* Obama reaches out to Muslim world President Barack Obama has said the “cycle of suspicion and discord” between the United States and the Muslim world must end.

* ‘Gov’t shares Obama’s wish for Arab-Israeli reconciliation’ The Prime Minister’s Office responded to US President Barack Obama’s address to the Muslim world on Thursday by expressing hope that it would help lead to reconciliation between the Muslim world and Israel.

* Iran marks Ayatollah Khomeini anniversary Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has strongly criticised the US as Iran marks 20 years since the death of the founder of the Islamic republic.

* ‘Muslims see Obama changing policy’ Muslims greeted President’s Barack Obama’s speech from Cairo Thursday as a mark of a changed American attitude toward them.

* Turnout fear as EU election opens Voting for the European Parliament, the EU’s most powerful legislative body, is under way, with the Netherlands and the UK the first to go to the polls.

* Far-right wing activists launch anti-Obama campaign Chanting “No, you can’t!” and waving signs bearing messages in a similar vein, nearly 200 people held a demonstration outside the US Consulate on the capital’s Rehov Agron on Wednesday evening.

* Skeptics Warn of Backlash to ‘Great Expectations’ U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech “to the Muslim world” on Thursday did not meet many Arab expectations that he state concrete policies in favor of the Muslim world and against Israel.

* Yesha Council: Obama ‘more Hussein than Barak’ Settler leaders slam US president’s historic Cairo address as ‘pandering to Islam’.

* Hezbollah: Islamic world doesn’t need sermons from Obama “The Islamic world does not need moral or political sermons. It needs a fundamental change in American policy.”

* 60% of Israelis don’t trust Obama Even before Barack Obama’s historic “reconciliation speech” in Cairo on Thursday.

Barack Obama launches key Mid-East mission US President Barack Obama has arrived in Saudi Arabia at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at increasing US engagement with the Islamic world.

* Barack Hussein Obama: US “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world” It is important to note that “if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world”.

* Al Qaeda deputy criticizes Obama’s Egypt trip On the eve of President Obama’s highly anticipated speech to the Muslim world, al Qaeda’s second-in-command issued an audio statement saying the president of the United States is not welcome in Egypt.

* Lieberman in Moscow: Israel has no intention of bombing Iran Israel does not intend to bomb Iran, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday in the most explicit comments on the matter.

* Hezbollah camp gaining ground ahead of Lebanon vote Hezbollah and its Christian allies are expected to gain a slim advantage in Sunday’s Lebanese parliamentary election.

* Iran may send envoy to Obama’s address The Egyptian hosts of US President Barack Obama’s upcoming Cairo speech invited Iran’s top diplomat here to attend.

* Likud: Obama has crossed the line US President Barack Obama’s administration’s criticism of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s policies has crossed the line into interfering in Israeli politics.

* Swat fight ‘may take two months’ The offensive to eject the Taliban from the Swat valley of Pakistan could take another two months to complete.

* PA optimistic about hard-line US stance Reports about growing tensions between Jerusalem and Washington over the revival of the peace process in the Middle East are being hailed by many Palestinians.

* New Zealand named world’s most peaceful nation The South Pacific nation of four million people and 40 million sheep has knocked Iceland off its perch.

By: Tom A. Peter and Ilene R. Prusher – The Christian Science Monitor

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior members of his cabinet have pushed back hard against a renewed US demand to end settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories. Interior Minister Eli Yishai said Sunday that it amounted to “expulsion.”

But 53 Israeli parliamentarians have moved to explore another kind of expulsion: Under a proposal to be reviewed this week, Jordan would become the official homeland for Palestinians now living in the West Bank.

Among the challenges facing the proposal is this: nobody asked Jordan if it would support such a plan.

Not surprisingly, it doesn’t.

Nearly half of the Knesset’s 120 members moved last Wednesday to pass the “two states for two peoples on the two banks of the River Jordan” proposal on to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further discussion.

Israeli officials say the Knesset’s vote does not represent the government’s position and is unlikely to become official policy, while analysts dismiss it as a bid from the far right to undermine Mr. Netanyahu. But for many in Jordan, the bill personifies concerns about Israel’s new, conservative government and its lack of commitment to the peace process.

