Middle East News: World Press Roundup

President Barack Obama meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Washington (1). Vice-President Joe Biden addresses the AIPAC conference, urging Israel to work towards the creation of a Palestinian state and calling for a freeze on settlement activity (2) (7) (15). The United Nations says it will seek reparations from Israel for damages to their facilities caused by attacks during the Gaza war (4) (10). Quartet Mideast Envoy Tony Blair announces that a new plan for Mideast peace will be unveiled within six weeks (6), while revisions may also be made to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative (12). Concern mounts over the potential demolition of Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem (14).

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Obama, Peres Discuss Israeli-Palestinian Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama's meeting with Shimon Peres this afternoon marked a first step in the new administration's relationship with Israel. But it comes at a time when the two governments disagree sharply over what constitutes the biggest long-term threat to the Jewish state and how best to achieve peace in the region. » Read more

Biden urges Israel to work for a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am Vice President Joe Biden called on Israeli officials Tuesday to work harder for creation of a Palestinian state and to halt growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Biden, speaking at a conference sponsored by an influential pro-Israel lobby, said the Obama administration was committed to a new direction in Middle East peace efforts because "the status quo of the last decade has not served the interests of the United States, or Israel, very well." » Read more

Can the Pope Bring the Peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by John L. Allen, Jr. - (Opinion) May 6, 2009 - 12:00am SYMBOLIC gestures are the tools of any leader’s trade, but nowhere do they spell the difference between life and death quite like the Middle East. For example, the visit in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister, to Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the site of two Islamic shrines, helped set off the second intifada. » Read more

U.N. Inquiry Finds Israel Purposely Fired on School in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Colum Lynch - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am A United Nations inquiry into the Gaza conflict earlier this year concluded that Israel intentionally struck a U.N.-run elementary school, killing three young men seeking shelter from the fighting, according to a summary released Tuesday. The incident was one of eight in which the Israel Defense Forces fired on U.N. personnel or facilities that drew scrutiny from a three-member U.N. board of inquiry. The board found that Israel had repeatedly breached the inviolability of U.N. » Read more

Gaza patients questionings 'rise' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 4, 2009 - 12:00am The number of Palestinians forced to provide information before being let out of Gaza for medical treatment is rising, an Israeli group has reported. In the first three months of 2009 more than 400 patients were interrogated, Physicians for Human Rights says. They say Israeli security services are involved in a systematic attempt to recruit Palestinians as collaborators. Israeli officials say they are carrying out security checks to ensure those entering Israel do not commit attacks. » Read more

Blair: New Mideast peace plan unveiled in weeks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press May 6, 2009 - 12:00am The Obama administration and international negotiators are drafting a new strategy for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and expect to unveil it within six weeks, said international Mideast envoy Tony Blair. The plan is being devised by the Obama administration, with input from others, the former British prime minister told Palestinian reporters. » Read more

At Aipac Conference, Biden Calls for Settlement Freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. John Kerry pledged to confront Iran and protect Israel, but called on the Jewish state to freeze settlements. In their addresses Tuesday on the closing day of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference, both said President Obama was committed to removing Iran’s nuclear threat. Biden said Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region needed to take demonstrable steps toward peace. “Show me!” he shouted. The vice president spelled out steps that needed to be taken by the various parties. » Read more

Obama and Netanyahu administrations listen to each other at AIPAC ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - (Analysis) May 5, 2009 - 12:00am “This relationship matters to me,” one partner says. “Show me,” says the other. Such conversations, as any couple can attest, usually don't augur the happiest of chats. If this year’s AIPAC policy conference stopped well short of a full-blown spat between the pro-Israel lobby and the Obama administration, it was because each side was listening to the other: Obama officials listened to Israeli fears about the Iranian nuclear threat, and AIPAC and Israel's prime minister listened to the U.S. administration’s insistence on the inevitability of Palestinian statehood. » Read more

Obama outreach to Muslims worries Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press May 4, 2009 - 12:00am A solid majority of Jewish Israelis worry that President Barack Obama's outreach to the Arab and Muslim world will come at their expense, a new poll showed Monday. Israelis also strongly back stopping Iran's nuclear program, even if Israel has to attack Iran without American approval, according to the survey. » Read more

UN will seek damages from Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by James Reinl - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am In the wake of a UN report that blasts Israel for damaging UN buildings and killing staff during its three-week invasion of Gaza, the secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, said yesterday he will seek reparations. Speaking with journalists following the publication of a report by the UN’s Board of Inquiry, Mr Ban held back from criticising Israel, but said the world body was seeking cash compensation for damage sustained. » Read more

A moment of reckoning in the Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) May 6, 2009 - 12:00am The US-Israeli relationship today is like a bunch of oranges, apples and bananas thrown into a blender to make a fruit smoothie. Action is the name of the game, but outcomes are not clear. » Read more

'Arabs revising peace plan to win Israel backing for 2 states' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoav Stern - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am Arab states are revising elements of a 2002 peace plan to encourage Israel to agree to the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, the London-based paper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported Wednesday. The countries are making the amendments at United States President Barack Obama's request, the paper said. Some of the changes deal with a controversial "right of return" for Palestinian refugees to Israel or a future state of Palestine. » Read more

Lieberman: 'Peace industry' nothing but a waste of money ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am On his first trip to Europe since entering office, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman continues to lay out his diplomatic philosophy, arguing that a break from Israel's past policies is necessary to stabilize the region. "Nothing has come from this whole 'peace industry' except for conferences in five-star hotels and a waste of money," Lieberman told his Italian counterpart, Franco Frattini, during their meeting in Rome on Monday. Lieberman told Frattini that between five and seven years are needed to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli foreign minister w » Read more

PA fears for Jerusalem's Silwan residents ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is concerned that dozens of families from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan may be evicted from their homes in the near future. Concerns arose following the Justice Ministry's demand to stop the process of issuing building permits in the area, under the claim that the families do not own the land they live on. The issue was raised about two weeks ago, during a Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee hearing aimed at settling a dispute over a Silwan resident's building permits. » Read more

Biden: Israel must back two states ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am US Vice President Joseph Biden said Tuesday that Israel must accept a two-state solution with the Palestinians, urging Jerusalem to stop settlement growth. "Israel has to work toward a two-state solution," Biden told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference. "You're not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow the Palestinians freedom of movement." » Read more

Netanyahu, listen to Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) May 6, 2009 - 12:00am As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for his meeting in Washington with U.S. President Barack Obama, the White House is sending tough messages to Israel about its expectations. In his speech at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said this was a moment of truth for Israel. The United States is committed to the principle of two states for two peoples, he said, and this is the only solution, so all the parties must meet their obligations, no matter how difficult. » Read more

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