Israelis have mixed feelings about flotilla inquiry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

With a sense of relief and a touch of anxiety, Israelis braced themselves Monday for another high-profile probe of their military's conduct. Relief stemmed from the hope that an Israeli-led commission, approved by the government Monday, will head off U.N. calls for an international inquiry into Israel's May 31 raid on an aid flotilla seeking to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine Turkish activists were killed in the operation. Anxiety persists, however, because recent inquiries into the military have led to political shake-ups and painful soul-searching.

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Israel reviewing Gaza blockade format - minister
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ori Lewis - June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel is examining ways to ease its Gaza blockade, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday, calling the current policy counterproductive and confirming remarks by Middle East envoy Tony Blair that change was likely. "It is time to end the closure in its current form. It does not provide any value to Israel. From a diplomatic standpoint it causes great image problems," Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog told Israel Radio. He said Israel had informed Blair, who briefed EU foreign ministers on Monday, that it intends to "permit an easier passage of goods" to the Gaza Strip.

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UN insists on int'l flotilla probe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by E.B. Solomont - June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The UN called on Israel to accede to demands for an international inquiry of the event surrounding the IDF raid of the Gaza flotilla Monday night, even as the Israeli Cabinet approved a committee to pursue an internal Israeli inquiry of the matter. "The Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] takes note of the Israeli announcement on their inquiry," UN spokesman Farhan Haq was quoted as saying by Reuters. Haq added, though, that Ban's "proposal for an international inquiry remains on the table and he hopes for a positive Israeli response."

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Ireland tells Israel to withdraw staffer over Dubai hit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Ireland's government said on Tuesday it was calling on Israel to withdraw a designated member of staff at its Dublin embassy over the use of fake passports in the assassination of a top Hamas militant in Dubai in January. Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said an investigation had showed that the eight Irish passports used by suspects in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were forgeries. "The misuse of Irish passports by a state with which Ireland enjoys friendly, if sometimes frank, bilateral relations is clearly unacceptable and requires a firm response," he said in a statement.

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Israeli arrested over Hamas assassination
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

An Israeli alleged to be a Mossad agent involved in the assassination of a Hamas militant in Dubai and obtaining a German passport under a false name has been arrested in Poland. Germany is seeking the extradition of the man, said to be using the name Uri Brodsky, and believed to be the first Israeli arrested in connection with the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.

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Turkey: No confidence in Turkel committee
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Turkey has "no confidence" that a commission of inquiry set up by Israel to probe the Israel Defense Forces raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla will conduct an impartial investigation, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday. The government plans to approve the members elected to the Turkel committee Monday morning.

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EU, Blair expect Israel to soften Gaza blockade soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Luke Baker - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel has agreed in principle to begin easing its three-year-old blockade on Gaza "in days", Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Monday. Blair said that after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days he believed there was now a willingness to allow the entry of more goods into the territory. "In respect of the closure policy, I hope very much in the next days we will get the in-principle commitment that we require, but then also steps beginning to be taken," he told reporters, referring to Israeli commitments.

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Young leaders prepare study on EU export opportunities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Following the EU announcement that officials were preparing a proposal to open the entire union's market to Palestinian goods, officials from the Young Leaders Organization in Ramallah said a feasibility study was underway. The research will examine a series of export opportunities to EU nations, and according to a statement by the group, aims "to identify opportunities and constraints that prevent the exploitation of the designated ad hoc quota for Palestinian businesses who would like to export their products to Europe."

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Israel Backs Panel to Examine Raid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 13, 2010 - 12:00am

In an effort to dampen international criticism and stave off calls for an international inquiry, Israel’s cabinet unanimously approved a government-appointed commission with foreign participation to investigate the circumstances surrounding its deadly commando raid on a flotilla bound for Gaza in late May. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move to set up an inquiry would demonstrate clearly “to the entire world that the state of Israel acts according to law, transparently and with full responsibility.”

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A Rising Urgency in Israel for a Gaza Shift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
June 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Three years after Israel and Egypt imposed an embargo on this tormented Palestinian strip, shutting down its economy, a consensus has emerged that the attempt to weaken the governing party, Hamas, and drive it from power has failed. In the days since an Israeli naval takeover of a flotilla trying to break the siege turned deadly, that consensus has taken on added urgency, with world powers, anti-Hamas Palestinians in Gaza and some senior Israeli officials advocating a shift.

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