“It has done big damage,” says Mamdouh Abbadi, a member of the Jordanian parliament who has been among the most vocal in calling for government action against the proposal. “Even if it’s not passed, when 53 members of the parliament [Knesset] accept this law in the first reading, this is very important. We can’t think it’s just for show; it’s the real thinking of the Israeli parliament and they represent the people.”

Last week, Jordan’s foreign minister summoned the Israeli ambassador to deliver an official letter rejecting the idea and calling for the Israelis to stop the bill last week. In parliament, a group of at least 36 lawmakers are working to encourage their government to take strong action against Israel.

Right-wing idea, but some support from left

The proposal, put on the Knesset’s agenda by Aryeh Eldad of the National Union party, holds that Palestinians in the West Bank should either become residents of Israel or be offered Jordanian citizenship, since – in the view of its authors – it is already the de facto Palestinian state. Already, more than half of Jordanians are of Palestinian origin, many the descendants of refugees who fled or were expelled when Israel declared independence in 1948.

The idea of Jordan as a Palestinian homeland has existed for years in Israel, but has never gained much support. This most recent bill, however, found a handful of supporters among Israel’s liberal Labor Party.

Officials in Israel’s foreign ministry tried to minimize the importance of the bill by pointing out that it was not supported by members of the ruling coalition. The National Union party holds only four seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

“This proposal doesn’t represent the government,” says Andy David, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. “In a parliamentary system, there are many suggestions that turn into policy, and some of them don’t. If it turns into policy, we’ll discuss it then.”

Main damage: peace process

Nawaf Tell, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, doubts that the bill will go much further. But he says it may damage the peace process that Jordan’s King Abdullah II and other Arab leaders have been working to restart.

“What one wants from Israel today is basically to prove its peace credentials, especially given the current composition of Knesset and the trends that are becoming evident in Israeli public opinion,” says Mr. Tell. “What these groups are doing … is to maintain the status quo and to prevent the peace process from relaunching and achieving its desired results.”

He adds that newly elected Netanyahu brings the baggage of his last term in the late 1990s, in which he alienated many Jordanians with his hard-line polices.

Khalil Atiyah, a member of Jordan’s parliament, is among those unable to fully trust the new Israeli government. Aside from questioning Netanyahu’s commitment to peace, he says that Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, is “against all types of coexistence and peace process.” So although he recognizes that it’s unlikely Israel’s bill about Jordan will come to fruition, he says that is not outside of the realm of possibility.

“It’s not a remote idea that the Knesset might take foolish steps towards the peace process,” he says.

Bid to undermine Netanyahu?

Most Israelis are quite dismissive of the proposal, however. Prof. Shmuel Sandler, a Bar-Ilan University professor who specializes in Israeli politics and the settlement movement, says the bill was more of a symbolic move meant to frustrate Netanyahu and outflank him on the right. Professor Sandler notes that the National Union didn’t even make it into Netanyahu’s government because the rightist prime minister chose to put the traditionally left-wing Labor party in his coalition over far-right parties that would rule out options for peacemaking.

“As for how serious this is, I don’t think the Jordanians have to worry about it. Most Israelis in the establishment see Jordan as an important ally,” he says. “The National Union doesn’t carry much weight. But it can cause trouble to Netanyahu by making his effort to evacuate settlements more and more difficult.”

* Obama says Iran’s energy concerns legitimate President Barack Obama suggested that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy _ provided it proves by the end of the year that its aspirations are peaceful.

* Yesha Council: US using political terror against Israel Settler leaders launched a harsh tirade against the Obama administration on Monday.

* Sarkozy to meet Iran’s FM for nuke talks French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Paris on Wednesday for talks on a variety of issues.

* US inviting Iranian diplomats to July 4 parties In a new overture to Iran, the Obama administration has authorized US embassies around the world to invite Iranian officials to Independence Day parties.

* Lieberman ‘deeply disappointed’ over Russia-Hamas contacts Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the new US administration’s approach to Iran has increased chances of resolving the standoff over its nuclear program.

* N Korea ‘names Kim’s successor’ North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il has designated his youngest son to be the country’s next leader.

* Turning Point 3: Nation Practices Bomb Shelter Drill Israelis across the country, from the oldest to the youngest, re-enacted a scene already far too familiar for residents of the Gaza Belt.

