A disaster for Jews and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Antony Lerman - (Opinion) July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's current disastrous policy direction and the responsibility for it shared by American Jewish leaders are exemplified in the recent appointment of Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident and western human rights icon, as chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel (Jafi), the quasi-governmental, $640m-a-year body that promotes Zionism and encourages Jewish migration to Israel.

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Advert 'implied Gaza in Israel'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

An Israeli tourism advert that showed the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as an undisputed part of Israel has been rejected by the advertising watchdog. The posters, on the London Underground, sparked hundreds of complaints from pro-Palestinian groups and members of the public. The Advertising Standards Authority said a map labelled Israel implied the occupied territories were in Israel. Israel's ministry of tourism said no political message was intended. It added that its aim was to give tourists an idea of the areas in and around Israel.

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EU's Solana calls for UN to recognise Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 12, 2009 - 12:00am

The European Union's foreign policy chief called for the U.N. Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state by a certain deadline even if Israelis and Palestinians have not reached agreement among themselves. The EU's Javier Solana made his comments on Saturday at a lecture in London while Palestinian and Israeli peace talks remain stalled. The Palestinians have said they will not revive peace talks unless there is a halt to Israel's settlement activities in the West Bank.

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G8 calls for Israeli settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 26, 2009 - 12:00am

The Group of Eight (G8) powers called for a freeze in Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and urged all parties to "re-enter direct negotiations on all standing issues consistent with the Road Map," according to a final draft statement seen by Reuters on Friday. The G8 foreign ministers, who are meeting in Trieste, Italy, also deplored the post-electoral violence in Iran.

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Quartet to urge Israel to freeze all settlement activity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 26, 2009 - 12:00am

TRIESTE, Italy (Reuters) - The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators will urge Israel on Friday to freeze all settlement activity, including "natural growth," a European diplomat said. The Quartet, which includes the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia, will make the call in a statement after its first formal meeting since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January.


E.U. Defers Upgrade Of Israel Trade Ties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - June 16, 2009 - 12:00am

European Union officials said Monday that they would delay any improvement in trade relations with Israel after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu offered conditional support for a Palestinian state in an address Sunday night but did not declare a freeze on Israeli settlements.

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Ban considering fining Israel for Gaza damage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - June 12, 2009 - 12:00am

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday it was "critical" that Israel halt all settlement activity. He added that he was considering fining the state $11 million for damage it did to UN facilities during the Gaza war. Ban says the fine was recommended by a committee elected to investigate damage done by the IDF to UN structures during Operation Cast Lead.

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UN's Gaza War Crimes Investigation Faces Obstacles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ben Hubbard - June 9, 2009 - 12:00am

A veteran U.N. war crimes investigator acknowledged his probe of possible war crimes by Israel and Hamas — which included interviewing dozens of victims and poring through the files of human rights groups — is unlikely to lead to prosecutions. Israel has refused to cooperate, depriving his team access to military sources and victims of Hamas rockets. And Hamas security often accompanied his team during their five-day trip to Gaza last week, raising questions about the ability of witnesses to freely describe the militant group's actions.

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Obama and Merkel vow peace push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
June 5, 2009 - 12:00am

One day after making a keynote speech in Cairo, Mr Obama said his government would seek a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. "The moment is now, to act on what both sides know to be truth," he said. Mr Obama is visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald and afterwards a US Army hospital. His visit to Buchenwald has a personal significance. His maternal great-uncle, Charles Payne, had been one of the US servicemen present at the liberation of Ohrdruf, a satellite camp of Buchenwald.

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As U.S. Presses Israel, EU May Join Fray
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - June 5, 2009 - 12:00am

A day after President Barack Obama told Israel its key ally would no longer tolerate building settlements in the West Bank, the European Union was considering using its trade clout to bolster U.S. pressure, diplomats said. The EU is the Jewish state's biggest trading partner and one option it may have is to crack down on fruit, vegetables, olive oil and other farm produce grown by Israeli settlers on occupied Palestinian land. Some European governments have long suspected such products are entering the EU at low import tariffs reserved for output labeled as coming from Israel proper.

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