Medvedev Visits West Bank, Lifting Palestinian Spirits
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia met on Tuesday with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank oasis town of Jericho and reaffirmed his country’s support for a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. Palestinian leaders hailed the visit as historic, noting that this was the first time such a high-profile international figure had gone to Palestinian territory independently of a visit to Israel.

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ISRAEL: Israeli citizen suspected of involvement in Bosnia war crimes arrested
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

An Israeli citizen was arrested Tuesday in connection with a 1995 massacre in Bosnia, and Israel’s Justice Ministry launched extradition proceedings against him. A Sarajevo court issued a warrant for Alexandar Cvetkovic's arrest in April, stating that he was wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity. In August, Bosnia-Herzegovina filed a formal request to Israel for his extradition to stand trial at a war-crimes tribunal.

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Hariri Tribunal will be Hezbollah's Goldstone Report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Despite the understandable anxiety about the collapse of the Lebanese government—and the reaction of Hezbollah to the increasing likelihood that some of its operatives may be indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri—the most probable scenario is that, for now, things in Lebanon will stay much as they have been.

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Russia affirms recognition of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday reaffirmed Moscow's commitment to an independent Palestinian state. "We have supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital since the last century, and we still support it," Medvedev said, during his first official visit to Palestine. The late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat first issued a declaration of independence at a meeting in Algiers in November 1988, with the former Soviet Union quick to express support for it.

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UN director in Gaza quits for new post
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am

John Ging, the high-profile director of the UN relief agency in Gaza, is to quit his current post to take up a senior UN job in New York. Ging, 45, who has worked in Gaza since 2006, has been an enthusiastic and effective advocate for the rights of the Gazan population and a vocal critic of Israeli government policy. He has been the target of assassination attempts and death threats in Gaza, and Islamist opponents have attacked projects he has promoted.

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Report: Guyana recognizes Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Guyana became the 10th nation to recognize a Palestinian state on Thursday, joining Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador who all pronounced their support over the past two months. Two other South American nations, Paraguay and Uruguay said recognition would come in 2011, while recognition from Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Cuba came during the 1980s. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth made the latest announcement on Friday, saying the move comes as a "push for Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate a peace deal."

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Guyana recognises Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Caribbean News Now!
by Ray Chickrie - January 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Guyana has declared official recognition of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders. In a news release, the Foreign Ministry said, “It is Guyana's hope that the increasing recognition of the state of Palestine will contribute to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the creation of lasting peace and stability in the region.” Guyana since 1975 has been a member of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and in the 1970s severed diplomat ties with Israel.

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Guyana becomes 7th South American state to recognize Palestinian independence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Following Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, Guyana has become the seventh South American nation to recognize an independent Palestinian state, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. In a statement by the country's Foreign Ministry, Guyana's said it hoped "that the increasing recognition of the state of Palestine will contribute to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the creation of lasting peace and stability in the region."

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Abbas: U.S. not working hard enough for Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 13, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday accused the United States of lagging in its commitment to seeing the establishment of a Palestinian state. Abbas told Al-Jazeera that the Palestinians would agree to return to peace talks with Israel only if the United States agreed to recognize a state within 1967 borders and adhere to security accords reached during the Bush administration. Fielding criticism to the same regard in Doha, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters that the U.S. was determined to work toward achieving a separate state for the Palestinians.

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'Invigorated' Abbas has regained his authority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - January 13, 2011 - 1:00am

Aides describe his mood as "invigorated". Rights activists say his security forces are fighting dissent more effectively. And while staking his credibility on negotiating with Israel, analysts say the recent failure of direct Israel-Palestinian peace talks has yet to damage his popularity. For a leader who is rumoured regularly to be on the brink of quitting, the political fortunes of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, no longer seem so gloomy.

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