* Somalia crisis ‘Africa’s worst’ The “very dire” humanitarian crisis in Somalia is the worst in Africa for many years, says Oxfam’s co-ordinator for the failed Horn of Africa state.

* Merkel and Sarkozy in joint call for ‘strong Europe’ With only a few days left to the 4-7 June European elections, Germany and France’s centre-right leaders, chancellor Angela Merkel and president Nicolas Sarkozy, have made a joint call on Europeans.

* Poll: Arab support for US increasing While support for America’s leaders has risen markedly throughout the Arab world with the coming of a new American administration, it has actually declined among Palestinians.

* Israel stages biggest-ever war drill Israel started its biggest emergency drill in the nation’s history Sunday to prepare civilians, soldiers and rescue crews for the possibility of war.

* Obama Backfires: Media Raise Doubts, Egypt Snubs ‘Instant Peace’ Two days before U.S. President Barack Obama’s high-profile visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Israel’s mass media has raised doubts about the president’s intentions while both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Egypt have rejected parts of his vision for a new Middle East.

* PM won’t freeze settlement construction for natural growth Israel will not freeze settlement construction for natural growth, despite intense pressure from the Obama administration to do so.

* Ahmadinejad seems headed for landslide As a self-proclaimed man of the people and incorruptible politician with the interest of the poor at heart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to be heading for a landslide victory in Iran’s June 12 presidential elections.

* Proud Hungarians must prepare for war against the Jews Given our current situation, anti-Semitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews.

* US calls for China to have greater say in world economic affairs China must be given a seat at the top-table of world economic affairs, the US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, said yesterday as he moved to reassure China that its investments in the US dollar were safe.

* Settlers: We are the answer to Iran In response to nationwide home front drill, Shomron Regional Council offers to accommodate Israelis evacuated from all over Israel in event of unconventional missile attack

* Israeli Jews Overwhelmingly Connected to Torah Israel’s identity as a secular Jewish democracy is being called into question with the publication of a survey just before Shavuot suggesting Israelis have a stronger connection to Jewish holy books than many previously thought.

* Israeli proposal: Make Jordan the official Palestinian homeland The controversial idea – though not new – could still undermine Netanyahu and erode Israel’s relations with moderate Arab countries.

* Pakistan to attack the fountainhead of extremism: Rugged Waziristan Waziristan, the remote area that’s the epicenter of Taliban and al Qaida militants in Pakistan , is set to become the next war zone in the nation’s fight against Islamic extremists, where clashes between insurgents and the army erupted over the weekend.

* US ‘opposes’ nuclear North Korea The US “will not accept” a nuclear-armed North Korea, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has told an Asian summit.

* ‘Abbas wants US to oust Netanyahu’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not resume negotiations with Israel unless the Netanyahu government agrees to a complete settlement freeze.

* Pakistan army ‘regains’ Swat city The Pakistan military says it has regained control of the largest town in the Swat valley from the Taliban.

* Hamas says disappointed with Abbas-Obama meeting Spokesman for Islamist group says implementation of Road Map for peace plan will turn PA into Israeli armed wing.

* EU Parliament Elections Loom as Political Bellwether The European Union’s legislature, accustomed to toiling in obscurity, will be thrust into a rare spotlight next week as its elections gauge voter anger.

* ‘Iran will gladly give Hizbullah arms’ Leading up to Lebanese elections on June 7, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah called Friday for unity in the country.

* Russia opens WMD disposal plant Russia has opened a facility in the Ural Mountains that will decommission vast stocks of its chemical weapons.

* Moussa: Halt all settlement construction Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Friday it will become impossible to establish a Palestinian state unless Israel halts settlement construction in the West Bank immediately.

* Chávez Seeks Tighter Grip on Military The efforts of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela to strengthen his hold on the armed forces have led to high-profile arrests and a wave of reassignments.

* White House: Obama Speech to Engage Muslim Community White House officials say U.S. President Barack Obama will emphasize his “personal commitment” to improving U.S. relations with Muslims around the world.

* Chinese ships ‘quit Korea waters’ Chinese fishing boats are reported to be leaving the tense inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea after North Korea’s threat of military action.

