Israel's intransigence undermines Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu has done it again. The Israeli prime minister dug his head deep into the sand on the eve of the international conference on nuclear security held in Washington, for fear that Turkey, Egypt and others would raise the issue of Israel's unmonitored nuclear arsenal.

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Report: Goldstone banned from grandson's bar-mitzvah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Aviel Magnezi - April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Justice Richard Goldstone, whose UN report on Operation Cast Lead accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, has been prohibited from attending his grandson's bar-mitzvah by the South African Zionist Federation, the Writing Rights blog reported Thursday. It said recent negotiations between the federation, the Sandton synagogue at which the ceremony will take place, and the bar-mitzvah boy's family concluded that the judge will be banned from attending the event.

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Pillar of Israeli government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

There is a reason for the fact that in modern times laws are written by representatives of the people to whom these laws are applied. Governments and parliaments come and go, but laws often outlive them.

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Israel defies international law, again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli amendments to standing military orders that took effect last Tuesday were fresh punitive measures in a long line of destructive and illegal acts designed to deny Palestinians their basic human rights. The orders, signed by Major General Gadi Shamni, former commander of Israel's armed forces in the West Bank, broaden the interpretation of "infiltrator" to mean anyone who does not have a valid Israeli residence permit, and expand the powers of Israeli forces to deal with anyone they decide is a "security threat".

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Erekat: World must compel Israel to revoke military order
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat called on US Mideast envoy George Mitchell, among others, to immediately intervene and pressure Israel to revoking a military order mandating the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank defined as "infiltrators." Erekat further issued the same communique to EU Mideast representative Marc Otte, the UN's special coordinator for the peace process, Robert Serry, Russia's special envoy to the region, Alexander Saltanov, and Quartet envoy, Tony Blair.

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Report: Israel to reject US timetable for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Government sources said Israel would reject any move by the administration of US President Barack Obama to set a timetable and benchmarks for peace talks with the Palestinians, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. It further reported that international sources, including Jordan's King Abdullah, said the US must pressure both parties by setting a timetable for the peace process.

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Little relief for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Mary Dejevsky - (Analysis) April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

The scene could have been almost anywhere where the rich and poor worlds collide. A reasonably maintained building surrounded by depressingly visible disintegration; and inside, a bright room where small children, dressed in their best, are waiting to sing, dance and recite for the benefit of cooing foreign visitors. The difference was that this was in Lebanon; in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp to be precise, outside the battered northern city of Tripoli. And afterwards each child received an envelope with the cash that would help maintain them and fund schooling for another month.

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Fayyad: New IDF orders threaten to empty West Bank of Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian leadership on Monday protested against Israeli military orders that could see tens of thousands of Palestinians deported from the West Bank. On Sunday Haaretz revealed that a new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison terms of up to seven years.

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Israel impasse gives US much to ponder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Simon Tisdall - (Opinion) April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Soothing words from Washington at the weekend, aimed at placating Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai after last week's public falling out, follow a familiar pattern. The White House was livid with Gordon Brown over last year's release to Libya of the Lockerbie bomber. But things were patched up once tempers cooled.

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Israel’s plan is a shot across the bow
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Outrage is the only appropriate reaction. The revelation that thousands of Palestinians could face forced eviction, separation from their families, and imprisonment – and be expected to foot the bill for it all – beggars belief. If approved, two military orders would broaden who is termed a so-called infiltrator into the Palestinian territories. This cannot be allowed to happen, nor can the international community, and particularly the Arab world, remain silent on the issue.

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