Views on Country’s Direction Shift in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor
April 30, 2009 - 12:00am

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A third of Israelis appear satisfied with their country’s direction right now, according to a poll by Keevoon and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 33 per cent of respondents feel this way, up 17 points since 2007. Conversely, 46 per cent of respondents believe things in Israel are going in the wrong direction, down 20 points in two years.

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Feiglin: If I were PM, I'd rebuild the Temple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Matthew Wagner - April 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Moshe Feiglin, head of Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership Movement) said last week that if he was elected prime minister, he would try to rebuild the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem. "I don't know if I will have the merit of doing something that is the aspiration of every Jew," said Feiglin. "But if I become prime minister I will take away control over the Temple Mount from the Wakf [the Islamic trust] and reinstate Jewish sovereignty over the entire mount and, hopefully, rebuild the Temple."

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Mitchell visit to see if Netanyahu really against 2-states
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - April 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Prominent voices from within Benjamin Netanyahu's government have already made it clear they oppose the two-state solution and the understandings agreed upon at the Annapolis Peace Summit. Ascertaining whether this is indeed the genuine position of the new Israeli government is the top priority for US President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, during his visit this "It's one thing to hear statements in the press, it's another to hear it in a one-on-one meeting," a source in Washington told Ynet on Monday evening.

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Israel: New govt and old policies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) April 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Lest it not be clear or be forgotten, Palestinians and other Arabs are spelling out what a peace settlement in their view entails: The two-state formula in accordance with the agreed references, particularly the Arab peace initiative. These policy positions, recently expressed by the chief Palestinian negotiator in Palestine, and in neighboring Jordan where Arab foreign ministers met to review of the Middle East peace process, were meant to reiterate the ways of reaching peace.

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Netanyahu and Obama Prepare for First Round
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - April 13, 2009 - 12:00am

The new U.S. administration and the new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are preparing for a possible confrontation on the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as well as several other issues. A collision course between the two countries seems inevitable as U.S. President Barack Obama reiterates his support for a two-state solution to the protracted conflict while Netanyahu's new Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman states that Israel is no longer obliged to honor previous peace agreements with the Palestinians.

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If we give, we'll get
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - April 13, 2009 - 12:00am

It's a good thing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak didn't listen to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Instead of going to hell, as Lieberman has recommended, he sent his police to stop would-be terrorists planning to send many Israelis to that destination. I wonder what Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, well known for his fondness of Egypt, might have to say about the operation against Hezbollah in Egypt.

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A Harsh Reality for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ahmad Tibi - (Opinion) April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The right-wing coalition of the new Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, does not bode well for Palestinians in Israel. With the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as foreign minister, the extremists are going after the indigenous population and threatening us with loyalty tests and the possibility of “transfer” into an area nominally controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

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Deceptive unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Talks on forming a united Palestinian Authority government between West Bank-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas commenced in Cairo last week. Egypt is sponsoring the talks, with the tacit blessings of the international community. This is a mistake. The Obama administration should take a close look at the likely consequences of such an arrangement.

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Could Netanyahu be an Israeli Maverick?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Kadima chairwoman and Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, has lashed out at prime minister-designate and leader of the hawkish Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu, for being an extremist and unwilling to compromise with the Palestinians. "Netanyahu is more extreme than Lieberman, who doesn't rule out a two-state solution. Netanyahu isn't even willing to discuss it," said Livni on Friday after meeting with him to discuss the possibility of Likud and Kadima joining forces in a unity government.

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Editorial: On the road to reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) March 2, 2009 - 1:00am

In the aftermath of the Gaza tragedy, two silver linings, one political, the other economic, have appeared on the Palestinian horizon. Leaders of the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, now appear to be entering a new era of reconciliation after talks in Cairo, while today an international donors conference, also in the Egyptian capital, could come up with close to $3 billion in reconstruction aid badly needed by the Palestinians after Israel nearly totaled Gaza in January’s onslaught.

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