* Obama says Israel must stop settlement construction Gingerly trying to advance Mideast peace, US President Barack Obama on Thursday challenged Israel to stop settlement construction in the West Bank on the same day the Israelis rejected that demand.

* Obama ‘confident’ on two-state solution US President Barack Obama says he is confident that Israel will recognise that a two-state solution is in the best interests of its security.

* PA official: Abbas expects US pressure to push out Netanyahu Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not resume negotiations with Israel unless the Netanyahu government agrees to a complete settlement freeze and publicly accepts a two-state solution.

* Allotting of Iraqi Oil Rights May Stoke Hostility Sheik Habih Shawqi Hamakan peered through his binoculars on a recent afternoon at a sight he considers, despite the rising columns of black smoke that blot out the sun, pure beauty.

* Hizbullah builds up its might No longer a purely guerrilla organization, Hizbullah is engaged in a huge political battle that culminates in the June 7 elections.

* Nuclear Aims By Pakistan, India Prompt U.S. Concern Sometime next year, at a tightly guarded site south of its capital, Pakistan will be ready to start churning out a new stream of plutonium for its nuclear arsenal.

* US to set out cyber security plan US President Barack Obama is to set out plans for securing American computer networks against cyber attacks.

* Sarkozy cancels Sweden visit over Turkey French President Nicolas Sarkozy has cancelled a visit to Sweden scheduled for next Tuesday (2 June) in order to avoid a clash on the question of Turkey’s EU membership.

* Parashat Shavuot: Joy to the world Why do we read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot? What is the relationship between the giving of the Torah and the festival of first fruits in the Temple – the two names for Shavuot?

* ‘Iran ups uranium enrichment capacity’ Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country has boosted its capacity to enrich uranium.

* Alert level raised on North Korea South Korean and US troops have gone on higher alert after North Korea said it was scrapping the treaty that halted the Korean War more than 50 years ago.

* Settler rabbis: Don’t evacuate outposts Religious leaders headed by the head of the Judea and Samaria Rabbis’ Committee, Rabbi Dov Lior, gathered Wednesday at an unauthorized outpost slated for removal.

* No exception on Israeli settlement: Clinton US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said there must be no exceptions to President Barack Obama’s demand that Israel stop its settlement activity.

* Is Abbas still relevant to the peace process? If ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the analysts tried to assess the intensity of the confrontation with U.S. President Barack Obama.

* Israel rejects US call over settlement work Israel will continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite US calls for a freeze on its work.

* Abbas to urge Obama: Push pan-Arab peace plan Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be pushing United States President Barack Obama on Thursday to facilitate peace with Israel.

* EU sketches out conditions for upgrade with Israel The EU will at a meeting with Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman next month sketch out three conditions for upgrading relations.

* Fresh blasts hit Pakistani city At least ten people have been killed in two separate attacks in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

* Strong quake jolts Honduras, at least one dead A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked Honduras on Thursday, killing at least one person whose home collapsed.

* Raad Salah: Netanyahu will Try to Rebuild the Jewish Temple Sheikh Raad Salah, leader of the Northern Wing of the Islamic Movement in Israel, believes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will try to rebuild the Jewish Temple.

* N Korea threatens military action North Korea says it has abandoned the truce that ended the Korean war, amid rising tension in the region.

* Jordan summons Israeli ambassador on bill Jordan’s foreign minister summoned Israel’s ambassador Tuesday to protest a proposal National Union MK Arye Eldad made in the Knesset last week.

* Abbas to press Obama on settlements Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he would focus on Israel’s refusal to stop the building of settlements.

* Ya’alon: ‘Palestinian entity cannot be formed’ Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon, who is very close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ruled out the creation of any “Palestinian entity”.

* Russia fears Korea conflict could go nuclear Russia is taking security measures as a precaution against the possibility tension over North Korea could escalate into nuclear war.

* Number of Europeans keen to vote in EU elections increases The number of people intending to vote in the European Parliament elections next week has increased.

* Somali radical takes over militia The head of Somali Islamist armed group Hisbul-Islam has passed the leadership to radical cleric Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is on the US terror list.

* Obama adds Saudi Arabia to Mid-East agenda US President Barack Obama’s foreign tour next week will include a stop-off in Saudi Arabia, his spokesman said in a late addition to the schedule.

