Robert Fisk: Israel has crept into the EU without anyone noticing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Robert Fisk - August 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The death of five Israeli servicemen in a helicopter crash in Romania this week raised scarcely a headline.

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UN rights body tells Israel to end Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jonathan Lynn - July 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel must lift its military blockade of the Gaza Strip and invite an independent, fact-finding mission to investigate its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a United Nations rights body said on Friday. The U.N. Human Rights Committee also told Israel to ensure that Palestinians in the occupied territories can enjoy the human rights that Israel had pledged to uphold in the main international human rights treaty.

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Israel signals new cooperation with UN over Gaza flotilla
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel appears to have improved its cooperation with the United Nations over its controversial Gaza policy after coming under pressure from activists seeking to break Israel's sea blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory. The latest fleet of activist ships is preparing to set sail from Lebanon. On Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said that the aid to Gaza should be delivered by established land routes rather than the sea – a remark that irked Hamas, which blamed the UN for "collaboration" with the Israeli government.

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Abbas: 'Entire world' wants direct talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that he was under pressure from the international community to begin direct negotiations with Israel. He told the PA’s Voice of Palestine radio station that he would enter direct talks only if progress was first achieved on the future borders and security of a Palestinian state. Without “clear and specific references,” the negotiations would collapse from the beginning, Abbas said.

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‘Lonely country’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The outgoing Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gabriella Shalev, has lamented to American journalists that Israel is “the most isolated, lonely country in the world”. Would that were so. It certainly deserves to be. But like so many Israeli assertions this is a wild exaggeration, in this case a crude attempt to tug the heartstrings of American public opinion knowing that it is the motor that drives White House foreign policy.

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F-35 jet purchase decision pending
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks regarding the purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), senior defense officials said on Wednesday. This would make Israel the first foreign customer to sign a contract to purchase the advanced stealth fighter jet. Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. Udi Shani convened a meeting with top IDF officers Wednesday evening to discuss the potential deal, which is expected to be decided upon at a meeting later this month that will be chaired by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

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Discussions, not war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Following Israel's 1948 war of establishment, the Truman administration warned the leaders of the new state that the US would not send in the cavalry for protection, but provide military hardware so it could defend itself. President Harry Truman argued that US voters would support Israel as long as the blood of US soldiers was not being shed to preserve it.

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High on success, pro-Palestinian group that organized Gaza flotilla attracts more volunteers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Diaa Hadid - July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

The stream of ships heading to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade reflects the success of a pro-Palestinian group that's been creatively confronting Israel for years. High on victory, they are flush with new volunteers. Activists of the International Solidarity Movement first sailed to Gaza in summer 2008 to challenge Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. Most recently in May, it organized a Gaza-bound flotilla that led to a botched Israeli raid that killed nine activists, sparked an international outcry and forced Israel to ease its 3-year-old blockade.

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Envoy: Israel threatened by efforts to delegitimize it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Eli Lake - July 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's outgoing ambassador to the United Nations said Monday that the most significant threat to the Jewish state is not Iran, but efforts to delegitimize Israel and its leaders. "Israel is the most isolated, lonely country in the world," Gabriela Shalev told reporters in Washington at a luncheon sponsored by the Israel project.

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Why Israel is leaning on Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to nudge peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 20, 2010 - 12:00am

With fresh reports about the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be feeling a greater sense of urgency to advance peace talks before possible regime change next door. Calling Egypt under Mr. Mubarak's leadership "a main factor in advancing peace and stability in the region," Mr. Netanyahu traveled to Cairo this weekend to meet the man who has been a staple of Middle East politics for more than 30 years. Mubarak also hosted Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and US envoy George Mitchell.

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