Pope Criticizes Israel On Palestinian Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI criticized Israel's construction of a security barrier through the West Bank and urged a loosening of restrictions on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a day of speeches and symbolic appearances that amounted to a running critique of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. From a morning address alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to a late-afternoon visit to a refugee camp, the pontiff used a full day in the occupied West Bank to highlight some of the main issues on the Palestinian agenda.

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Pope calls for end to hostilities that led to Israel's barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Standing near a towering concrete wall at the edge of the West Bank, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday called the Israeli-built barrier a stark reminder of the deadlocked Middle East conflict but declared that walls could be taken down. "First, though, it is necessary to remove the walls that we build around our hearts, the barriers that we set up against our neighbors," he said during a stop at a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem. He urged Israelis and Palestinians to overcome mutual mistrust and "break free from the cycle of aggression."

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In Bethlehem, Pope Benedict XVI makes strongest call yet for a Palestinian homeland
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory McCarthy - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI held his hands out wide to greet a crowd of applauding Palestinian refugees in the afternoon sun. Behind him stood the most striking symbol of Israel's occupation: a paint-spattered military watchtower rising above the tall, concrete wall that presses on Bethlehem.

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Pope Benedict rises above fray in the Holy Land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) May 14, 2009 - 12:00am

'A sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers within internationally recognised borders”. In voicing support for this formulation of the two-state solution, Pope Benedict XVI has thrown his considerable moral authority behind a peace settlement based on the 1967 borders. It is the goal of the Arab Peace Initiative, the realisation of which Israel whittles away with every new settlement in the West Bank, and implicitly at least the Pope has taken a stance not just on the side of Palestinians but for what may be the only workable solution.

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In Bethlehem, Pope Urges Lifting of Gaza Embargo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Alan Cowell, Rachel Donadio - May 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI traveled Wednesday to this town that Christians revere as the birthplace of Jesus, telling Palestinians that after decades of suffering, they had a right to a sovereign homeland “in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbors, within internationally recognized borders.” Confronting the region’s political tripwires, he evoked “the loss, the hardship and the suffering” of Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, saying he prayed for the lifting of the economic embargo that Israel has imposed there since the militant group Hamas took control in 2007.

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Pope calls for Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI has offered his support for the Palestinians' right to a homeland, as he continues a Middle East tour in the West Bank. Speaking in Bethlehem, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the Pope called for a "just and lasting" peace in the region. He urged Palestinians not to resort to violence and terrorism. He then held a Mass in Bethlehem's Manger Square before visiting a nearby Palestinian refugee camp. One of the aims of the pontiff's visit is to preserve a diminishing Christian presence in the Holy Land.

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Cool reception for Pope in Holy City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Heather Sharp - May 13, 2009 - 12:00am

"I don't have photos taken with Arabs," jokes Amir Habshush, a Jew, before flinging his arm around his Muslim friend Abouda Gheth and grinning at the lens. Internet footage of the Pope visiting the Jewish holy site, the Western Wall, just a couple of hundred metres away, plays on a computer monitor. But the two young cafe managers are more interested in the business they are losing because of the vast security operation for the pontiff's trip. Road closures and security checks have meant long walks to work, and left Jerusalem's bustling Old City unusually quiet.

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Benedict backs Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
May 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Standing in the cradle of Christianity, Pope Benedict XVI told Palestinians on Wednesday he understands their suffering and offered the Vatican’s strongest and most symbolic public backing yet for an independent Palestinian state. To get to Jesus’ traditional birthplace of Bethlehem, Benedict had to cross through towering concrete slabs, part of a separation barrier Israel has erected to wall off the West Bank’s Palestinian areas.

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Obama’s Jewish Backers May Be in the Middle as U.S.-Israel Tensions Rise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - May 13, 2009 - 12:00am

As tension builds between the new Obama administration in Washington and the new Netanyahu government in Jerusalem, two of President Obama’s closest Jewish allies may find themselves increasingly in the middle. Lee Rosenberg, who campaigned on behalf of Obama, was confirmed as president-elect of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at its recent national conference. And Alan Solow, an early Obama supporter, was recently elected chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

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Obama Speech and Mubarak Visit Signal Improvement in US-Egypt Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Joyce Karam - (Opinion) May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world from Egypt on June 4, and the upcoming visit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Washington signal a desire from both leaders to strengthen relations and increase cooperation on regional issues.

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