* Netanyahu: Arab states should normalize Israel ties now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged Arab countries to make immediate moves toward normalizing ties with Israel.

By: Avi Issacharoff, Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid and Jack Khoury – Haaretz

The newly appointed minister for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian Authority cabinet, Hatem Abdel Khader, has released a statement Monday noting that he favors transferring control of the Temple Mount to the 57-member Islamic Conference Organization in the framework of an Israel-PA peace agreement.

Haaretz reported last week on the P.A.’s willingness to transfer control of the Temple Mount to the organization. “The most important thing is to end the Israeli occupation,” Abdel Khader also said.

PA president Mahmoud Abbas is to meet Thursday in Washington with President Barack Obama, in their first meeting since Obama took office.

The northern branch of the Islamic Movement, however, blasted the week before the proposal to relinquish sovereignty over the Temple Mount.

“The proposal to transfer sovereignty to a third state stems from the attempted to internationalize the Al Aqsa Mosque, and actually this is a proposal whose significance is the continuation of the occupation; therefore, such a proposal must be aggressively rejected,” the Israeli Arab group said in a statement.

Palestinian sources have said the PA would accept the management of the site by the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Conference, whose 57 member states include Iran, as part of a final-status peace agreement.

Sheikh Ra’ad Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement, has called for in the past an intifada to “save” the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop the Temple Mount.

The movement’s statement continued: “No one has the right to determine the future of the Al Aqsa Mosque, which has Islamic, Arab and Palestinian implications, and full Islamic sovereignty over the mosque will only be implemented when the occupation of Jerusalem and the mosque is lifted,”

The OIC is signatory to the Arab Peace plan, a initiative that would provide the Palestinians with backing from all Muslim states toward a historic compromise with Israel in a peace agreement.

According to the Temple Mount proposal, the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City will be under Israeli sovereignty, while the Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters would be transfered to Palestinian sovereignty. Israel objects to Palestinian sovereignty over the Armenian Quarter.

There is also a dispute building over the Western Wall; the PA plans to demand that Israeli sovereignty applies only to part of the wall.

Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that if Israel opts for peace and has a leader who is willing to make genuine compromises, a peace agreement could be reached within three to six months.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Wednesday that he was canceling his planned visit to Washington next week due to the death of his grandson.

Abbas is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama next week. Abu Rudeina said Abbas will ask for clarifications on the U.S. stance on negotiations with Israel.

“During the meetings with U.S. special envoy George Mitchell, we made it clear that there must be an Israeli recognition of the principle of two states for two peoples and a freezing of construction in the settlements,” Abu Rudeina said.

“We will hear what happened during the meeting between [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Obama on the Palestinian question and what the American plans are for the coming months. Abu Mazen [Abbas] will consult with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to formulate a position ahead of the meeting. In any case, the result of the negotiations between Israel and the PA must be clear: the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, whose capital is East Jerusalem,” the senior PA official said.

‘Israel must accept responsibility for creation of refugee problem’

With regards to the right of return, the Palestinians reiterated their traditional position: Israel must acknowledge responsibility for the creation of the refugee problem.

Abu Rudeina says the Palestinian position on the issue is identical to that of the Arab Peace Initiative: a just and agreed solution to the refugee question, on the basis of UN Resolution 194.

But other Palestinian sources say the PA will probably agree to an arrangement under which refugees will have the right of return to the Palestinian state, with Israel agreeing to absorb up to 100,000 Palestinians within its borders under family reunification.

Regarding borders, Abu Rudeina said that the principle of territorial exchange was agreed, although there are disagreements over the exact areas. He said that in the most recent talks the Palestinians agreed to an exchange involving 1.2 percent of West Bank land, while then prime minister Ehud Olmert demanded 6.5 percent.

“But the issue also depends on quality. If [Israel] receives land in the Jerusalem area or Bethlehem we will not agree to receive desert land in exchange,” Abu Rudeina said.

He told Haaretz that the Arab states are willing to agree to peace. “The problem is that now Israel is unwilling. They used to tell us that with Olmert involved in corruption the negotiations can’t be completed with him. Now they say Netanyahu will be restricted because of his coalition problems. Every time it’s a different story. Perhaps that’s why 15 years have passed and we haven’t seen peace.”