Obama misses another chance to lead for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

At times, it seemed that Barack Obama thought that the Middle East did not include Israel or the Occupied Territories. "The United States opposes the use of violence and repression against the people of the region," the US president said last night. But there was not a word about 17 Palestinians killed earlier this week by Israeli security forces. "We support a set of universal rights," Mr Obama said." Whether you live in Baghdad or Damascus; Sanaa or Tehran." If Gaza or Ramallah had been mentioned, more explanation would have been needed.

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Even allies say Netanyahu must put 1967 borders on negotiating table
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is coming under pressure to agree to the 1967 borders as the basis for negotiating a Palestinian state ahead of his address to the US Congress next week. Critics and even some allies in Mr Netanyahu's right-wing government have strongly suggested he offer the compromise in the hope of reviving Middle East peace talks. That pressure received a significant boost by the US president, Barack Obama, who endorsed yesterday the idea of brokering a two-state solution with the 1967 lines as the starting point.

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Obama's bold move on 1967 borders for Israeli-Palestinian talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

It takes uncommon grit for a US president to tell Israelis and Palestinians how to solve their differences rather than merely mediate between them. But in his speech Thursday, President Obama started down that risky path. He spelled out a few starting points for a peace deal, such as land borders and a nonmilitarized Palestine.

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Obama makes a blunt push for Middle East peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Christi Parsons, Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

President Obama plunged back into efforts to restart Middle East peace talks, pressuring both sides with a set of U.S. principles that appeared to catch Israeli leaders off guard and is likely to set up a tense meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.

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Netanyahu in U.S., says Obama misunderstands
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller, Matt Spetalnick - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel said the United States "does not understand reality" as its leader arrived in Washington on Friday after President Barack Obama endorsed a longstanding Palestinian demand on borders of a future state. In a policy speech on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit, Obama laid down his clearest markers yet on the compromises he believes Israel and the Palestinians must make to resolve the decades-old conflict.

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Netanyahu's Israel is on course to become a pariah state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zeev Sternhell - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to Washington at what may be the last chance to turn the establishment of a Palestinian state from a global anti-Israel campaign into a joint Israeli, American and European project. The establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state is today a necessity, just as Zionism was a necessity. And about half of Israeli society apparently agrees with Western public opinion and Western governments on the principle that Palestinian Arabs have the same right to independence and sovereignty as do Israeli Jews.

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Behind the scenes: Obama snubs Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The cold relationship between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have noted a new drop in temperature following Obama's Mideast policy speech, and according to the New York Times, tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are at an all-time high. Obama has reportedly told close aides and allies that he does not believe Netanyahu will ever be willing to make the kind of big concessions that will lead to a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Livni: PM is jeopardizing Israel's relationship with US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni slammed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday for "harming the relationship" between Israel and the US. "Netanyahu spoke about consensus," Livni said, "and if there is a consensus in Israel, it's that the relationship with the US is essential to Israel, and aprime minister that harms the relationship with the US over something unsubstantial is harming Israel's security and deterrence." Livni added that such a prime minister should resign. "I am saying this loud and clear."

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What Would Ben-Gurion Do?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Ideas Daily
by Elliot Jager - (Opinion) May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

How would David Ben-Gurion handle himself if he were the one scheduled to meet Barack Obama on May 20 and address a joint session of the U.S. Congress a few days later? That hypothetical question has been aired frequently by Israelis in the run-up to Benjamin Netanyahu's pending appointments in Washington. It was exactly 50 years ago that Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), a founding father of Israel and its first prime minister, met with President John F. Kennedy. The encounter provides some useful background on the limits of personal charisma and the constraints on Israel's freedom of action.

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Obama Sees ’67 Borders as Starting Point for Peace Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Stefanie Marsh, Steven Lee Myers - May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

President Obama, seeking to capture a moment of epochal change in the Arab world, began a new effort on Thursday to break the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, setting out a new starting point for negotiations on the region’s most intractable problem.

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