Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal tells the New York Times that his fighters have temporarily halted rocket fire into Israel and calls for a 10 year truce with Israel as opposed to a permanent peace agreement (1). The American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference convenes in Washington (15), and is addressed via satellite by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2) (6) (14). Israeli President Shimon Peres also addresses the conference, but makes no mention of a Palestinian state (4), despite AIPAC's recent endorsement of peace based on two states (9). Russia invites ministers of the UN Security Council to meet next week in an effort to give "new impetus" to the Middle East peace process (5). Israel continues demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem (7). The Palestinian Authority establishes a counter-intelligence squad to root out Hamas and Hezbollah agents in the West Bank (13).

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Addressing U.S., Hamas Says It Grounded Rockets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Taghreed El-Khodary - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am The leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that its fighters had stopped firing rockets at Israel for now. He also reached out in a limited way to the Obama administration and others in the West, saying the movement was seeking a state only in the areas Israel won in 1967. “I promise the American administration and the international community that we will be part of the solution, period,” the leader, Khaled Meshal, said during a five-hour interview with The New York Times spread over two days in his home office here in the Syrian capital. » Read more

U.S., Israel Diverge on Palestinian Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Jay Solomon - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Monday to pursue "without any delay" a peace process with Palestinians based on a new strategy of addressing political, economic and security issues concurrently. But Mr. Netanyahu's overture came as members of his government voiced skepticism toward President Barack Obama's call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, particularly when the Palestinian Authority's security forces remain weak and its political leadership divided. » Read more

Jerusalem Diary: 4 May ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Tim Franks - May 4, 2009 - 12:00am It is evening prayers. In a small hall in Jerusalem, the service is being conducted in Hebrew. Some of the words - indeed some of the prayers - chime exactly with those of a synagogue prayer-book. But this is a Catholic Mass. There are, it is estimated, more than one billion Catholics around the world. Within the Middle East, the great majority celebrate Mass in Arabic. A tiny sliver - about 400 - celebrate Mass in Hebrew. » Read more

Israel's Peres omits mention of Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters May 4, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Monday Israel's new government wants peace with all Arabs but made no explicit mention of establishing a Palestinian state, a top U.S. and Arab priority. "Israel stands, with her arms outstretched, her hands held open to peace with all nations, with all Arab states, with all Arab people," Peres said in a speech to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the leading U.S. pro-Israel lobby. Peres holds a largely ceremonial post but has great personal prestige as an elder statesman. » Read more

UN meeting to give impetus to Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Edith M. Lederer - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Russia has invited Security Council ministers to a meeting next week to give "new impetus" to the Middle East peace process. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency this month, said Monday that "the meeting will reaffirm the council's involvement in the search for a Middle East settlement." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will preside at the May 11 meeting, and Churkin said some ministers already have accepted. The only speakers will be representatives of the 15 council nations and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, he said. » Read more

Palestinians say Netanyahu 'ambiguous' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday that the position on the peace process outlined by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an influential US lobby group is "ambiguous." "The statements by the Israeli prime minister to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are ambiguous and insufficient," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said. Netanyahu called Monday for a "fresh" triple-track approach to peace with the Palestinians that includes an immediate resumption of talks without conditions. » Read more

Homes destroyed for lack of permit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am The newly tiled floor is still immaculately swept and the two sofas and two armchairs are regularly dusted. Taghreed Essayyad, 36, likes to keep the sitting area clean because she and her family spend as much time as possible in their home in the Al Tur neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Or, at least, in the corner that still stands. When a Jerusalem municipality bulldozer a few months ago flattened the rest of the house for being built without permit, a wire caught under its tracked wheel, Mrs Essayyad recalled with some fondness, and the bulldozer broke down before it could complete the job. » Read more

Israeli Palestinian Spat Over Photos of Pope Beside the Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Israel has been accused of issuing orders to demolish a stage built to welcome the Pope to a Palestinian refugee camp next week so as to avoid images of the pontiff in front of the controversial Israeli barrier surrounding Bethlehem, The Media Line has learned. The dispute over where, exactly, the pope should be received when he visits the ‘Aida Palestinian refugee camp next week centers around whether or not the refugee camp's reception for the pope should be held at a spot at which a walled section of Israel's separation barrier, including a military control tower, are easily visible. » Read more

AIPAC delegates lobby for two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Barbara Ferguson - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am To thunderous applause, former Republican House leader Newt Gingrich attacked President Barack Obama’s policies in the Middle East, promoted military action against Iran, and assailed diplomatic engagement as weakness at the American Israel Political Action Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference in Washington. Just before he went on stage late yesterday, Gingrich told The Jerusalem Post that the president’s policy with Israel and Iran was a “fantasy” and that Obama was “endangering Israel” by trying to work toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

On the right path ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am His Majesty King Abdullah said during recent talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama and other high-ranking US officials that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem is the only workable answer on the table. There are simply no other options that are viable or operational. Also recently, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that his country would be willing to support the two-state solution if Palestinians themselves agreed to this basis for a settlement. » Read more

Did Egypt's Campaign against Hezbollah Fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am The question that presents itself is the following: Is there an Egyptian campaign against Hezbollah, or is it merely a claim by Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah? A verbal campaign has started since last summer to criticize Egypt on the pretext that it is participating with Israel in putting the Hamas Government and the people of Gaza under siege. The Egyptians at the time refrained from commenting, and restricted themselves to playing the role of the mediator who wanted to close the Palestinian rift, until the war broke out, and the issue escalated. » Read more

Don't bet much on a US-Israel showdown ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by George Giacaman - (Opinion) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is no political rookie. Nor is US President Barack Obama bereft of a battery of advisers with experience on how to deal with Israel. One expects that both will try to avoid a showdown as much as possible even if for different reasons. Netanyahu is due to visit the United States in May and the outlines of his » Read more

PA working to root out Hamas, Hezbollah secret agents ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority has established a special counter-intelligence squad in its security services to uncover agents working for Hamas and Hezbollah. To date the Palestinian Authority security services have arrested dozens of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the two radical Islamic groups. Israeli security sources said that the PA has made a focused effort to uncover foreign agents, noting that the new unit involves a large contingent of officers. » Read more

Netanyahu: Ready for peace talks now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Israel is prepared to resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians without any delay and without any preconditions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday night, speaking from Israel via satellite to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference. The prime minister said he believed that "with the help of (US President Barack) Obama and (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas, we can defy the skeptics, we can surprise the world." » Read more

Obama gets tougher with Israel on Palestinians, Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington May 17 approaches, the United States is sending strong messages on the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israeli settlement activity. Gen. James Jones, national security adviser to President Barack Obama, told a European foreign minister a week ago that unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be "forceful" with Israel. Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told an AIPAC conference last night that two states for two peoples is the only solution the United States is committed to. » Read more

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