned on Thursday morning. Speaking to Israeli press at the British ambassador’s residence in Ramat Gan, he said Egyptian politicians might try to outdo each other with rhetoric critical of the Jewish state to gain voters.

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PA recalibrating its strategy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - March 10, 2011 - 1:00am

For the first time in many months, Palestinian spokesmen appear to indicate a revisit of their political strategy towards liberation and independence. It is not clear what the new ideas are, but it is obvious that Palestinian plans focusing on a September landmark seem to be in question.

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Denmark ups Palestinians to mission status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The PLO representative office in Copenhagen has been designated as a mission with full diplomatic status, giving officials powers equal to that of other countries. Denmark is the latest in a string of European nations to recognize Palestinian diplomats with full rank, making the announcement Wednesday after British officials did the same in London, Dublin, Paris and Stockholm. The official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA quoted President Mahmoud Abbas, who learned of the change at a news conference in the Danish capital, as saying it "supports us politically and diplomatically."

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Envoy: Israel welcomes Mideast democratization
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Ben Birnbaum - March 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel’s ambassador to the United States offered a welcoming hand to democracy movements in the Middle East on Tuesday, after weeks in which senior Israeli officials fretted that Egypt’s revolution could produce another Islamic republic. “I want to say here unequivocally - unequivocally, categorically - that Israel welcomes the democratization process in the Middle East, that if democracies arise in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere, we will be the first to embrace them,” Ambassador Michael Oren said.

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Moussa says he would maintain Egypt's peace with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Outgoing Arab League chief and Egyptian presidential hopeful Amr Moussa on Tuesday suggested that he would maintain the peace treaty with Israel if he were to win in elections later this year, The Associated Press reported. "We as Egyptians have a responsibility to lay the foundations for peace...We cannot rebuild Egypt ... while adopting an adventurous foreign policy," he said, adding "we would be kidding ourselves" if Egyptians didn't recognize Israel as a state. Moussa added, however, that he would reconsider the terms of a deal by which Egypt supplies Israel with natural gas.

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Former Dutch PM tells Haaretz: European leaders can't trust Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

The red carpet was not rolled out to greet 80-year-old Dries van Agt upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport. The man who was prime minister of Holland from 1977 to 1982 is known here as one of the leading delegitimizers of Israel.

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What Obama Should Say to Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

There’s a growing clamor for President Obama to visit Israel (and, presumably, once in Jerusalem, Ramallah as well). But there’s a bit of a problem in imagining such a visit: What would the president say? He would likely deliver a very elegant speech; that’s one of his great skills. But beyond reassuring the Israelis of America’s “unshakable” commitment to Israel’s security and chastising them for their inflexibility on settlements, what is there for him to say? Pretty words, even moving words, no doubt. But useful words, words as a prelude to… to what?

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Fair solution to Palestinian issue key to Mideast security: Jordan' s king
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday said the key to stability, peace and security in the Middle East is to find a just solution for the Palestinian issue, the state- run Petra new agency reported. The solution, he said, should lead to the realization of the Palestinian hopes in establishing an independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories. The king made his remarks at a meeting with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Sunday, when the two sides looked into developments in the region and issues of mutual concern.

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Always time for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel says that now is not the time to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians, presumably because of the turmoil that has hit several Arab countries. The time to arrive at peace is always right, and Israel should not resort, once again, to procrastination or look for reasons not to agree to peace with the Palestinians where there are none.

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At Berkeley campus, Jewish students from left to right on Israel talk about their motivations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Sue Fishkoff - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

It’s March, which means the days get longer and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict heats up on campuses across North America with the annual staging of Israel Apartheid Week. Last year, pro-Israel activists countered Apartheid Week events ranging from anti-Israel speeches to the staging of mock Israeli army checkpoints with pro-Israel events on 28 campuses highlighting Israel’s diversity and progressive character. This year, more campuses are expected to join in.

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